Are you ready to learn more about Marvel Phase 6? If you opened this article, you should be. At the time of this guide's last update, we're still around nine months away from the third and final stage of the Marvel Multiverse Saga, but there'll be plenty of new movies and Disney Plus shows to enjoy once it begins.
Before it kicks off with the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) take on The Fantastic Four in July 2025, we've rounded up the latest new and rumors we can find on the Marvel Phase 6 projects currently in development. That includes any known release dates, cast announcements, trailer launches, plot synopses, and so much more. In short: you'll be an MCU Phase 6 expert in no time at all. So, what are you waiting for, Avenger? Dive in!
Marvel Phase 6: every forthcoming MCU movie and TV show
Here's a complete guide to Marvel Phase 6's movie and series slate, which includes a number of recently announced release dates for Marvel's late 2024 and full 2025 TV line-up:
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps – July 25, 2025
- Eyes of Wakanda – August 6, 2025
- Marvel Zombies – October 2025, date TBC
- Wonder Man – December 2025, date TBC
- Avengers: Doomsday – May 1, 2026
- Spider-Man 4 – July 26, 2025
- Avengers: Secret Wars – May 7, 2027
- Armor Wars – TBC
- Blade – TBC
- Untitled Vision TV series – TBC
- X-Men 97 season 2 – TBC
- Nova – TBC
Marvel Phase 6 movies
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Release date: July 25, 2025
Director: Matt Shakman
Confirmed and expected cast: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Natasha Lyonne, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, Paul Walter Hauser, and John Malkovich
Marvel revealed The Fantastic Four's new title, revised release date, and primary cast – Pascal (Mr. Fantastic), Kirby (The Invisible Woman), Quinn (The Human Torch), and Moss-Bachrach (The Thing) – in February. Four months later, Marvel chief Kevin Feige announced filming would start in late July and that the movie would be a period piece set in an alternate universe – something fans already suspected after Marvel teased some key story details earlier this year.
On the supporting cast front, Deadline claims Garner will play a gender-swapped Silver Surfer and Hauser has signed on for an undisclosed role. Marvel has also reportedly hired The Office UK's Ineson to voice Galactus and drafted Malkovich in a mystery role.
Lyonne, who's also joined The Fantastic Four: First Steps' cast, told ET Online that she'd wrapped her scenes in late October. For more details about the forthcoming film, read our dedicated hub on The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Avengers: Doomsday
Release date: May 1, 2026
Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo
Expected cast: Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach
The fifth Avengers film, formerly known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, is now called Avengers: Doomsday. MCU icon Downey Jr, who played Iron Man between 2008 and 2019, will surprisingly portray Doctor Victor von Doom, one of Marvel's most popular adversaries, too.
The Russo brothers, who directed massively successful films including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, are also after reports indicated they'd make a shock return to the MCU just days before Comic-Con 2024. Their return comes eight months after previous director Daniel Destin Cretton walked away from Avengers 5, and a few weeks after Deadpool and Wolverine's Shawn Levy was reportedly tapped to helm Doomsday instead. Christopher McFeely – the screenwriter who penned several money-spinning MCU films – has replaced Michael Waldron as the Marvel Phase 6 film's scribe.
Avengers 5 was expected to begin shooting in January 2025 without The Fantastic Four's involvement, but the Russos has since said (via Collider) that it'll start shooting in spring 2025 (that's autumn for southern hemisphere dwellers), so Marvel's First Family are also expected to feature. Tom Holland's Peter Parker/Spider-Man is reportedly part of the cast, too. Speaking of Spider-Man...
Spider-Man 4
Release date: July 24, 2026
Rumored director: Daniel Destin Cretton
Expected cast: Tom Holland and Zendaya
Spider-Man 4 will swing into theaters in July 2026, and The Hollywood Reporter (THR) and Variety claim Shang-Chi filmmaker Daniel Destin Cretton will direct it. The former also hints that Zendaya's MJ will play a supporting role.
Spider-Man 4 was said to start filming much sooner than expected because of delays on Euphoria season 3 (which Zendaya, who plays MJ in the MCU, stars in). Since then, though, Holland has confirmed filming will start in mid-2025, with industry insider DanielRPK suggesting principal photography will begin on May 25. A separate THR article alleges that Holland will also be in Avengers 5, with the A-lister shooting scenes for that movie around Spider-Man 4 and his co-leading role in Christopher Nolan's next flick.
Plot details for Spider-Man's fourth MCU outing are thin on the ground, but Holland has teased (per the Rich Roll Podcast) that it "lit a fire in me" and that it had him and Zendaya jumping around the room when they read its screenplay. For more, read our dedicated Spider-Man 4 hub.
Avengers: Secret Wars
Release date: May 7, 2027
Directors: Joe and Anthony Russo
Expected cast: Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach
The sixth Avengers movie's title hasn't changed since it was announced at Comic-Con 2019, but it won't shoot back to back with Doomsday. Speaking to Collider, the Russo brothers said principal photography will begin "a year or so" after filming wraps on Avengers 5, with DanielRPK suggesting it'll start shooting in May 2026.
At Comic-Con 2024 (per reporter Erik Davis), Feige confirmed The Fantastic Four will feature heavily in Secret Wars alongside Doctor Doom. It's unclear which other MCU heroes and/or Marvel legacy characters will show up, but Holland's Spider-Man is expected to, too. Feige has told fans (per io9) not to expect every superhero to appear in the next two Avengers films, though.
Armor Wars
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: Don Cheadle
Originally billed as a TV show, Armor Wars has been retooled as a movie, with Yassir Lester (Black Monday) writing the script. MCU fansite NexusPointNews claims filming will begin in January 2025, but no director is in place as of August 2024, so that start date is looking increasingly optimistic. Indeed, Cheadle has regularly played down, albeit jokingly, that Armor Wars isn't a thing (per The Today Show and TVLine), while Lester (via MovieWeb) has even suggested that the film's development status shifts on a day-to-day basis, so it's unclear if it'll ever get made.
If it is made, it'll apparently follow Cheadle's James 'Rhodey' Rhodes/War Machine as he pursues criminals who have acquired some old Tony Stark-developed technology. It should pick up events from Secret Invasion's finale, given what we learned about Rhodey (or what fans have fiercely debated about him, anyway) in that series, too. MCU leaker Alex Perez also suggests Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer might appear in the MCU for the first time since 2010's Iron Man 2.
Blade
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: Mahershala Ali and Mia Goth
After his off-screen Eternals cameo, the vampiric anti-hero known as Blade was expected to get an R-rated MCU movie. However,
With so many issues affecting its development, nobody really knows what's going on with Marvel's Blade movie. In fact, recent reports suggest Blade has been delayed indefinitely – that's in spite of Feige telling ComicBookMovie.com that its creative team were hoping to crack the case (not vampire skulls) on its script soon, before telling with Blavity TV he was "feeling good" about the film's latest screenplay.
Mahershala Ali is still expected to star as the titular vampire hunter and, while Goth was heavily rumored to be playing Blade's lead villain, she confirmed she'd feature (per Deadline) before the film was seemingly shelved. It's unclear if the pair are still contracted to the apparently cursed Marvel Phase 6 movie.
Marvel Phase 6 TV shows
Eyes of Wakanda
Release date: August 6, 2025
Director: Todd Harris
Expected cast: TBC
A surprise Marvel Phase 6 announcement, Eyes of Wakanda is a Black Panther Disney Plus spin-off set to debut next August. Its logline reads: "Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artefacts. This is their story."
Marvel's Head of Television Brad Winderbaum told CBR.com it'll comprise four episodes, has been in development since 2021, Marc Bernardin (Star Trek: Picard) has written two entries, and it'll be an anthology show in the mold of What If...?. Speaking to Men's Health, Winderbaum also confirmed Eyes of Wakanda will slot seamlessly onto the Sacred Timeline and, as he told the Official Marvel Podcast episode 2, be the first Marvel Studios animated project that'll "tie directly into the MCU."
Speaking a D23 Expo 2024, director Todd Harris heavily teased Iron Fist (not the Finn Jones version from Netflix' Marvel-Verse) will appear in an episode. In late October, the show's first footage was also debuted as part of Marvel's latest 'Look Ahead' trailer.
Marvel Zombies
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: Iman Vellani, Simu Liu, and Mahershala Ali
A spin-off of What If...?, Marvel Zombies will pick up after season 1 episode 5 – aka 'What If... Zombies!?' – and comprises four episodes. It'll be rated TV-MA in the US (18-plus in the UK and Australia), as confirmed by What If...? director Bryan Andrews at D23 Expo 2024. Per Marvel's most recent 'Look Ahead' teaser, it'll arrive in time for Halloween 2025 on Disney Plus, aka one of the world's best streaming services.
Marvel Zombies will see the MCU's newer heroes battle the ever-growing zombie superhero threat, with Shang-Chi, Ms Marvel, Kate Bishop, Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, and Blade reportedly among the dwindling superhero roster. Iman Vellani, who plays Ms Marvel, says her character is "kind of the center of the show" (per The Direct). Rumors suggest we'll see a zombified version of Ikaris but, given the Eternals are human-robot hybrids, it'll be interesting to see how the infection affects him. Other supposed zombified heroes include Captain Marvel, Okoye, Ghost, Abomination, and Hawkeye.
Wonder Man
Release date: December 2025, date TBC
Director: Daniel Destin Crretton
Expected cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben Kingsley, Demetrius Grosse, and Byron Bowers
Another long-gestating MCU TV series, Wonder Man – co-created by Andrew Guest and Cretton – will be a 10-part Marvel Spotlight comedy series that tells the story of an actor who plays a fictional superhero, but doesn't know he's also one in real life. Feige told the official Marvel podcast that it's "extremely different" from anything the studio has made before.
Marvel's Wonder Man show landed DCEU alumnus Abdul-Mateen II for the titular role, as Simon Williams/Wonder-Man, in November 2022. Kingsley, who played Trevor Slattery in Iron Man 3 and Shang-Chi, is also part of proceedings and, based on the 15 seconds of footage we saw in Marvel's 'Look Ahead' teaser, Slattery will be Williams' mentor. Demetrius Grosse (via TVLine) is reportedly playing Eric Williams and his supervillain alias Grim Reaper, too, while Deadline reports Byron Bowers is on board in an undisclosed role. Little else is known about this Marvel Phase 6 production, but it sounds incredibly exciting to us.
Untitled Vision TV show
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: Paul Bettany, James Spader, and Todd Stashwick
Marvel took its time to officially announce this project, but Feige finally confirmed (per Inverse) the existence of a second WandaVision spin-off that's expected to arrive on Disney Plus in 2026. Bettany told THR that filming will begin in early 2025, too.
Written by Star Trek: Picard season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas, it'll reportedly star Paul Bettany as White Vision, the revived, persona-less synthezoid body of the deceased Vision (he died in Avengers: Infinity War), who flew off for parts unknown in the season finale of WandaVision, aka one of the best Disney Plus shows. Few other story details are known, but it could be inspired by Marvel's 'Vision Quest' and Tom King's 'Vision' comic series runs. MCU insider Daniel RPK (via the Scarlet Witch News X/Twitter fan account) claims it'll be a limited series, too.
As for its supporting cast, THR claims James Spader will return to voice Ultron and that Picard's Todd Stashwick will portray an unnamed assassin hunting Vision for the synthezoid tech he possesses. Deadline suggests Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch might also cameo, though it's unclear if this will be the real character or a version that White Vision fabricates.
X-Men 97 season 2
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: Ray Chase, Jennifer Hale, Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, J.P. Karliak, Lenore Zann, George Buza, Holly Chou, Matthew Waterson, and Ross Marquand
With its first season ending on a cliffhanger – read our X-Men 97 ending explained article for more – a second season of the critically acclaimed sequel to beloved 1990s classic X-Men: The Animated Series seemed inevitable.
Thankfully, work has been ongoing for some time, with THR reporter Borys Kit saying season 2 has been in development since mid-2022. It's now in post-production, with Winderbaum telling the Official Marvel Podcast: "I've already seen all the animatics and we're well on our way to creating something that hits the heights of the first season. I know the first season is an emotional ride [and] that ride continues in a very X-Men fashion in the second season". According to Nexus Points News, it could arrive sometime in 2026. For more details, read our dedicated hub for X-Men 97 season 2.
A third season (per Entertainment Weekly) is already in development, with Deadline claiming What If...? writer Matthew Chauncey will take the reins for season 3.
Nova
Release date: TBC
Director: TBC
Expected cast: TBC
After numerous rumors spread online that a Nova project was in development at Marvel, Feige confirmed it was true (via ComicBook.com) in July. In conversation with Collider, Winderbaum teased it'll be a cross between Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica.
Feige also told ComicBook.com that it'll focus on the Richard Rider version of the cosmic superhero (i.e. not another member of the Nova Corps.), but it's still "three to four years out" from being released. In short: don't expect much news on this Marvel Phase 6 TV series for a long, long time.
As work continues on Nova, there are contrasting reports on what form it'll take. The Cosmic Circus claims it'll be a Disney Plus Special Presentation or a TV series, while MCU leaker MyTimeToShineHello (MTTSH) alleges it'll be a movie. MTTSH also suggests Glenn Close and John C. Reilly will reprise their roles from 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy for bit-part roles, too.
For more Marvel coverage, find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order or read our thoughts on the best Marvel movies. Alternatively, get the lowdown on Daredevil: Born Again ahead of its March 2025 launch or learn more about the final six Marvel Phase 5 productions.
