When Phase 6 of the MCU begins, it will shatter a shocking record that many likely thought would never be touched. The MCU is currently nearing the end of its fifth phase, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps geared up to kick off Phase 6 just before the release of Avengers: Doomsday.
Phase 6's premiere project, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, will debut in theaters just one month after Phase 5's final project, Ironheart, drops its first episode on Disney+. This gap between Phases 5 and 6 will break the MCU record for the shortest amount of time between the end of one phase and the beginning of another in the franchise by a fairly large amount.
Ironheart's official premiere date is set for June 25, 2025, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps coming out 31 days later on July 26, 2025. The previous record for the shortest amount of days between two phases was 84 days.
It is worth noting that there are only 31 days between the beginning of Ironheart and The Fantastic Four. Technically, the gap will be even shorter by the time the last episode of Ironheart drops on Disney+.
Ironheart's full release schedule has not been revealed yet, but the show will have a three-episode premiere. If one episode is released every week after that premiere, the finale would premiere on July 15, 2025, which is only 10 days before the release date of The Fantastic Four.
So, if that happens, Phase 5 will technically come to an end just 10 days before Phase 6 begins. This will be the second MCU record set by Ironheart, though the other was a more unfortunate one.
After being in development for a few years, Ironheart was finally given an official release date. A trailer was released for Ironheart, but it was unfortunately dislike-bombed just after it premiered. Ironheart will star Dominique Thorne reprising her role as Riri Williams, who was first featured in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
How Long Were Gaps Between Previous MCU Phases?
As mentioned, the shortest gap between two MCU phases was previously 84 days before the gap between Phases 5 and 6 broke that record. The 84-day gap came between the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which ended Phase 4, and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, the project that began Phase 5.
For reference, the other gaps between two phases were significantly longer than these two gaps. 364 days separated the end of Phase 1 and the beginning of Phase 2. The Avengers ended Phase 1 on May 4, 2012, and Phase 2 didn't start until Iron Man 3 was released on May 3, 2013.
Phase 2 ended on July 17, 2015 with the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Phase 3 then began 294 days later when Captain America: Civil War premiered.
The gap between Phases 3 and 4 was, by far, the longest between any two phases at 564 days. Spider-Man: Far From Home ended Phase 3 on July 2, 2019, and then Phase 4 didn't begin until WandaVision premiered as the first Marvel Disney+ series nearly two years later on January 15, 2021.
