It might be hard to keep Marvel’s upcoming movie and TV slate straight — it’s a lot to absorb, we know. But news of the next MCU movies and Disney+ TV series keeps coming, like She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, and Secret Invasion casting for starters. There’s a ton happening (even a Marvel Zombies show is on the way!), so let’s take a look at what to expect…
We’ve done our best to wrangle and rein in all the upcoming Marvel Phase 4 projects that are in the works from the MCU. From the movies to the Disney+ shows, here’s a quick rundown of everything on the MCU horizon.
And keep in mind, we don’t yet know exactly where the MCU Phase 4 will end and Phase 5 will begin. But that said, click on through the slideshow below for a glimpse, or read on!
For those keeping track, here’s the full lineup of upcoming Marvel movies and shows:
Here are the most definite Phase 4 Marvel movies (and shows) that are currently in the works:
Coming to Disney+, this series will be about Kamala Khan, Marvel’s first mainstream Muslim hero. Newcomer Iman Vellani will play the character, a 16-year-old Pakistani-American growing up in Jersey City. Here’s how Marvel describes her: “A great student, an avid gamer and a voracious fan-fiction scribe, she has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel. But Kamala struggles to fit in at home and at school—that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life is easier with super powers, right? The cast also includes Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Laith Naki, Azher Usman, Travina Springer and Nimra Bucha. Episodes are directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah, Meera Menon and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.”
Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman (as a female Thor!), Chris Pratt, and Christian Bale as villain Gorr the God Butcher. Taika Waititi returns as director for what has been reported as being almost like an Avengers 5 due to the large cast. Even Russell Crowe has signed on to play Thor’s fellow thunder god Zeus.
A new Disney+ series, She-Hulk spotlights lawyer-slash-green powerhouse Jennifer Walters who specializes in superhuman-oriented legal cases. Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany will play the title character, with Mark Ruffalo reprising his role as Hulk/Bruce Banner, and Tim Roth returning as the Abomination. The series is directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia; Jessica Gao is head writer. Disney+ Day 2021 shared the first footage of the upcoming series.
Black Panther 2 has a release date and is now called Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but with the sad and untimely passing of series star Chadwick Boseman, it’s difficult to know how director Ryan Coogler (back from the first film) will handle the situation. Kevin Feige has said he will not recast the character, nor will Boseman’s likeness be recreated digitally. This title is certainly one of the most anticipated of the Marvel Phase 4 lineup.
The Guardians of the Galaxy will be back for this holiday special, including writer/director James Gunn at the helm. Gunn confirmed the special is set in between the events of Thor: Love and Thunder and the third Guardians movie.
The third Ant-Man movie will be helmed by Ant-Man director Peyton Reed and star returning favorites Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/Wasp, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne. Kathryn Newton joins the cast as Cassie Lang while Jonathan Majors portrays Kang the Conqueror.
At one point, before James Gunn’s temporary firing, Guardians Vol. 3 was meant to be the first, if not one of the first, films in Phase 4. With the deck reshuffled now, and James Gunn directing The Suicide Squad for DC before Vol 3., the next Guardians flick won’t be out for a while.
Captain Marvel 2, which is now called The Marvels, is in the works with Nia DaCosta directing. Teyonah Parris will play an adult Monica Rambeau alongside Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, and the film will also feature Ms. Marvel, played by Iman Vellani, who will be introduced in the Ms. Marvel Disney+ series.
X-Men ’97 is a revival of the original X-Men: The Animated Series from the 1990s that will continue right where that storyline left off. The Wrap has also reported that many of the original voice actors from the first show will be returning to their characters, including Wolverine’s Cal Dodd, Rogue’s Lenore Zann, Beast’s George Buza, and more. In addition to familiar voices, Jennifer Hale, Ray Chase, and many more will join the cast. Beau DeMayo will serve as executive producer and head writer.
Variety reported in September 2020 that Samuel L. Jackson would return as Nick Fury in a new MCU series on Disney+, with Kyle Bradstreet (Mr. Robot) reportedly writing and executive producing the project. Kevin Feige confirmed the series in December 2020, and announced that Ben Mendelsohn from Captain Marvel will also star as the Skrull Talos in this adaptation of one of Marvel’s most iconic comics storylines, which explores a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls who have been infiltrating Earth for years. Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman and Kingsley Ben-Adir are also expected to star.
Disney+ Day 2021 gave us our first look at the upcoming series in the form of an image featuring Samuel L. Jackson as a bearded, eyepatch-less Nick Fury.
I Am Groot will be a series of shorts that will tell a story of Guardians of the Galaxy’s Baby Groot’s “glory days growing up, and getting into trouble, among the stars.” These shorts will be directed by executive producer Kristen Lepore.
Ironheart will see Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams/Ironheart, a “genius inventor who creates the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. While there is no release date for Ironheart, it has been confirmed that Williams will make her debut in Black Panther 2. In the comics, Williams was an engineering prodigy that used Stark’s digitized consciousness as an AI to teach her to be the best Ironheart she can be. With the suit, she can fly and shoot out repulsor grenades, laser beams, precision missiles, and much more.
Echo is an upcoming series that will star Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo. Furthermore, Echo will make her debut in Marvel’s Hawkeye. Echo is the adoptive daughter of Kingpin and has long been associated with Daredevil. She is a deaf Native American character who was created by David Mack and Joe Quesada and first appeared in Daredevil Vol. 2 #9 in 1999. Much like Taskmaster, Echo can copy the fighting style of her opponents and wound up joining the New Avengers as the first Ronin. Hawkeye has already taken on the Ronin namesake in Avengers: Endgame, so it will be interesting to see where they take Echo’s story.
Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness was one of the most beloved parts of WandaVision, and she will be returning in her own spin-off series on Disney+. WandaVision’s Jac Schaefer will serve as executive producer and head writer. It remains to be seen when this title actually hits, but don’t be surprised if it winds up being a Phase 5 Marvel show.
Spider-Man: Freshman Year is an upcoming animated series that “follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming Spider-Man in the MCU, with a journey unlike we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots.” It is yet unclear if Tom Holland will be reprising his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in this series, but it is known that Jeff Trammel will serve as both executive producer and head writer.
Following a possible introduction in the first season of Marvel’s What If…?, Marvel Zombies will be a new animated series that “reimagines the Marvel Universe as a new generation of heroes battle against an ever-spreading zombie scourge.” The show will be directed by executive producer Bryan Andrews.
In May of 2022, Variety reported that a new Daredevil series was in the works from writer/executive producers Matt Corman and Chris Ord (Covert Affairs). Marvel has yet to confirm the existence of the show, but ever since Charlie Cox reprised his Netflix/Marvel take on Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Vincent D’Onofrio did the same for Kingpin/Wilson Fisk in Hawkeye, it seemed clear that Marvel had plans for those popular versions of the characters to continue under the Marvel Studios banner. When and how this series will play out remains to be seen, though presumably the Echo series will connect to the two characters in some way.
So which movie or TV show are you most excited for? Are you stoked for Moon Knight or psyched for Doctor Strange and his Multiverse? Can you not wait to see Natalie Portman as Thor in Love and Thunder? Let us know below…
Note: This story was updated on 5/19/2022. It was originally posted on 7/29/2021.
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.