Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Six
Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. Phase Six features all of the Marvel Studios productions set to be released starting from mid-2025 to mid-2027, with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributing the films. The first film in the phase will be Fantastic Four, scheduled for release in May 2025. The release schedule of Phase Six was changed several times due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Kevin Feige produces every film in this phase, alongside Eric Carroll for Blade.
Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. Phase Six features all of the Marvel Studios productions set to be released starting from mid-2025 to mid-2027, with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributing the films. The first film in the phase will be Fantastic Four, scheduled for release in May 2025. The release schedule of Phase Six was changed several times due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Kevin Feige produces every film in this phase, alongside Eric Carroll for Blade.
The films of the phase include Fantastic Four, the ensemble Thunderbolts, Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, as well as the ensembles Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars. Three unannounced films are set for release in 2026. Phase Six, along with Phase Four and Phase Five, constitutes "The Multiverse Saga".

Development
By April 2014, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said that additional storylines for their media franchise and shared universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) were planned through 2028. During Marvel Studios' panel at the 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 and a Fantastic Four film were 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. Fantastic Four was formally confirmed in December 2020; the film was believed to be a part of Phase Four at that time. In April 2022, Feige said he and Marvel Studios were on a creative retreat to plan and discuss the MCU films for the following 10 years, and in June 2022, said information on the next saga of the MCU would be provided in the following months, with Marvel Studios being a "little more direct" on their future plans to provide audiences with "the bigger picture [so they] can see a tiny, tiny bit more of the roadmap" following the clues included during Phase Four.At Marvel Studios' San Diego Comic-Con panel in July 2022, Feige announced that Fantastic Four would be the first film of Phase Six. He also announced that the phase would conclude with two ensemble films, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, both to be released in 2025, and that Phase Six, along with Phase Four and Phase Five, would be part of "The Multiverse Saga". The films were respectively inspired by "Kang Dynasty", a 2001 comic book storyline written by Kurt Busiek in which Kang the Conqueror travels through time to enslave humanity, and Secret Wars, the name of a 1984–85 comic written by Jim Shooter and a 2015–16 comic written by Jonathan Hickman that both follow various Marvel characters who converge on the planet Battleworld. Feige noted that while not all projects in Phase Six or the previous two phases would directly tie into the larger multiverse storyline, the various storylines that would weave together leading into Secret Wars was "a whole new aspect to the MCU". At the panel, Feige also confirmed the films Blade and Thunderbolts for Phase Five. In October, Marvel Studios delayed Blade to September 2024 and pushed back the releases of Fantastic Four and Avengers: Secret Wars as a result. In early February 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the company would be re-evaluating the volume of content it output as a way to cut costs over the next few years. Shortly after, when reflecting on the amount of Disney+ content released for Phase Four in a short time frame, Feige anticipated that Marvel Studios would look to space out the releases of the Phase Five and Six Disney+ series or put fewer out each year "so they can each get a chance to shine".The start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike in May 2023 was not expected to impact the MCU projects in production, or preparing to begin production, at that time, namely Fantastic Four, with Marvel Studios reportedly planning to shoot what they could during principal photography and make any necessary writing adjustments during each project's already scheduled reshoots. In June, Disney delayed Fantastic Four to May 2, 2025, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to May 1, 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars to May 7, 2027, in part due to the writers' strike and Disney's intentions to improve the quality of MCU content from writing through post-production after disappointing reception and lower post-COVID-19 pandemic box office earnings for several recently released films. The following month, Iger stated the company would be reducing spending and creation of Marvel content, admitting that Marvel Studios' expansion into Disney+ series and more films had "diluted focus and attention" after a number of underachieving films at the box office in Phases Four and Five. Following the conclusion of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike in November 2023, Disney delayed several films to accommodate for the resumption of production, respectively moving Thunderbolts and Blade to July 25, 2025, and November 7, 2025, with them now set for release during Phase Six. By December 2023, Marvel Studios had begun to internally refer to The Kang Dynasty as Avengers 5, which was also amidst Jonathan Majors being fired from his role as Kang the Conqueror, which had been set to be the main antagonist of the Multiverse Saga.Marvel Studios has three unannounced films set for February 13, July 24, and November 6, 2026.

Films
Fantastic Four (2025)
At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019, Kevin Feige announced Marvel Studios was developing a Fantastic Four film for the MCU, with Jon Watts announced as the director in December 2020. Watts stepped down in April 2022 to take a break from superhero projects. By late August, Matt Shakman, who directed the Marvel Studios Disney+ series WandaVision (2021), was in early talks to direct the film, with Feige confirming him as the director the following month at the D23 Expo. Later in September, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were revealed to be writing the screenplay. Josh Friedman was rewriting the script by March 2023, with Cameron Squires revealed as a co-writer in October. Filming is scheduled to begin in early 2024 at Pinewood Studios in London. Fantastic Four is scheduled to be released on May 2, 2025.

Thunderbolts (2025)
A group of antiheroes go on missions for the government.By June 2022, a Thunderbolts film was in development, with Jake Schreier attached to direct, and Eric Pearson writing the screenplay. In September, the Thunderbolts team was announced to include Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier / White Wolf, Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / Ghost, Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, and Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster, all reprising their roles from previous MCU projects. Lee Sung Jin joined the film to rewrite the script by March 2023. Filming is scheduled to begin in March or April 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia, and is also expected to take place in Utah. Thunderbolts is scheduled to be released on July 25, 2025.Harrison Ford is set to reprise his role as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross from Captain America: Brave New World (2025).

Blade (2025)
By May 2013, Marvel Studios had a working script for a new Blade film after regaining the rights following New Line Cinema's prior film series. In February 2019, Mahershala Ali approached Marvel Studios about starring in a new film after previously portraying Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes in Marvel Television's Luke Cage. Feige officially announced the film with Ali in the title role that July at San Diego Comic-Con; Ali first had an uncredited voice cameo as Blade in Eternals (2021). In February 2021, Stacy Osei-Kuffour was hired to write the film, with Bassam Tariq hired to direct by that September. Tariq left a year later due to the film's production shifts and creative differences. Yann Demange was set to direct in November 2022, when Michael Starrbury was rewriting the script, while Nic Pizzolatto joined as another writer in April 2023, and Michael Green was hired to write a new script by November. Filming was delayed from a June 2023 start due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, and is expected to occur at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, as well as in Cleveland, New Orleans, and Morocco. Blade is scheduled to be released on November 7, 2025.The Ebony Blade is expected to be featured in the film, having first appeared at the end of Eternals alongside Blade.

Avengers 5 (2026)
At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, Marvel Studios announced Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, followed shortly after with the confirmation of Destin Daniel Cretton as director. In September, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) writer Jeff Loveness was revealed to be writing the screenplay. Cretton exited the film in November 2023, when Michael Waldron was hired to replace Loveness as writer, after previously serving as head writer for the first season of Loki (2021) and the writer of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). Jonathan Majors was attached to reprise his role as Kang the Conqueror in The Kang Dynasty before he was fired in December 2023, when Marvel was referring to the film internally as Avengers 5. Filming was originally expected to begin in early 2024, prior to its delays and Majors's firing. Avengers 5 is scheduled to be released on May 1, 2026.

Avengers: Secret Wars (2027)
At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, Marvel Studios announced Avengers: Secret Wars. In October, Waldron was revealed to be writing the screenplay. Majors was attached to reprise his role as Kang until his firing in December 2023. Avengers: Secret Wars is scheduled to be released on May 7, 2027.


== References ==