As Phase 6 of the MCU finally gets set to begin, fans look back on how vastly different it seems now than when it was first announced.
At San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2022, Marvel Studios shocked the world by announcing over a dozen new projects in the then-newly named Multiverse Saga.
At the time, the saga was confirmed to conclude with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, which were announced before the end of Phase 4.
Since that time, the MCU has added nearly a dozen combined movies and TV shows to the Multiverse Saga with nine new entries confirmed to arrive in 2025. However, looking at the status of the present-day MCU, the franchise and its plans have changed drastically over the last 36 months.
How Has the MCU's Phase 6 Release Slate Changed?
Marvel Studios first announced its slate of projects and release windows for the MCU's Phase 6 at SDCC in late July 2022.
That initial announcement only included confirmations for three projects: the then-untitled MCU Fantastic Four film on November 6, 2024, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty on May 2, 2025, and Avengers: Secret Wars on November 7, 2025.
Also included were the following eight unfilled release windows:
- Fall 2024
- Fall 2024
- Winter 2024
- Winter 2025
- Spring 2025
- Spring 2025
- Summer 2025
- Summer 2025
Ahead are the most notable ways this slate has changed since the initial Phase 6 announcement:
Phase 6’s Start Date Delayed
Phase 6 was initially planned to begin at the end of 2024 with the release of the previously untitled Fantastic Four solo film, which was set to arrive on November 6, 2024. As most MCU fans are well aware, the entire slate faced major delays which kept that from coming to fruition.
Due to the 2023 actors' and writers' strikes and internal delays for other projects, partially due to fan backlash, the start of Phase 6 was officially delayed in early 2024.
Upon the announcement of the MCU Fantastic Four movie's cast (along with the first of two title changes), the new phase was confirmed to start on July 25, 2025.
Barring any further changes, the first project in that slate will now be The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Quantity of Phase 6 Movies Possibly Decreased
The initial Phase 6 announcement included 11 release dates, although there was no confirmation on how many of those dates were for movies rather than TV shows.
However, considering the original Phase 5 slate had six movies coming out in a year and a half, Phase 6's number of films could have been quite high.
Regardless of what may have been, Phase 6 now includes half a dozen movies being released between July 2025 and May 2027.
This lines up with quotes from Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige in November 2024, saying the MCU's output would go "back to a normal pace" after Phase 5.
Due to the aforementioned delays, Marvel has a massive slate of projects lined up for the end of Phase 5 and the start of Phase 6, but that will change soon.
Blade & Armor Wars Are STILL in Development
Arguably the MCU's two biggest dark spots as of writing are Blade and Armor Wars, both of which seem nowhere close to being pushed further into development.
Blade was first announced at SDCC 2019, and it was given a November 2023 release date. However, countless director changes and script rewrites have pushed the film so far back that it may not even be part of the Multiverse Saga (see more on what some think should happen with Blade here).
Meanwhile, Marvel first shared plans for Armor Wars at Disney Investor Day in late 2020, but that film remains in its earliest stages of development as well. Most recently, fans were worried it might be canceled altogether due to the constant changes; it has never even gotten a release timeframe.
Considering the troubles both of these movies have faced, many believe Blade, Armor Wars, or both face the chance of being canceled. However, Marvel has not officially commented on that happening for either film.
Spider-Man Sequel Added After Phase 6 Announcement
When the Multiverse Saga was first fleshed out, it did not officially include plans for a fourth Spider-Man movie. This was partially to be expected due to the movie being financed and produced by Sony Pictures, and Marvel Studios has not publicized past Spidey films in that manner either.
Thankfully, Spider-Man 4 was confirmed to be in the works almost immediately after Spider-Man: No Way Home helped put the MCU on top of the world in 2021. Tom Holland and Zendaya were both confirmed to return and eventually, Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton was locked in as the sequel's director.
Spider-Man 4 is now lined up to debut on July 24, 2026, directly between the MCU's next two Avengers movies.
It is also expected to be another Multiverse-heavy outing due to its proximity to the fifth and sixth Avengers films, leading many to think Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield may be back for a second MCU romp.
Avengers 5 Title Change Following Controversy
Initially titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the MCU's fifth Avengers outing was forced into major changes due to the controversy surrounding star Jonathan Majors. He was arrested for reckless assault and harassment and found guilty in court, leading Marvel to fire Majors from his role as Kang the Conqueror.
Marvel also decided not to recast the role of Kang, opting to let the character's storyline die out naturally over the course of future projects.
Once that decision was made, the fifth Avengers movie title had to change due to the absence of its then-titular antagonist.
While Avengers: Secret Wars kept its title (and seemingly the core story that will be recreated from the comics), Avengers 5 became one of the MCU's biggest question marks.
New Ultimate Villain for Multiverse Saga
At SDCC 2024, Marvel Studios announced a new title for the MCU's fifth Avengers film, which is now known as Avengers: Doomsday.
As the title suggests, the sequel is now confirmed to feature one of Marvel's biggest supervillains, Victor Von Doom, who will be portrayed in the MCU by franchise legend Robert Downey Jr.
Not only will he be the main villain of Doomsday, but he will be back to wreak even more havoc as Multiversal walls are torn down in Avengers: Secret Wars. For the time being, however, details on his exact story and place in the greater MCU are being kept a secret as expected.
For now, some fans are waiting to see if Downey could bring his Dr. Doom to life in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the first movie in the MCU's Phase 6.
However, even if that does not happen, the stage is set for the Multiverse Saga to end in dramatic fashion with the former Iron Man star at the forefront.
No Confirmation on MCU Phase 6 Disney+ Slate
As of writing, there are no MCU Disney+ shows with confirmed release dates after the end of 2025. Even with this year confirmed to deliver half a dozen new streaming MCU entries, the Phase 6 slate comes with plenty of question marks on the Disney+ side of things.
Currently, the MCU's Phase 5 is believed to come to an end with the release of Thunderbolts* on May 2 before The Fantastic Four kicks off Phase 6.
However, that leaves one Disney+ show being released between those movies: Dominque Thorne's Ironheart on June 24.
Presumably, Marvel would want to kick off Phase 6 with a theatrical release, as has been the case with every Phase besides Phase 4 (which started with WandaVision).
Also, Ironheart has notable ties to the final Phase 4 entry, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, meaning Marvel may not want them separated too far.
This would give Phase 6 four shows to start: Ironheart, Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Zombies, and Wonder Man. However, with projects like Daredevil: Born Again already in development, questions are already being asked about what will come from the streaming side in 2026 and 2027.
Also potentially on the table for Phase 6 is the upcoming Vision series, which is said to be the last in a trilogy of stories starting with WandaVision and Agatha All Along. While no release or production info is known yet, the series will tie back to the MCU's earliest days with characters dating back to 2008's Iron Man.
The MCU's Phase 6 is set to begin with The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25.
