Marvel is returning to its peak era in 2025 with nine releases planned for that year alone. Split across TV and movies, this means that the MCU will be matching its busiest year (2021 if you're interested). Could this be a Marvel resurgence? Well lucky for fans, we've had a new look at all of the upcoming releases in a series of recent trailers.
First off we had a glimpse of Red Hulk in Captain America 4 then Marvel channelled the Suicide Squad for the Thunderbolts* trailer. That's not all either, as San Diego Comic-Con also revealed our first footage for Fantastic Four (albeit behind closed doors).
Now it's the time for TV to take the limelight. A new trailer for upcoming Marvel releases dropped on Disney Plus, containing our first looks at Daredevil: Born Again, Wonder Man, and Ironheart. Beyond Marvel Phase 5 too, the studio already has a whole host of releases planned for Marvel Phase 6, including a familiar face returning and more Avengers movies.
So what are you waiting for? Strap in for our ultimate guide of everything to look forward to in the MCU. If that wasn't enough too then after you're done, have a read of our guides to the Marvel timeline and how to watch the Marvel movies in order.
Marvel Phase 5
Marvel Phase 5: Every upcoming Marvel movie and show
Kevin Feige rattled through all the new Marvel movies and shows to expect in Marvel Phase 5 during his epic San Diego Comic-Con panel in 2022. There were some surprises along the way, and also some previously presumed Phase 5 movies and shows that were missing – those appear at the end of this piece, and will be shifted around if new announcements are made by Marvel.
For now, it's good to keep in mind that a series of delays, has moved things around a bit. So make sure to bookmark this page until the timeline settles down!
- December 22, 2024: What If? Season 3
- January 25, 2025: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- February 14, 2025: Captain America: Brave New World
- March 4, 2025: Daredevil: Born Again
- May 5, 2025: Thunderbolts*
- June 24, 2025: Ironheart
What If...? season 3 – Disney Plus
What If...? season 3 release date: December 22, 2024
The curious multiversal adventures of What If...? are set to continue on Disney Plus. Each episode is anthological, though Captain Carter did crossover into live action in Doctor Strange 2. With the craziness of the Multiverse Saga being what it is, expect What If...? to start bleeding into the mainline MCU more and more.
Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man – Disney Plus series
Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man release date: January 25, 2025
Spider-Man returns – just not how you would expect. This animated series takes place in an alternate MCU timeline, where, instead of Tony Stark visiting Peter Parker pre-Civil War, Norman Osborn goes to Pete. The story is, therefore, akin to one very long What If...? episode that will incorporate a whole bunch of iconic characters.
First up, Charlie Cox returns as Daredevil (because we won't be getting enough Daredevil already), while Spidey villains Doc Ock, Chameleon, Rhino, and Scorpion are confirmed to make appearances. The Runaways' Nico Minoru will also join Peter in the show as young Spidey's best friend. Marvel has said the series "celebrates the character’s early comic book roots", and Jeff Trammell is the show's lead scribe.
Despite this being about Tom Holland's Peter Parker, though, the actor will not reprise the role for the series, and a voice actor has yet to be announced.
Captain America: Brave New World – movie
Captain America: Brave New World release date: February 14, 2025
Forget Chris Evans (sorry, Chris); there's a new hero in town as we get ready for Captain America 4. Following Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson has taken over the name, and now he's getting a solo movie. The Cloverfield Paradox director Julius Onah will direct a script from Falcon and Winter Soldier writers Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson.
It was revealed at D23 that Tim Blake Nelson's The Leader – who first appeared in the 2008 Incredible Hulk – would return. Danny Ramirez will also be involved, returning, and Harrison Ford will appear as a recast Thunderbolt Ross, previously played by the late William Hurt. The first look at the film finally landed in April 2024, as footage screened behind closed doors at CinemaCon. By the sounds of things, Ford's President Ross is tasking Mackie's Cap with rebuilding the Avengers.
Daredevil: Born Again – Disney Plus series
Daredevil: Born Again release date: March 4, 2025
Charlie Cox's Daredevil is everywhere. Having returned in Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk is coming back to the MCU. That's right, Daredevil's finally getting his own series – the aptly subtitled Born Again.
Considering the comic-book storyline "Born Again" has already been adapted into live-action in The Defenders Saga, it's more likely that it's just a cool name to mark Cox's comeback as the character. And while story details are thin, we do know that Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin returns, and he'll be running for mayor.
The first trailer also gave us a new look at the return of The Punisher actor Jon Bernthal, who'll be joined in the Marvel show by Daredevil OG cast members Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, and Vanessa actor Ayelet Zurer.
Thunderbolts*– movie
Thunderbolts release date: May 2, 2025
Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has been slowly assembling a squad of villains to join her secret project. We now know that she's been building toward Thunderbolts*. At D23, the Thunderbolts were revealed, consisting of Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Yelena (Florence Pugh), and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).
Paper Towns' Jake Schreier will direct. Mysteriously, an asterisk was added to the film's title, but Kevin Feige won't explain it until after the film is released. The first trailer gave us a bit more information on the tone to expect, and well, we can't wait to see the antiheroes take the limelight.
Ironheart – Disney Plus series
Ironheart release date: June 24, 2025
Ironheart (AKA Riri Williams) made her debut in the latest Black Panther movie (read our Black Panther: Wakanda Forever review for more details) ahead of her own solo series on Disney Plus. Not a whole lot is known about the show at this stage despite filming having wrapped almost two years ago, but, like in the comics, we can expect Riri to have a few ties to Iron Man.
Dominique Thorne, who appeared in If Beale Street Could Talk and Judas and the Black Messiah, plays the lead character. The first teaser trailer was shown behind closed doors at the D23 expo, where it was also revealed that actor Anthony Ramos will play the lead villain, The Hood. We finally saw him in the new Disney Plus trailer, which also revealed the show's release date.
Marvel Phase 6
Marvel Phase 6: Every upcoming Marvel movie and show
You thought Phase 5 was the end of it? Think again! Marvel has revealed multiple entries in Phase 6, as well as details the release dates of eight mystery projects. We've got all the confirmed dates here:
- July 25, 2025: Fantastic Four: First Steps
- August 6, 2025: Eyes of Wakanda
- October 2025: Marvel Zombies
- December 2025: Wonder Man
- May 1, 2026: Avengers: Doomsday
- July 2026: Spider-Man 4
- May 7, 2027: Avengers: Secret Wars
- February 18, 2028: Untitled movie
- May 5, 2028: Untitled movie
- November 10, 2028: Untitled movie
Fantastic Four: First Steps – movie
Fantastic Four release date: July 25, 2025
Kicking off Phase 6 is the long-awaited Fantastic Four, now titled Fantastic Four: First Steps. Kevin Feige's already said this won't be an origin story for the team, so expect Mr. Fantastic to already have his powers when we join him.
Jon Watts dropped out of the project to helm a new Star Wars series. However, WandaVision's Matt Shakman was officially confirmed to be stepping in as director at D23. Pedro Pascal is all set to play Reed Richards. He will be joined by Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing.
The cast has also filled out in recent months to include Julia Garner as The Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus. John Malkovich, Paul Walter Hauser, and Natasha Lyonne are also on board in unknown roles.
Eyes of Wakanda – Disney Plus series
Eyes of Wakanda release date: August 6, 2025
An animated series about Wakanda and its historical heroes is in the works at Marvel. Per IGN, the story description is as follows: "Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous Vibranium artifacts. This is their story." The Marvel TV trailer gave us our first look at the show, which while it was brief, looks absolutely stunning.
Marvel Zombies – Disney Plus series
Marvel Zombies release date: October 2025
A What If...? spin-off, Marvel Zombies focuses on the undead creatures that inhabit the MCU. It's been confirmed that Ghost, Abomination, Captain Marvel, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Okoye, Captain America, Kate Bishop, Yelena, Shang Chi, Ms. Marvel, and Jimmy Woo will all appear in the series while a half-dead Ikaris from Eternals will also show up. The show will also have a TV-MA rating, making this slightly more mature than What If...?. We got our first proper look at it in the Marvel TV trailer.
Wonder Man – Disney Plus series
Wonder Man release date: December 2025
Destin Daniel Cretton has a lot on his plate. As well as planning a Shang-Chi sequel, and a Spider-Man movie, the director executive produces the Wonder Man series too. Rather than write the series, however, Cretton will hand the reins to Andrew Guest, a writer and producer known for comedies Community and Brooklyn 99.
We also know that Ben Kingsley will return as Trevor Slattery in the series. As for who is playing Wonder Man, it's none other than Aquaman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Wonder Man has a rich comic-book history: the character made his debut as a supervillain against the Avengers. After being defeated by Earth's Mightiest Heroes, he was revived multiple times and even joined the Avengers for a while.
We got the first look at the show in the new Disney Plus trailer, where Abdul-Mateen II's character is an actor auditioning to play Wonder Man under the watchful eye of Slattery. Just what is going on?
Avengers: Doomsday – movie
Avengers: Doomsday release date: May 1, 2026
Avengers 5, now titled Avengers: Doomsday, is set to be directed by the Russo brothers and will see Robert Downey Jr’s return to the MCU. However, he isn’t Tony Stark this time around. No, instead, Downey Jr will be playing Doctor Doom.
Originally, Avengers 5 was titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and it would've been directed by Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton. Jonathan Majors would have starred as the titular, multiverse-conquering villain. However, Majors was dropped by Marvel Studios after being found guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and harassment on December 18, 2023.
That means that, for now, Kang is being put on the back burner and Doctor Doom will take his place as the big bad of the MCU going forward.
Joe Russo gave us a scoop on the upcoming return too, telling us that they have an idea to rival Endgame and Infinity War. Color us intrigued...
Spider-Man 4 – movie
Spider-Man 4 release date: July, 2026
After rumblings that it was happening, and that the script was in a good place, it's now been confirmed when Spider-Man will be swinging back onto our screens. Tom Holland's friendly neighborhood superhero will be coming out in July 2026. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton is officially on board to direct and production will kick off in 2025. It's not yet clear who else, aside from Holland, is down to return.
Avengers: Secret Wars – movie
Avengers: Secret Wars release date: May 7, 2027
The big one. Avengers: Secret Wars comes loaded with expectations. There have been two major comic book stories titled Secret Wars, the first of which saw heroes and villains transported to the planet Battleworld by the Beyonder to fight each other. The second, which launched in 2015, saw two universes collide – the main Marvel universe and the Ultimate universe – as an incursion threatened to wipe them both out, with Doctor Doom playing a major role.
Considering Doctor Strange 2 introduced incursions, and this is the Multiverse Saga, the second seems to be the inspiration for the movie. The film was originally set for release a few months after Avengers 5, but both have been delayed since.
TBC Marvel movies and shows
New Marvel movies and shows not in Phase 6 yet
Now comes the fun part – speculating over what's to come next. While there's been no official confirmation that these projects will form parts of Phases 5, or 6, industry reports and various insiders claim these upcoming Marvel movies and shows are on the way, we just don't know when.
Also to note: Although Eternals, Doctor Strange 2, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther 2 all end with cards saying their heroes will return, we've not included individual upcoming superhero movies below as there has been no confirmation that sequels are happening. (Though you can read more on a potential Thor 5 and Black Panther 3 if you wish).
Armor Wars - movie
Armor Wars release date: TBC
After the Don Cheadle-led project was absent from San Diego Comic-Con, many speculated that the series had been scrapped by Marvel. The project was officially re-announced at D23, with Cheadle in attendance, and is set to pick up following the events of Secret Invasion.
Originally a Disney Plus series, but now a movie, the film will see Cheadle's War Machine dealing with "what happens when Tony Stark's tech falls into the wrong hands."
Blade – Movie
Blade release date: TBC
Blade has been a long time coming and was initially meant to be a Marvel Phase 5 title before it was pushed back to Marvel Phase 6 and then later taken off the schedule completely. Kevin Feige announced that Mahershala Ali would play the role back in 2019, with the actor having a minor voice role in the Eternals post-credits. The Ebony Blade, seen in Eternals, is expected to appear in the movie, with Delroy Lindo and The Underground Railroad's Aaron Pierre both part of the cast.
Unfortunately, director Bassim Tariq stepped down from helming the movie shortly before filming was set to begin. Tariq will still executive produce. A new script was reportedly being written by Michael Starrbury. True Detective's Nic Pizzolatto then joined as a writer, and horror queen Mia Goth has joined the cast, too.
Sadly, the future still seems uncertain for Blade, as no new release date has been announced yet. Stay tuned for more details.
Shang-Chi 2 – movie
Shang-Chi 2 release date: TBC
Considering the success of Shang-Chi, and the post-credits sting that teased the character's return, a sequel seemed inevitable. Reports signaled that Destin Daniel Cretton had signed a multi-year deal with Marvel to develop projects including a sequel to Shang-Chi.
Whether Cretton will direct the follow-up remains to be seen. What is definite, though, is that Shang-Chi 2 is coming, and will probably be part of Phase 6. And don't be too shocked to see a Ten Rings series at some stage, either.
Wakanda/Okoye spin-off – Disney Plus series
Wakanda release date: TBC
Reports previously signaled that Ryan Coogler, who has signed an overall deal with Marvel, is developing a new Disney Plus series that will tell stories from Wakanda. That's what has been confirmed. Separate reports have indicated that an Okoye spin-off starring Danai Gurira telling the origins of the Dora Milaje leader is in development. These two projects may be one and the same, and industry insiders remain hazy on the details.
"Because of the amount of time and attention that went into [Black Panther: Wakanda Forever], and frankly the Ironheart show, that is probably not as far along as people want it to be," Black Panther 2 producer Nate Moore told Collider of the Wakanda spin-off. "But there are certainly great ideas that we're still talking to Ryan about. So, we'll see how far we can get with it."
But, a more promising update has come from Gurira. "I have been told that I can gently allude to this possibility," she told Stephen Colbert. "So I am gently alluding. Just gently."
Nova – unknown
Nova release date: TBC
Nova has been one of the most-requested heroes for some time, and a new project looks set to bring him into the MCU. Moon Knight scribe Sabir Pirzada is on board to write the project, though it remains unclear whether this will be a movie or a Disney Plus series. In the comics, Nova's origin story revolves around a planet that we have seen before in live-action: Guardians of the Galaxy’s Xandar, which was almost destroyed by the villain Ronan.
Nova – real name Richard Rider – was a member of the Xandar Corps and is bestowed the power of Nova Prime. He must come to terms with his newfound powers. There's no casting or director just yet, but don't be surprised to see Nova as part of Phase 6.
Star-Lord movie or TV show
Star-Lord movie/show release date: TBC/Unconfirmed
While the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie marks the end of the trilogy, it seems one character may still be coming back. In the Guardians of the Galaxy 3 post-credits scene, a title card appeared saying that Chris Pratt's Legendary Star-Lord will return.
Quill is currently on Earth after heading there to get to know his grandfather better. The pair were last seen eating cereal and chatting about mowing their neighbor's lawn. While this may not seem like superhero movie material, it gives us an indication that if Pratt does return, it will be in a very different way than we're used to seeing him.
Speaking to GamesRadar+, Pratt also shared it would have to be a very special project for him to return to the role without James Gunn. "It would be strange to continue Peter’s story without James," Pratt told us. "He's done such a masterful job in the first three films. We really found the voice of Peter Quill together and without him, obviously, I would never have had this opportunity."
"So, to continue to tell the story, it would really be important to honor what he's done in the first three films and to honor what the fans have grown to love about the character and not simply do it because people might show up to pay for it, you know?"
Pratt continued: "I don't want to be cynical in the approach and if that's the case, I just wouldn't do it at all. So maybe down the road if something makes sense I would do it but it would really have to check a lot of the right boxes."
Vision – Disney Plus series
Vision release date: 2026
Five years after 'White' Vision flew off to deal with an existential crisis after having his memories restored in WandaVision, Paul Bettany will return as the character in a Disney Plus show helmed by Star Trek: Picard's Terry Matalas. The good news is that the writers' room for the upcoming Marvel show opened in May 2024, so at least we know that development is happening here.
X-Men movie
X-Men release date: TBC
Little is known at this early stage about the upcoming X-Men movie. In fact, it could be several years off - but work has begun on the project.
Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes writer Michael Lesslie is in discussions to pen the script, per Deadline.
There's been no casting yet, but we can expect a completely fresh cast of mutants. Several teases have already been sprinkled throughout the MCU (Ms. Marvel's mutant origins, a Wolverine Easter egg in She-Hulk, and Logan's return in Deadpool), enough to suggest that mutants could easily fold into the cinematic universe without too much of an issue.
Those are all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows we know about. Which ones are you excited for? For more on the MCU, check out our guide on the best Marvel movies to watch right now. Or, if you're after a new series, read our Agatha All Along release schedule.
