The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a cornucopia of superhero and villain tales spanning multiple timelines. It’s no surprise then, that Marvel boss Kevin Feige started bundling them into “Phases” to compartmentalize all the content coming out of the MCU, each Phase now focusing on movies and TV shows within a certain timeframe and overarching storyline
The recently released Captain America: Brave New World and the upcoming Marvel’s Thunderbolts are the final two movies in Phase 5, after which it draws to a close and then we enter Phase 6, which spans 2025 to 2027. Marvel is pretty good at locking in release dates, so we already have a comprehensive timeline of what to expect.
So, what’s next for Marvel Phase 6? There are plenty of movies and TV shows on the slate, starting with The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July. We’ve put together a rundown of Marvel’s Phase 6 so that when you’re not busy assembling the best Lego Marvel sets, you can squash yourself into the comfiest spot on your couch and organize the release dates into your calendar.
Now, here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Marvel Phase 6 movies and TV shows.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release date: July 25, 2025
- Director: Matt Shakman
- Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and more
Marvel’s first entry in their Phase Six slate is The Fantastic Four reboot, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. This fresh take comes complete with a new team comprised of Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing.
Marvel’s First Family will face one of the biggest comic book threats as the space god Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) threaten Earth. When Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, hopes of a Fantastic Four redemption arc had been extinguished, but Kevin Feige came through for fantastic fans with an announcement at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. And over the past six years, the reboot was met with updates, delays, directorial switches, and now, finally and fortunately, a release date.
Though the Marvel landscape loves an origin story, this is not one of those. Instead, as per the official movie description, it’s “set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world”. Plus, there’s a bunch of undisclosed roles that we’re yet to discover with John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles all signing up to star. And, thanks to a post by Film Updates on Twitter/X, we know that production reportedly wrapped in November 2024.
Avengers: Doomsday
- Release date: May 1, 2026
- Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
- Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and more
The Russo Brothers return to the MCU, signing on for not one, but two new Avengers movies for the Phase Six slate. And there are plenty of Marvel crossovers with the new Avengers movies marking the return of the cast from The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as well as cast names from Phase Five’s Thunderbolts.
There’s also the huge news that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU in a new role as Doctor Doom. It’s a pretty big deal considering his last appearance was in the last Avengers movie, way back in 2019. It might have been called Endgame, but it wasn’t the end for the MCU or Downey Jr.
The casting of Doctor Doom also marks a monumental move away from the originally planned villain for this entry, Kang the Conqueror. Actor Jonathan Majors, who was to play Kang, was removed from the movie after a conviction for reckless assault in the third degree and harassment in 2023, as per The Hollywood Reporter. The fallout from Majors’ arrest meant that the movie also transformed from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to Avengers: Doomsday.
We know Downey Jr. takes on a new role in the universe, for which we’ve always known him to be Iron Man, but other than that, the plot is firmly under wraps.
Spider-Man 4
- Release date: July 24, 2026
- Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
- Cast: Tom Holland
Tom Holland has been perpetually busy bouncing off from the success of the Spider-Man movies and while we’ve been waiting since 2021 for more Spidey goodness, there’s still not been too much to go on.
We do know that Spider-Man: No Way Home did not mark the end of the road for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, but we’ve been left dangling on a cliffhanger ending for four years at this point. Fortunately, whilst appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in late 2024, Holland confirmed, “It’s happening.” Adding, “Next summer, we start shooting. Everything’s good to go. We’re nearly there.” So, hopefully shooting in 2025 and hitting our screens in 2026.
There have been rumors around a possible Andrew Garfield return, though he confirmed in an interview with GQ, that while he knows no one will believe what he says from now on, he hasn’t been cast in the next installment. Beyond the obvious return of Tom Holland, we don’t know much about the cast or plot. When we know more, you’ll know more.
Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release date: May 7, 2027
- Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
- Cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and more
If you thought there wasn’t much info on Avengers: Doomsday, allow us to introduce Avengers: Secret Wars, which can confidently say is the name of a movie that’s coming out…. and that’s about it.
But, we can speculate. Secret Wars will be a sequel to Doomsday, so the plot will follow on from the story of Doctor Doom, The Fantastic Four, and the other Avengers. Production-wise, it’s been hit with a few delays and some crew changes, notably bringing on Stephen McFeely as the writer. McFeely co-wrote the Captain America movies, as well as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, so that’s a big get for the production.
If we take a look at the 1980s comic series for inspiration, there are plenty of hints as to the direction of the movie. Villain-wise, there’s Doctor Doom, but there’s also Galactus, who will debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps at the start of Phase Six. We can safely expect to see massive battles and galaxy-saving adventures in true Marvel fashion.
Eyes of Wakanda
- Release date: August 6, 2025
- Episodes: 4
- Showrunner: TBA
- Cast: Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, Steve Toussaint, Danai Gurira
Following the success of the two Black Panther movies, the MCU decided it’s time for a TV series to delve deeper into the Wakanda lore. For this, they’re pulling focus on the Hatut Zaraze, a group of Wakanda warriors, tasked with special missions to retrieve vibranium artifacts across history.
This animated miniseries ties in a lot closer than other Marvel Animation shows that have come before it. In fact, it’s the first animation that places itself in the main timeline, which is kind of a big deal in the Marvel world.
Consisting of four episodes, the first of Phase Six’s TV shows will drop in August of this year. And there’s some impressive voice casting already announced with Patricia Belcher, Larry Gerron, Adam Gold, Lynn Whitfield, Jacques Colimon, and Jona Xiao all added to the cast mentioned above. While there was a little teaser footage released during the D23 convention in August 2024, it didn’t reveal much.
Marvel Zombies
- Release date: October 3, 2025
- Episodes: 4
- Showrunner: Zeb Wells
- Cast: Awkwafina, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Elizabeth Olsen, Randall Park, and more
In 2021, the MCU launched an anthology series called What If…?. One of the episodes was called What If… Zombies? and that’s what leads us to this Phase Six entry. As a (presumably non-canon) spin-off, a four-episode animated miniseries called Marvel Zombies is on its way. There is precedent for this, with a whole comic book series to seek inspiration from.
For Marvel Zombies, the plot follows a group of survivors who now have to fight zombified versions of former superheroes and villains. Zeb Wells of Marvel writing fame, as well as Robot Chicken, is the head writer for this one and some huge names are joining the cast. Aside from the actors mentioned above, there’s also Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, Dominique Thorne, Iman Vellani, and Todd Williams who have all joined the MCU in recent years.
Marvel Zombies marks an excellent addition to the Marvel Animated Multiverse slate and during D23, there was a quick look at Kate Bishop, Wenwu, and Shang-Chi fighting off some pretty scary zombies.
Wonder Man
- Release date: December 2025
- Episodes: 8-10
- Showrunner: Andrew Guest
- Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben Kingsley, Demetrius Grosse, Ed Harris, Josh Gad
Wonder Man is the upcoming miniseries centered on Marvel’s Simon Williams, a Hollywood actor with superhero powers who takes on the role of Wonder Man in a new movie. So, essentially he’s Wonder Man playing Wonder Man in Wonder Man.
Sometimes during a Phase release, a title is put under the Marvel Spotlight banner, which means they’re focusing more on the character and less on the wider MCU timeline, and that’s the direction they’re taking Wonder Man. As a result, we’d expect this to be a fairly self-contained story, though some cameos from MCU stalwarts aren’t out of the question… it’s probably going to be Wong, it’s always Wong.
Though he’s not the showrunner, Destin Daniel Cretton — who is currently signed up for a multi-year deal with Marvel and will no doubt be busy directing the upcoming untitled Spider-Man sequel — created this show alongside Andrew Guest. Whilst there have been some production delays due to the strikes, filming has reportedly wrapped, so a more definitive release date may not be far off.
There’s certainly been an abundance of cast announcements with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II signed on as Wonder Man himself, alongside Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, Demetrius Grosse as the Grim Reaper aka Wonder Man’s brother, and Ed Harris as Simon’s Hollywood agent.
Vision Quest
- Release date: TBA 2026
- Episodes: TBA
- Showrunner: Terry Matalas
- Cast: Paul Bettany, James Spader, Todd Stashwick
The final entry in Marvel’s Phase Six TV show slate is Vision Quest, a second spin-off of WandaVision and, unsurprisingly, focused on the character, Vision. Fortunately, Paul Bettany will be reprising the role, alongside James Spader in his role as Ultron, both seen previously in Avengers: Age of Ultron. While it’s reportedly not its official title, Vision Quest is what it’s currently known by, and it’s lined up to mark the end of the trilogy with WandaVision and Agatha All Along before it.
Vision is a pretty powerful Avenger, crafted from vibranium (the fictional MCU metal we mentioned in Eyes of Wakanda). While Vision met his demise in Avengers: Infinite War, not once but twice, he was resurrected by his love Wanda in WandaVision.
Plot-wise, we don’t know a lot right now, but the official synopsis is short and sweet, “It follows Vision trying to regain his memory and humanity.”
