Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films and television series produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. The MCU is the shared universe in which all of the films and series are set. The phase includes television series produced by Marvel Studios and Marvel Studios Animation for the streaming service Disney+. The 2023 Hollywood labor disputes impacted the phase, leading to various schedule changes. It began with the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in February 2023 and ended with the series Ironheart in July 2025. Phases Four, Five, and Six make up "The Multiverse Saga" storyline.
Kevin Feige produced every film in the phase, with Lauren Shuler Donner, Ryan Reynolds, and Shawn Levy also producing Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), and Marvel Studios executives Stephen Broussard and Nate Moore also producing some of the phase's other films. The films star Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne / Wasp in Quantumania; Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023); Brie Larson as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel in The Marvels (2023); Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine; Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America in Captain America: Brave New World (2025); and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova in Thunderbolts* (2025). Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributed the films, which grossed over US$3.6 billion at the global box office. The Marvels is the first box-office bomb of the MCU.
Marvel Studios' approach to television shifted during work on this phase, moving away from limited event series to focus more on multi-season series. Several new labels were introduced for the studio's series during this phase: "Marvel Animation" for the animated series; "Marvel Spotlight" for the more standalone series Echo (2024); and "Marvel Television" for other live-action series, starting with Agatha All Along (2024). The television series star Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in Secret Invasion (2023), Tom Hiddleston as Loki in the second season of Loki (2023), Jeffrey Wright as the Watcher in the second and third seasons of the animated What If...? (2023–24), Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez / Echo in Echo, Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness in Agatha All Along, Hudson Thames as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the first season of the animated Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2025), Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again (2025), and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart in Ironheart.
The second season of the I Am Groot animated shorts and a tie-in comic book for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are also included in this phase. Hiddleston, Jackson, and Sebastian Stan—who plays Bucky Barnes—have the most appearances in the phase, each starring or making cameo appearances in four productions. Additionally, the first season of the Marvel Studios Animation series X-Men '97 was released on Disney+ alongside Phase Five as part of the Multiverse Saga.
Development
Initial work and announcement
By April 2014, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said that additional storylines for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) were planned through 2028. During Marvel Studios' panel at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019, Feige announced several films and Disney+ television series in development for Phase Four of the MCU, before revealing the film Blade was also in development. After the panel, Feige confirmed that Blade was not part of the Phase Four slate at the time, and that what was announced was the full Phase Four slate at that point, despite Marvel already developing further projects at that time, such as the long-in-development Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and a sequel to Captain Marvel (2019). A sequel to Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) entered development by November 2019, for a potential release in 2022. Development work on a second season of What If...? had begun by December 2019. Ryan Reynolds confirmed that month that a third Deadpool film after 20th Century Fox's Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018) was in development at Marvel Studios, with his production company
Films
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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne, along with Hope's parents Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne and Lang's daughter Cassie, go on a new adventure exploring the Quantum Realm that pushes their limits and pits them against Kang the Conqueror.
Ahead of the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), the film's director Peyton Reed and Marvel Studios expected a sequel would be made and had discussed potential story points. A third Ant-Man film entered development by November 2019, with Reed returning as director, alongside Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne / Wasp.[2] Jeff Loveness was writing the script by April 2020,[3] with the title and new cast members revealed that December. Principal photography
Television series
All the series in Phase Five were released exclusively on Disney+ except Echo, which was released simultaneously on Disney+ and Hulu and was available on Hulu until April 9, 2024.
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Secret Invasion (2023)
Nick Fury works with Talos, a shapeshifting alien Skrull, to uncover a conspiracy by a group of renegade Skrulls led by Gravik who plan to gain control of Earth by posing as different humans around the world.[18]
By September 2020, Marvel Studios was developing a series centered on Nick Fury, with Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role and Kyle Bradstreet serving as head writer. That December, Marvel Studios revealed the series to be an adaptation of the Secret Invasion comic book storyline starring Jackson alongside Ben Mendelsohn as Talos. Filming had begun by September 2021 in London, with
Shorts
I Am Groot season 2 (2023)
Each short follows Baby Groot as he explores the universe beyond the confines of the Guardians of the Galaxy's ship, going on adventures with new and unusual characters that get him into trouble.[21]
The first five shorts of I Am Groot premiered in August 2022. Production on five additional shorts was underway by July 2022, described as a second season. Kirsten Lepore returns as head writer, director,[38] and executive producer, with Vin Diesel once again voicing Baby Groot. The second season of I Am Groot premiered with five shorts on Disney+ on September 6, 2023.
Jeffrey Wright reprises his role as the Watcher from What If...? in the season.
Timeline
Key:
Echo is set five months after the events of Hawkeye, in May 2025. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is set in 2026. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set after the events of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Secret Invasion is set around 2026, thirty years after the events of Captain Marvel. The Marvels is set in 2026, after Secret Invasion and Ms. Marvel. Agatha All Along is set in 2026, three years after the events of WandaVision. Captain America: Brave New World begins in November 2026, two years after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and is set primarily in the first few months of 2027. Daredevil: Born Again is set after Echo, with a prologue in the first episode set in late 2025, before jumping ahead a year to late 2026 and continuing into early 2027. Thunderbolts* is set later in 2027, after Brave New World. Ironheart is set six months after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever around October 2025.
The second season of Loki begins immediately after the first-season finale, taking place outside of time and space while some events occur between the past, present, and future. Deadpool & Wolverine is set in 2024, six years after the events of Deadpool 2, largely on Earth-10005 and in the Void; it occurs after the events of Loki season 2. The first season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is set outside the Sacred Timeline, set around the events of Civil War.
- {{legend|E50B15|Occurs on the MCU's Sacred Timeline}}
- {{legend|grey|Occurs outside the MCU's Sacred Timeline at a set timeframe}}
Recurring cast and characters
Characters are listed alphabetically by last name, as applicable.
Music
Soundtracks
Compilation albums
Home media
Reception
Box office performance
Critical and public response
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With the conclusion of the phase, Kai Young at ComicBook.com called Phase Five one of the MCU's most polarizing, with a mixture of well-received projects along with "some lackluster and low-rated installments", though he noted the later installments had a noticeable shift in quality following Marvel's development overhaul after the 2023 Hollywood strikes.[1]
Tie-in media
Marvel Studios: Legends season 2 (2023–2025)
The first season of Marvel Studios: Legends premiered in January 2021 for Phase Four. The series examines individual heroes, villains, moments, and objects from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how they connect, in anticipation of the upcoming stories that will feature them in Phase Five. The second season premiered on Disney+ on February 10, 2023, with the release of the first three episodes. Episodes highlighted Ant-Man, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, Peter Quill, Gamora, Nebula, Rocket, Kraglin, Groot, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Talos and the Skrulls, Everett Ross, James Rhodes, the TVA, Variants, Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan, the Guardians of the Multiverse; and Riri Williams.
Marvel Studios: Assembled (2023–2024)
Marvel Studios: Assembled premiered in March 2021 for Phase Four. Each special of the documentary series goes behind the scenes of the making of the MCU films and television series with cast members and additional creatives. The first special for Phase Five was released on Disney+ on July 19, 2023, for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, followed by additional specials for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Secret Invasion, Loki season two, Echo, The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Agatha All Along.
Comic books
Related
- X-Men '97 season 1: A continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997), produced by Marvel Studios via its Marvel Animation label. Beau DeMayo served as head writer, with Jake Castorena as supervising director and Chase Conley and Emi Yonemura also directing. Many cast members from the original series returned to reprise their roles or voice new characters. X-Men '97 is not set in the Sacred Timeline of the MCU, though Feige did consider integrating the series with the MCU during development. Instead, X-Men '97 shares continuity with the original series and several other animated Marvel series that were released in the 1990s; within Marvel Comics' multiverse, X-Men: The Animated Series exists on Earth-92131. Despite existing outside the Sacred Timeline, the series is listed in the MCU's Multiverse Saga section on Disney+. The season aired from March 20 to May 15, 2024.
References
- {{#invoke:cite|web|last=Young |first=Kai |date=July 2, 2025 |title=The Marvel Cinematic Universe Just Ended a Divisive Era After Two Years |url=https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-marvel-cinematic-universe-just-ended-a-divisive-era-after-two-years/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250703175220/https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-marvel-cinematic-universe-just-ended-a-divisive-era-after-two-years/ |archive-date=July 3, 2025 |access-date=July 6, 2025 |website=[[ComicBook.com]]}}^
- {{#invoke:cite|web|last=Kit |first=Borys |date=November 1, 2019 |title=Peyton Reed to Direct 'Ant-Man 3' (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/ant-man-3-peyton-reed-returning-direct-1251732 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101204518/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/ant-man-3-peyton-reed-returning-direct-1251732 |archive-date=November 1, 2019 |access-date=November 1, 2019 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}^
- {{#invoke:cite|web|last=Kit |first=Borys |date=April 3, 2020 |title='Ant-Man 3' Finds its Writer With 'Rick and Morty' Scribe (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/ant-man-3-finds-writer-rick-morty-scribe-1288461 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404002551/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/ant-man-3-finds-writer-rick-morty-scribe-1288461 |archive-date=April 4, 2020 |access-date=April 3, 2020 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}