MCU Phase 7: Here’s What Movies & Shows To Expect
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the biggest movie franchise of all time. Although it may not be fair to compare such a gigantic universe that releases multiple movies a year to, for example, ‘Mission: Impossible,’ which follows only one main character, there’s no denying that the MCU has achieved something that was never seen before in the history of cinema.
MCU has spawned many standalone and crossover movies. Still, the backbone of the franchise has always been ‘Avengers’ movies, which assemble practically all the superheroes that are currently active in the franchise. The climax of the Infinity Saga occurred in a two-part crossover event, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ which concluded the Infinity Saga.
Marvel Studios is currently building up the central storyline that’s set to culminate in another two-part event, ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars.’ After that, we can expect the beginning of Phase 7, for which there are already many theories. Some theories say that Phase 7 will focus on introducing the mutants, while others say that the franchise will face a reboot after ‘Secret Wars.’
MCU Phase 7: Potential movies and TV shows
We can’t be sure if any of these theories are even partially true at this moment, but we can make some predictions of our own on what to expect from Phase 7. Let’s take a look at the potential projects that could be a part of the MCU Phase 7. FYI, we won’t list projects that we believe will still be released in Phase 6: ‘Doctor Strange 3,’ ‘Spider-Man 4,’ ‘Vision Quest,’ ‘Armor Wars,’ and ‘Wonder Man.’
1. X-Men
There are some rumors that Phase 7 could start the Mutant Saga, which would be mainly based on the mutants from Marvel Comics. We aren’t saying those rumors are true, but it would actually make a lot of sense since MCU has already introduced many A-listers from the comics, but we still haven’t seen a single X-Men.
Yes, we know that Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine in ‘Deadpool 3,’ but we aren’t expecting that he’ll be the franchise’s main Wolverine. It’s been a while since Fox’s ‘X-Men’ movie franchise concluded, and with rights now back at Marvel Studios, we’re just waiting for their debut in the MCU, and Phase 7 would be perfect for that to keep the franchise fresh.
2. Fantastic Four 2
Fox had two tries to create a movie franchise based on Fantastic Four. The first try spawned two movies, and the second one, well, you already know how that turned out. Apart from X-Men, Fantastic Four is another set of A-list characters that are imminent to join the MCU. Although their first movie is set to be released during Phase 6, we are almost certain that a team of Fantastic Four’s caliber will get a trilogy at least, so we are expecting to get the second installment in Phase 7.
3. Captain Marvel 3
Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2019 when she debuted in her first solo movie before appearing in ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ She is now set to return in this year’s ‘The Marvels,’ which is only the second installment of the ‘Captain Marvel’ saga.
Brie Larson is known to be playing that MCU game for the long haul, and while theoretically, her third movie might fit in Phase 6, with so many projects already lined up for that time period, it somehow makes more sense to us that she’ll be back in Phase 7, provided that Captain Marvel remains part of the franchise after the Multiverse Saga ends.
4. Deadpool 4
Ryan Reynolds made such a strong impression with his portrayal of Deadpool in Fox’s ‘X-Men’ franchise that it was out of the question for Marvel Studios to ever recast the character for the MCU. Deadpool’s transition into the franchise will be done in ‘Deadpool 3,’ which is set to be released next year, but we surely don’t think that would be the last we’d see of Merc with a Mouth. Reynolds was born to play Deadpool, and we honestly think he could play him for as long as there is breath in his lungs.
5. Captain America 5
2019’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’ marked the last appearance of Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers in the MCU, and 2021’s ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ established Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as his successor. Since Mackie will reprise the role in the upcoming ‘Captain America: Brave New World,’ the fourth ‘Captain America’ movie potentially means that Sam Wilson wasn’t named a new Captain America only to appear in the upcoming crossover events, indicating that a whole new trilogy with his Captain America might be on the way.
From the looks of things, the fifth movie, the second one with Sam Wilson’s Captain America, might happen in the post-Secret Wars era.
6. Spider-Man 5
Tom Holland’s ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy started in 2017 and concluded in 2021. In the meantime, Spider-Man also had important roles in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ We know that the fourth ‘Spider-Man’ movie is currently in development, and some reports even say that a whole new trilogy might be coming. We don’t know how long Holland will stick to the franchise, but if there’s really going to be another ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy, one movie should happen in Phase 7.
7. Black Panther 3
The original ‘Black Panther’ movie was a fantastic success for Marvel Studios, and last year, we watched a sequel in which T’Challa’s sister Shuri took up the mantle of Black Panther after Chadwick Boseman, the original actor, passed away in 2020. Although the sequel wasn’t as successful as the original, it was still commercially successful, and it prepared Letitia Wright for bigger things to come in the future of the franchise.
Still, like in Captain Marvel’s case, ‘Black Panther 3’ could still happen during the Multiverse Saga, but we don’t know if the studio will manage to fit it into a schedule before ‘Avengers: Secret Wars.’
8. Blade 2
The original ‘Blade’ trilogy was produced by Marvel Studios long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe existed. Wesley Snipes played the character in the trilogy that started in 1998 and concluded in 2004. In 2019, Marvel Studios officially announced a reboot starring Mahershala Ali. The upcoming ‘Blade’ movie still hasn’t started production, but it’s currently set to be released in February 2025, meaning that the potential sequel could happen just in time when Phase 7 starts.
9. Shang-Chi 2 or 3
Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi debuted in the MCU in Phase 4. We already know that the sequel is in development, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the sequel would happen during Phase 6. However, we know that the director Destin Daniel Cretton is set to direct the ‘Shang-Chi’ sequel and ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,’ which might create a scheduling conflict for him.
That could potentially push Shang-Chi 2 back to Phase 7. If Shang-Chi 2 happens during the Multiverse Saga, then we expect the potential threequel to happen in Phase 7.
10. Thor 5
This one is particularly interesting. Chris Hemsworth debuted as Thor all the way back in 2011, and since then, he starred in four ‘Thor’ movies and four ‘Avengers’ movies. 2022’s ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ announced that Thor will return in the future, which will most likely be in the upcoming ‘Avengers’ movies.
However, the director Taika Waiti and Hemsworth already subtly talked about the potential fifth movie. Hemsworth said he would like to return if upcoming installments are more serious. Frankly, we’d like to see it as well, so if upcoming Thor movies abandon the excessive comedy, we’d like to see the fifth Thor movie, if Hemsworth stays in the franchise until Phase 7 starts, that is.
11. Nova
Rumors and reports about the project based on the Nova character have been circulating around for years. Then, in March 2022, it was revealed that Marvel Studios is indeed developing a Disney+ series based on the character. However, in February 2023, it was revealed that the studio would slow the development down amid Disney’s decision to scale back content output and costs.
This means that the Nova series will eventually happen. Still, with so many projects in development now, we wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘Nova’ series happens after the Multiverse Saga concludes.
12. Young Avengers
The rumors about the potential ‘Young Avengers’ project have been around social media for a while. Those rumors aren’t trustworthy since Marvel Studios never officially said anything about such a project ever happening.
However, since the franchise introduced characters such as Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang’s Stature, America Chavez, Ms. Marvel, and Ironheart, we have already started wondering if they’re going to have some crossover, similar to what the Defenders had on Netflix back in 2017. Of course, this may seem like a mere fan wish now, but when you think about it, it would make a lot of sense for ‘Young Avengers’ to happen, probably as a series rather than a movie.
MCU Phase 7 explained (and why it could be delayed)
We could always discuss whether the Marvel Cinematic Universe lost its touch in the Multiverse Saga since so many new characters have been introduced, and we weren’t sure where all these new movies and shows should lead. At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, Kevin Feige announced two new ‘Avengers’ movies, which showed us that the plan for the Multiverse Saga exists, although there are still plenty of projects that need to be released to make everything ready for this upcoming crossover event.
Feige revealed all the projects that we can expect in Phase 5 but only three projects that we can expect in Phase 6, the last Phase of the Multiverse Saga.
Those projects are ‘Fantastic Four,’ ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars.’ According to the current schedule, Phase 6 will start in May 2025 and conclude in May 2027. Since it’s going to span two years, there will certainly be more MCU movies announced for that period, but some other unannounced but expected projects are most likely saved for Phase 7 and the third Saga, whatever it’s going to be called.
Although we officially still don’t know anything about it, ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ has the potential to be the biggest thing Marvel Studios has ever released on the big screens. The readers of comics know how gigantic that storyline is, although the story will definitely need to undergo many changes to fit into the MCU’s narrative. There are already many theories about ‘Secret Wars,’ and we don’t believe any of those for the record because the movie isn’t even written yet. But do we think that ‘Secret Wars’ will be absolutely gigantic? Absolutely!
Disney already has reserved release dates for movies from their various studios, including Marvel Studios, that’ll be released in 2027 and beyond. However, it’s still unsure if the Multiverse Saga will end in 2027 as planned. The ongoing strikes and who knows whatnot can happen until we get there, and since MCU’s schedule is so tangled, only one delay can cause a domino effect.
What are your thoughts on this topic? What projects are you expecting to see in Phase 7? Let us know in the comments.
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