The ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe has just gotten even bigger, as so much was revealed about the franchise at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is officially closing out Phase 4, the whole Phase 5 release schedule has been revealed, and, shockingly, a lot was even revealed about Phase 6.
Though not every Phase 6 movie was announced, superproducer Kevin Feige has given away so many story details and hints about what to expect, not to mention release dates and not one but two Avengers movies. Between revealing the new Thanos-level threat and even hinting at what will follow Phase 6, fans got way more than they expected at this year's Comic-Con.
It'll Be The End Of The Multiverse Saga
Just as the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are officially named The Infinity Saga, Feige titled the following three phases at 2022's San Diego Comic-Con. The Multiverse Saga is the official name of the next few phases, and just like The Infinity Saga, The Multiverse Saga will be three phases, which will end with Phase 6.
This announcement is hardly surprising, but with Phase 4 almost over already, the epic conclusion to the saga will arrive sooner rather than later. However, there's still a lot of mystery surrounding the phase, and there are still a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle.
Kang Is The New Thanos
While Ant-Man is the best family-friendly superhero movie and Ant-Man and the Wasp follows the same formula, the threequel, Quantumania, is going to be very different given that the villain is a Thanos-level threat. Kang is confirmed as the villain for the Ant-Man sequel, but that won't be the last time fans will see him.
The purple-robed antagonist was introduced in Loki and a bigger role in season 2 was hinted at too, but it wasn't completely clear if he was the new overarching villain of the new saga. Some fans were still theorizing that the big bad could have been Mephisto or Doctor Doom, but Fiege laid all the rumors and theories to bed over the weekend.
Fantastic Four Is The First Movie Of The Phase
Even though Phase 4 isn't quite over yet, Phase 6 is already just around the corner, as the first movie in the phase will be released in November 2024. And it isn't just any inconsequential movie that kicks off the final stretch of the saga, but the most hyped MCU movie of them all; Fantastic 4.
The superheroes are the first-ever Marvel heroes, and the movie has been teased by Marvel Studios for so long, whether it was the logo reveal all the way back in 2020 or the appearance of Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. There will most likely be even more announcements about the film at D23, such as the director and cast, as the MCU release is only a little over two years away.
It'll Have Two Avengers Movies
In what is possibly the most shocking piece of news to come out of Marvel's panel, there won't be one Avengers movie, but two of them. The first of the two is called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and the second is called Avengers: Secret Wars.
The cinematic universe is seemingly repeating the success of Infinity War and Endgame, which was a two-part epic, and Feige has promised that the fourth and fifth movies will both be bigger than Endgame. The superproducer noted, "It's never about going bigger just to go bigger. Sometimes by the nature of the number of characters that you have in the toybox to then bring into the sandbox of the story, things can get bigger." However, while Phase 6 has two Avengers movies, Phase 5 is absent of any.
The Avengers Movies Will Be Released Six Months Apart
The news about the two Avengers films doesn't end with their title announcements, but in another shocking reveal, Feige unveiled the release dates. The Kang Dynasty will be released in May 2025 and Secret Wars will be released in November the same year. There will be a tiny gap of just six months between the two event movies, which is something that's almost unprecedented.
Several two-part movies were filmed back to back, but the only series to have such a short gap between releases is The Matrix. Reloaded and Revolutions were released six months apart, and the success of the sci-fi sequels might have influenced Marvel Studios in its decision to release the Avengers movies so close together. The Matrix movies had almost exactly the same release dates in 2003 as the Avengers sequels have in 2025.
They Won't Be Directed By The Russo Brothers
The Russo brothers have made more Marvel movies than any other director, and those are the most beloved MCU movies too. The filmmaking duo directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. That's an amazing resume, and though their non-MCU movies haven't gotten quite the same acclaim, rumors have been circling that they're returning to direct another Avengers movie.
However, Feige has again put the rumors to bed and confirmed that the Russos will not return to Avengers. It's hardly surprising given the huge amount of current Russo projects in development. But, as Feige is very specific with his words, it doesn't mean the brothers aren't directing another MCU project.
The Phase Is Only One Year Long
Phase 1 in the MCU lasted four years, and the two following phases were over three years a piece. That makes The Infinity Saga a huge 11-year series. By comparison, The Multiverse saga will last half as much time, as Phase 5 will only last for around a year and a half, and Phase 6 will shockingly only last one year. The first Phase 6 movie, Fantastic 4, will be released on November 8, 2024, and the last movie, Secret Wars, will be released on November 7, 2025.
That decision might risk audiences not connecting to the superheroes as much as they did with Steve Rogers and Tony Stark in Endgame. And as the Saga is only half the length, it might only be half as emotional. However, fans are still getting just as many projects as there were in The Infinity Saga, it's just that each year is crammed with content.
There Are Still Eight Releases Yet To Be Announced
There were 11 entries on the Phase 6 timeline on screen at the Comic-Con panel. Only three of the projects have been revealed; Fantastic 4, The Kang Dynasty, and Secret Wars. That leaves eight unannounced projects, and it has led to a lot of speculation amongst MCU fans.
It's easy to guess some of the releases by process of elimination, as Deadpool 3 and Armor Wars went unannounced at Hall H, and fans know that Armor Wars is well into development, so they'll most likely be revealed at D23. However, there are still six other projects, some of them Disney+ series and others theatrically released movies, and there'll definitely be a couple of surprises in there too.
There Will Be A Phase 7
Nobody ever thought that the Marvel Cinematic Universe would ever end after Phase 6, but, surprisingly, Disney has already confirmed Phase 7. The studio announced four release dates in 2026, so whatever happens in Secret Wars, it isn't going to slow anything down.
Even though it's years away, fans are already speculating what the name of the third saga will be, with many theorizing that it'll be The Mutant Saga and that X-Men won't actually be introduced until The Multiverse Saga has concluded. That makes a lot of sense given that the mutants are such a huge superhero team and there are already so many characters crammed into this saga.