The next Disney+ project from Marvel Studios is Secret Invasion and the red brand's first "crossover event series" releases on June 21.
The Samuel L. Jackson-led show will be the first streaming project of Phase 5 in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second project overall behind Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania.
This is also the first streaming series since the return of Bob Iger as the CEO of Disney back in November of 2022 (The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was released just five days after Iger's announced return).
Fans have been waiting patiently not just for this show inspired by the legendary comic book run of the same name, but they have also been left in the dark until the release date was announced on March 27th, just 86 days before the series release.
So, how long have the MCU faithful been waiting for the next Disney+ series? Longer than they have ever waited before!
Secret Invasion Breaks Record on Disney+
Since the beginning of Marvel Studios content coming to Disney+, the gap between the nine MCU series and special presentations has been an average of 55 days. The longest wait was between Hawkeye and Moon Knight at 98 days in 2021, and the shortest turnaround was between 14 days between the WandaVision and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
And Werewolf By Night was a Special Presentation that was released in the middle of the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law run in October of 2022.
Secret Invasion is set to release on June 21, 2023, which puts it 208 days after Marvel Studios' most recent Disney+ outing, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on November 25, 2022.
- WandaVision - The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: 14 days
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - Loki: 47 days
- Loki - What If...?: 28 days
- What If...? - Hawkeye: 49 days
- Hawkeye - Moon Knight: 98 days
- Moon Knight - Ms. Marvel: 35 days
- Ms. Marvel - She-Hulk: Attorney at law: 36 days
- She-Hulk: Attorney at Law - Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: 43 days
- Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special - Secret Invasion: 208 days
This means that the wait between Phase 4's final Disney+ project and Phase 5's first Disney+ project is nearly double the second-longest gap in MCU/Disney+ history.
For context, this wait would rank 10th on the list of longest gaps between Marvel Studios projects overall (movies included).
Change of Pace for Marvel Studios
It is no secret to anyone paying attention that one of the biggest criticisms of the post-Infinity Saga era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is its rapid-fire approach when it comes to content.
Phase 4 saw seven movies, eight streaming series, and two Disney+ Special Presentations over 21 months. Meaning that fans were being presented with at least one new MCU project every 37.5 days.
A big part of Bob Iger's message since returning to Disney has been "quality over quantity" which might be the biggest contributing factor to this record-breaking wait.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is at a crossroads. Fans are reeling from back-to-back projects (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania) that were not received well by general audiences. Even more so now that the most redeeming quality of Quantumania is Kang The Conqueror, a character that has a rocky future in the MCU.
Marvel Studios is in need of not just one, but two consecutive hits with audiences as Phase 5 really begins. Thankfully, the next project on the board is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 which is one of the most beloved franchises in comic book movie history. Right behind it is Secret Invasion, which has the makings of a top-tier Disney+ series along the lines of WandaVision and Loki.
The wait has been the longest one yet but all the factors involved seem to point toward the wait being worth it.
Secret Invasion hits Disney+ on June 21, 2023.
