North Texas Daily

Content warning: The following story contains spoilers.

Last week, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con for the first time since 2019. He announced the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and revealed trailers for the remaining Phase 4 projects.

The fourth phase began with “Black Window” and, by its conclusion in November, will consist of seven films and eight Disney+ series. The trailers for the final two Phase 4 projects “She Hulk: Attorney at Law” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” were released at SDCC and will close out the current section of the MCU.

Here’s a breakdown of everything we know about Marvel’s upcoming releases:

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantomania” (February 2023)

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantomania,” starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily and Kathryn Newton, is set to spearhead Phase 5 aka the “Multiverse Saga.” The heroes will go up against Kang the Conqueror, an Avengers-level threat who first appeared last summer in the “Loki” show. Kang is expected to set a series of events into motion that will lead to the next Avengers movie: “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.”

“Secret Invasion” (spring 2023)

Starring Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, “Secret Invasion” will be the first Disney+ series of Phase 5. The series will delve into the history of the Skrulls, a race of shapeshifters introduced in “Captain Marvel.” Though we don’t know much else about the series, fans hope it will answer questions raised at the end of “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” where it was revealed Nick Fury and Maria Hill had been replaced by Skrulls.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (May 2023)

The long-anticipated “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” directed by James Gunn, will star Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Sean Gunn and Vin Diesel. It’s unknown how big of a role Saldana will play in the film, as Gamora was sacrificed by Thanos in order to obtain the soul stone in “Avengers: Infinity War.” Very little information has been released about the film, but it’s predicted to pick up after the events of the recently released “Thor: Love and Thunder.” Regardless, the Guardians will return – more than likely with another fantastic soundtrack.

“Echo” (summer 2023) and “Daredevil” (spring 2024)

“Echo” will serve as the second Disney+ series of Phase 5 and a sequel to “Hawkeye.” Portrayed by Alaqua Cox, Echo is the deaf adoptive daughter of Kingpin. Although she played the anti-hero in “Hawkeye,” the series finale saw her break away from Kingpin and hinted at her reform. Charlie Cox will star alongside Alaqua as Matt Murdock for his second MCU appearance since “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

Additionally, Charlie will reprise his role as Murdock in “Daredevil: Born Again.” By far, fans attending SDCC screamed the loudest after learning Daredevil would be getting his own MCU series. Charlie originally portrayed Murdock in the 2015 Netflix series “Daredevil,” which was not associated with the MCU. When the series was canceled in 2019, fans were disappointed, to say the least.

“Loki” Season 2 (summer 2023)

“Loki” Season 2 will star Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Sophia DiMartino. It is assumed Season 2 will follow the events of the Season 1 finale, where Sylvie is convinced by Kang to betray Loki. However, this depends on what happens with Kang in “Ant-Man: Quantomania.”

“The Marvels” (July 2023), “Blade” (November 2023), “Ironheart” (fall 2023), “Thunderbolts” (July 2024) and “Agatha: Coven of Chaos” (winter 2023)

Not much is known about these Phase 5 projects, other than the comic books they’re based on. More information will be released down the road.

“The Marvels,” a sequel to “Captain Marvel,” will star Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau. The film is set to release July 2023.

“Ironheart” will star Dominque Thorne as Riri Williams, who is known for creating an iron suit more advanced than Tony Stark’s. There are also rumors she will make an appearance in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”

“Blade” will star Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali as the half-vampire Eric Brooks aka Blade. “Thunderbolts” will follow a team of anti-heroes – although it’s unknown who the team will consist of. “WandaVision” fan favorite Agatha Harkness will return in the series “Agatha: Coven of Chaos.”

“Captain America: New World Order” (May 2024), “Fantastic Four” (November 2024), “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” (May 2025) and “Avengers: Secret Wars” (November 2025)

“Captain America: New World Order” is the fourth Captain America movie in the Marvel franchise and the first since Chris Evans took his leave in “Avengers: Endgame.” In this film – which will close out Phase 5 – Sam Wilson will don the Captain America suit for the first time on the big screen and hopefully, Bucky Barnes will be along for the ride. It also wouldn’t be surprising if the film sets up the next Avengers films, “The Kang Dynasty” and “Secret Wars.” With Iron Man and Black Widow’s spots on the team open, it will be interesting to see who Wilson recruits to fill them. With a “Fantastic Four” film to precede the Avengers films, it isn’t outlandish to guess the Avengers may team up with them to fight Kang.

Featured Illustration by Erika Sevilla