The ongoing Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2022 is dropping a slew of new information about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, quite literally. Marvel has dropped the timeline and release date schedule for MCU Phase 5 of its movies and Disney+ TV series, and it will end with a Thunderbolts movie on July 26, 2024. You can see the rest of the timeline below, with an official image to come soon.
It was additionally announced that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be the finale of MCU Phase 4.
Marvel phase 5#SDCC #SDCC2022 #HallH #Marvel #MarvelSDCC #MarvelHallH pic.twitter.com/ohi1agr6wg
— The Illuminerdi (@The_Illuminerdi) July 24, 2022
The MCU Phase 5 timeline is mostly made up of films and shows we already knew about, but there are definitely few surprises on there. Phase 5 kicks off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, followed by the release of Disney+’s Secret Invasion, which received a release window of spring 2023 at the panel. Then we’ll see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 release around the same time as Hawkeye spin-off Echo on Disney+. That pair is followed by the second season of Loki and the film The Marvels, which will feature Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel. Then the MCU starts digging into the past with the relaunch of Blade, followed by a look into the future with Iron Heart‘s new take on Iron Man. Finally, the renamed Agatha: Coven of Chaos and newly revealed Captain America: New World Order will appear in the tail end before Thunderbolts wraps things up. In the comics, the Thunderbolts are a team of supervillains who ostensibly do good-guy things, kind of.
Just announced in Hall H:
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 24, 2022
Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts, in theaters July 26, 2024. #SDCC2022 pic.twitter.com/RbeUukAbdj
Of course, I’m skipping over the big surprise in the Phase 5 announcement: Daredevil is officially getting his own Disney+ MCU series, bringing the Netflix show fully into the fold. The character was already penciled in to return in Echo, so this might have been a foregone conclusion. But now we know where the show will land in the MCU Phase 5 release timeline.
Overall, MCU Phase 5 is full of a ton of new characters with almost no major clout from any of Marvel’s big swingers outside of Loki and Captain Marvel. It’s a bold swing to have a slew of shows and films focusing on lesser-known characters, but let’s not forget that that is what the MCU basically launched with when Iron Man was released. It also means a far more diverse slate of characters in almost every aspect. There is a wealth of different races, ages, sexes, and faiths throughout this phase, and it shows how Marvel is doubling down on its goal of diversifying and expanding the MCU.
The real question, of course, is if any of it is going to be good. So far Marvel hasn’t stumbled in any major way, but the momentum of the MCU is an impossible beast to keep going. So they’ll need to really make things work with the lineup to succeed… or just make it long enough until they can bring Hugh Jackman back for another Wolverine movie.
For more MCU updates, check out the new She-Hulk trailer, the first Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer (with Namor), the release date and lots of new details for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the release date of Fantastic Four to begin Phase 6, and the release dates of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars to close Phase 6 and the newly christened Multiverse Saga.
Related: 61 Celebrities Who Played Themselves in the MCU, by We Got This Covered
