Marvel Phase 5 is just over halfway through its run, with only Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* to release on the big screen before Phase 6 kicks off. On the small screen, we've still got Daredevil: Born Again, Ironheart, and a couple of animated shows to look forward to, too, so we're not in the homestretch quite yet.
So far in the multiverse-focused chapter we've had some real winners with Loki season 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Agatha All Along. Deadpool and Wolverine proved to be a huge box-office hit, too – while the likes of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Secret Invasion failing to impress. Nevertheless, the future is still looking bright.
If you're not sure on what's to come in the ever-developing superhero series, we've broken the current era down below, from a recap of the story so far – be warned! there are spoilers – to a helpful list of release dates for all that's yet to reach streamers and theaters. So keep scrolling to find out all you need to know on Marvel Phase 5.
Marvel Phase 5 release dates
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) - out now!
- Guardians of the Galaxy 3 (2023) - out now!
- Secret Invasion (2023) [Disney Plus] - out now!
- Loki season 2 (2023) [Disney Plus] - out now!
- The Marvels (2023) - out now!
- What If...? season 2 (2023) [Disney Plus] - out now!
- Echo (2024) [Disney Plus] - out now!
- Deadpool and Wolverine (2024) - out now!
- Agatha All Along (2024) [Disney Plus] - out now!
- What If? Season 3 (December 22, 2024, Disney Plus)
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (January 25, 2025, Disney Plus)
- Captain America: Brave New World (February 14, 2025, movie)
- Daredevil: Born Again (March 4, 2025, Disney Plus)
- Thunderbolts* (May 2, 2025, movie)
- Ironheart (June 24, 2025, Disney Plus)
Marvel Phase 5 is packed with movies and shows – and takes us all the way up to early 2025. After Ironheart, we'll head into Marvel Phase 6 where Fantastic Four, ushers in the new mutant-heavy era. If that seems a bit confusing, try watching all the Marvel movies in order to help you navigate everything to come for the rest of Marvel Phase 5.
Upcoming Marvel Phase 5 movies and TV shows
What If? Season 3
What If? Season 3 release date: December 22, 2024
We knew another season of What If? was on its way, but it's a pleasant surprise that it's dropping so soon. As part of unveiling its new TV show slate, Marvel shared the news that new episodes are arriving in December, just in time for Christmas. This will be the final season of the anthology show and we've also found out some interesting details about what it will tackle. There will be a '30s "screwball comedy" episode, as well as an Agatha Harkness-centered episode with a musical number.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man release date: January 25, 2025
Spidey is back, and sooner than you might have thought. New Marvel animated show Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is hitting Disney Plus on January 25, 2025. We got a first look at the animation in the Marvel TV trailer. It didn't reveal much, aside from us seeing Spidey swinging through New York City and fighting someone, but it's exciting to think we might be getting some more information soon.
Right now, we know that the show was created by Jeff Trammell and it stars Hudson Thames as Peter Parker (reprising his role from What If?). The voice cast is pretty stacked elsewhere too, with Eugene Byrd, Grace Song, Hugh Dancy, Kari Wahlgren, Zeno Robinson, Charlie Cox, Paul F. Tompkins, and Colman Domingo all on board.
The premise is pretty simple. It follows Parker in an alternate universe where his mentor was actually Norman Osborn, rather than Tony Stark.
Captain America: Brave New World
Captain America: Brave New World release date: February 14, 2025
Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson finally has his own solo movie, having taken over the Captain America mantle in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The Cloverfield Paradox director Julius Onah will helm the new Cap movie, while Falcon head writer Malcolm Spellman and staff writer Dalan Musson are penning the script. Tim Blake Nelson, who played the Leader in The Incredible Hulk, is returning to the MCU, while Danny Ramirez is also reprising his role from Falcon. Plus, Harrison Ford is set to replace the late William Hurt as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.
Liv Tyler has also joined the film, reprising her role as Betty Ross in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. Might Bruce Banner also appear in it? Plot details are tightly under wraps – but the title suggests Red Skull might be returning to the MCU. Behind-closed-doors footage at CinemaCon teased Harrison Ford's President Ross will task Sam with setting up a new Avengers team, and then the trailers finally revealed Ford's Red Hulk in all his glory.
Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again release date: March 4, 2025
After appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home, She-Hulk, and Echo, Charlie Cox will finally appear in a solo project as Daredevil. Born Again. Once consisting of a whopping 18 episodes, the MCU project has reportedly been pared down to nine episodes after a major creative overhaul that saw original head writers and directors let go. Moon Knight's Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have since joined as directors, with new showrunner Dario Scardapane also joining the project.
Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin is back, having appeared in Hawkeye and Echo. Other returning actors from the show's Netflix run include Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle, Deborah Ann Woll's Karen Page, and Elden Henson's Foggy Nelson. The Many Saints of Newark star Michael Gandolfini has also joined the cast, along with Margarita Levieva. Ayelet Zurer is back as Kingpin's wife, Vanessa, after originally being recast.
A behind-closed-doors trailer featured Charlie Cox once again donning Daredevil's iconic suit. Then we got our first major look at the new show (including Punisher's and Kingpin's returns) in a trailer released in October 2024.
Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts* release date: May 2, 2025
Breadcrumbs teasing this shadowy group were first dropped in 2021 when The Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduced Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the Contessa – but at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it was finally confirmed that the villainous team will debut during Marvel Phase 5.
Then, at that year's D23, the full cast was revealed: joining Louis-Dreyfus' Contessa will be Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster, and Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Steven Yeun was originally set to play Sentry, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by Lewis Pullman. Paper Towns helmer Jake Schreier is in the director's chair.
And, yes, the asterisk means something - but Kevin Feige says he's not talking about it until after the movie is released.
As it stands, Thunderbolts* is set to be the last movie in Phase 5.
Ironheart
Ironheart release date: June 24, 2025
Dominique Thorne stars as Riri Williams, AKA Ironheart, a young genius who, in the comics, made her own version of the Iron Man suit. The hero was first introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (AKA one of the best Marvel movies ever made), but she's returning for her own Disney Plus series.
She'll be joined by Anthony Ramos as new villain the Hood. Not a whole lot is known about the show, but we have had our first look at the characters in the new Marvel trailers. The show is down to bring Marvel Phase 5 to a close.
For more from Thorne, be sure to check out her excellent performances in our If Beale Street Could TalK review and Judas and the Black Messiah review.
Marvel Phase 5 recap: the story so far *spoilers*
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicked off Marvel Phase 5 with a multiversal bang. The film saw the ant-family pulled into the Quantum Realm after Cassie Lang created a device that could send a signal to the tiny universe. There, they came up against the terrifying Kang the Conqueror, who planned to traverse the multiverse, erasing entire timelines in his quest to stop the many, many Kang Variants from wrecking things any further.
Luckily, Scott Lang and Janet van Dyne were able to put a stop to his plans, though only just. Everyone made it back from the Quantum Realm in one piece, but Scott couldn't quite shake the feeling that the threat posed by Kang wasn't resolved after all...
Then, in the post-credits scenes, all of Kang's Variants gathered in one place, with the leaders intending to stop Marvel's heroes from getting any closer to the multiverse. Loki and Mobius, meanwhile, were seen tracking one Kang Variant in particular, Victor Timely.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 marked the last chapter in the Guardians of the Galaxy story. And it's certainly an emotional send-off to everyone's favorite A-holes. The movie sees the team all back together again to try and save Rocket after he's mortally injured by Adam Warlock.
The team heads across the galaxy and teams up with Gamora and the Ravagers to try and find the code that will save Rocket. When he was created by the High Evolutionary, he was given a kill switch that stops anyone from being able to operate on him. Not only are they in a race against time to find this, but Chukwudi Iwuji's villain is also on their toes to try and take Rocket for himself.
We find out about his dodgy motives to create a perfect society and see them in action on Counter-Earth, as well as taking a heartbreaking trip through memory lane to find out how exactly Rocket was made. Thankfully, our beloved Guardians get the upper hand, taking down the High Evolutionary, saving Rocket, and also saving all the beings the big bad was experimenting on.
It was touch and go for a bit there with some of the characters, but almost everyone makes it out unscathed (here's what you need to know about who actually dies in Guardians 3). At the end of the movie, everyone heads off on their own paths: Peter Quill heads to Earth to find his grandfather; Mantis sets out to find herself; Drax and Nebula become parents to the rescued children; Gamora returns to the Ravagers, and Rocket, Groot, Cosmo the Spacedog, and Kraglin form the new Guardians of the Galaxy.
We get to see the Guardians hard at work in the mid-credits scene, where they're joined by Adam Warlock, Phyla-Vel, and Blurp. The final Guardians of the Galaxy post-credits scene sees Quill eating cereal with Granddad Jason before we learn that "Star-Lord will return".
For more on the movie, check out the Guardians of the Galaxy 3 ending explained, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Easter eggs, and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 cameos.
The follow-up to Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was Secret Invasion, which saw Samuel L. Jackson return as Nick Fury. Working together with Skrull ally Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), Fury and co. were trying to prevent a renegade band of shapeshifting Skrulls from taking over Earth by impersonating important political figures. One of these rebels is G'iah (Emilia Clarke), who just so happens to be Talos' daughter, while the group are led by Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir).
After Talos persuades G'iah to join their cause as a double agent, she uses Gravik's new technology to turn herself into a Super Skrull, which means she can quickly regenerate from injuries. It turns out that Gravik is seeking out even more power, though – he's hunting down the Harvest, which is a collection of DNA from those who fought during the Battle of Earth in Avengers: Endgame (including the Hulk, Captain Marvel, and Thanos), put together and hidden by Fury.
G'iah uses the Harvest to power up (making her seemingly the strongest character in the MCU) before taking it to Gravik, disguised as Fury. She asks him to spare Earth and find a home for the Skrulls on another planet but, when he refuses, the two battle it out. G'iah kills Gravik, and the humans who have been held captive while the Skrulls use their likeness are freed – including Rhodey (Don Cheadle).
However, the struggle isn't quite over, with President Ritson issuing a new bill that declares all alien species on Earth as hostile, but MI6 agent Sonya (Olivia Colman) proposes a partnership to G'iah that would protect the peaceful Skrulls left on Earth. Meanwhile, Fury departs for SABER (with his Skrull wife Varra in tow) to help negotiate a peace summit with the Kree.
Loki season 2 begins with the God of Mischief Time-Slipping in the TVA, which raises plenty of questions – luckily, Mobius is able to save him from becoming lost in time. We're also reintroduced to Sylvie, who shows up at an '80s McDonald's.
After a series packed with timey-wimey, Groundhog Day-style weirdness, everything comes to a head in the Loki season 2 finale when the God of Mischief finally finds a solution to their issues with the Temporal Loom. Unfortunately, it means Loki must become something like a new version of He Who Remains, managing all the various timelines of the multiverse with his magic – all on his lonesome.
The Marvels, meanwhile, picks up in the aftermath of both Ms. Marvel and Secret Invasion. The film sees Kamala Khan, Carol Danvers, and Monica Rambeau join forces after their powers are unexpectedly "entangled" – meaning they switch places every time they use their abilities at the same time. Not very convenient.
The villain, Dar-Benn, is seeking Kamala's bangle to assist her in harvesting resources from other planets to restore life to her own world. The Marvels unite to stop her, but Monica stays behind in another reality in order to avert a catastrophe for Earth-616. There, she meets none other than Binary, another version of her mother, Maria Rambeau (who has tragically passed away in the main universe). Excitingly, she also meets none other than Kelsey Grammer's Beast, which opens the door for the X-Men to return.
At the end of the film, Kamala also starts to put together a team of her own, recruiting Kate Bishop for what we can only assume is the Young Avengers.
Echo is the most recent Phase 5 series, charting the fallout from Maya Lopez's shooting of Kingpin in Hawkeye, her return home, and discovering more about her Choctaw heritage.
We soon discover that Kingpin is still alive, which causes a war to come to Tamaha, Oklahoma. Maya later 'defeats' Kingpin after being granted mystical powers which allows her to 'heal' trauma, as well as granting her super strength. The series ends with an Echo post-credits scene suggesting that Kingpin is going to enter the running to be mayor of New York...
For more from the series, jump into our explainers on the Echo ending and a larger look at Echo's new powers.
Deadpool & Wolverine is a tricky entry in Marvel Phase 5, though, as it is set primarily in the year 2024 – so before Secret Invasion, Echo, and The Marvels. It’s also in a separate universe from the main Sacred Timeline, to make things more confusing for us. The movie starts with a flashback to 2018 with Wade Wilson applying to be an Avenger. After his application is rejected, he becomes a car salesman until the TVA comes knocking on his door one day.
Paradox is back and lets Deadpool know that he’s been offered a spot in the MCU. However, he also lets it slip that Deadpool’s timeline is dying due to the fact that the anchor being keeping it alive is dead – aka Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Deadpool goes rogue and jumps through multiple timelines, looking for a Wolverine variant to save his world. You can read our Deadpool and Wolverine review for more information on the iconic frenemies. However, if you want a brief explanation, all you need to know is that the door is still open for both Deadpool and Jackman’s Wolverine to join the MCU.
However, as we mentioned in our Deadpool and Wolverine ending explained guide, the mutants’ future in the Marvel Timeline is still unclear.
This takes us to everyone's favorite witch Agatha Harkness. In the WandaVision spin-off, Agatha takes center stage when a young boy (simply called Teen at first) calls on her to recruit a coven to walk the Witches' Road. Bringing together a group of witches all in search of something, the gang head out onto the mythical path where they face a number of deadly trials. They're joined along the way by Aubrey Plaza's Rio Vidal (Agatha's ex) as their numbers quickly deplete until only a few are left standing.
Around midway through the season, it's revealed that Teen is actually Wiccan/Billy Maximoff, Wanda's son who had been transplanted into the body of a dying boy called William Kaplan. Over the past few years, he had been discovering his powers and learning the truth about his origins, ready to join the Witches' Road to try and find his lost brother Tommy.
When his true self is revealed, he and Agatha face no choice but to work together, along with Jennifer Kale, to make it out and win their prize. Things get sticky in the final trial, where Agatha helps Billy to find his lost twin Tommy and bring him back to life in another body. However, there's hell to pay with Rio (AKA Death) who views what's happened as an abomination. She needs a sacrifice to reset the balance, and Agatha volunteers herself, dying and becoming a ghost.
The twists aren't over yet, though... At the end of episode 8, it was revealed that the true architect of the Witches' Road was Billy after all. Just like his mother did with Westview, he made the road, and all the trials within it. Not only this, but the Road never truly existed. In a series of flashbacks showing Agatha's early days with her son Nicholas Scratch, it's revealed the ballad was a song he made up, which then spawned its own folklore. After Scratch's death, Agatha began to use the song to trick witches into forming a coven before she would steal their powers.
That all takes us back to the present day where Agatha reappears as a ghost. Billy is not too pleased to see her though, deciding to kill her once and for all, before Agatha reveals she can't face her son yet. She has another plan, they should team up to go and find Tommy, wherever he may be. The series ends with the duo stepping out into the unknown.
If you're still a bit confused, check out our guide to the Agatha All Along finale ending explained.
That's a wrap on Marvel Phase 5. While you wait for the next MCU project, check out our guide to the new superhero movies heading your way over the next few years.
