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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Shortly after the release of its newest entry in Phase Five—and the franchise’s only film of the year—, Deadpool & Wolverine, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and company joined the stage of this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) to make a few sizeable announcements. Some of the panels were surprising, others were shocking, and then… One towards the end surely received divisive reactions from comic book fans. This year’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) panels at SDCC cover the remaining films of Phase Five and the three major films of Phase Six—excluding the upcoming Blade.
The following recap in this article pulls from our live tweets of yesterday’s SDCC event. It showcased the near and somewhat near-distant future of the MCU.
Note: If you prefer to steer clear of any information on the below comic book films, then close this article and open it for another day.
Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Five
Marvel Studios’ Phase Five coverage consists of Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World and Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts*.
Captain America: Brave New World
At the panel for Onah’s action-adventure science-fiction film, Feige announces that the film will serve as “a return” to what kept Anthony and Joe Russo’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier grounded in terms of the story. The film follows Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in an international predicament, crossing paths with newly elected United States President, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford). In front of the SDCC audience, Ford demonstrated the mannerisms of his character as the Red Hulk.
The film also features the return of Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson). This supporting character was last seen in Louis Leterrier’s 2008 film, The Incredible Hulk. In the fourth Captain America film, the character will take on the appearance of comic book supervillain, The Leader. The actor could not reveal much about his role in the film. On stage, Giancarlo Esposito announced his role as Sidewinder, the leader of the Serpent Society.
New footage of Brave New World was shown. Reports from the audience state that Ross directly addresses the Celestial sticking out of Earth’s atmosphere. This was a mystery left out in the open at the end of Chloé Zhao’s Eternals. The Celestials are revealed to serve as the source of Adamantium, a metal associated with James “Logan”/ “Wolverine” Howlett (Hugh Jackman), who recently appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine. Oddly enough, this connection between the two films has not been made… so far.
Captain America: Brave New World releases on February 14th, 2025.
Thunderbolts*
At the panel for Schreier’s action-adventure science-fiction crime-drama film, the cast talked about their respective roles. Sebastian Stan cites character Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) as the standout of the narrative. Hannah John-Kamen teases the “interesting” return of her character, Ava Starr/ Ghost. The character previously appeared in Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp during the summer of 2018.
Stan mentions his character Bucky Barnes’s time probably coming to an end, joking that he may have nine lives. Pugh spoke about her stunt performances and expressed gratitude for the film’s stunt team.
The first official trailer for the film was shown to the SDCC audience. In it, members of the team are shown to be assigned to the same task, which is revealed to be a set-up. It will be interesting to see where it goes from there. Not only that but the trailer should officially make its way onto the Internet soon.
Thunderbolts* releases on May 5th, 2025.
Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Six
The SDCC coverage of Marvel Studios’ Phase Six consists of Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four, its new title alteration, as well as an update to the next two Avengers installments.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Shakman’s action-adventure science-fiction film adaptation is currently in the early stages of production. It has been announced that composer Michael Giacchino will score the soundtrack of the project. Initially titled Fantastic Four, then The Fantastic Four, the film now has a subtitle: First Steps. This universe for the titular superhero team will have a retro 1960s aesthetic to it. (We have speculated this much back in February.)
For the transformation of Ben Grimm into The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), the director spoke about the production crew having gone to the desert to figure out what kind of rock the character would be made of. Shakman has also announced that the film will not be an origin story for the team.
Early footage of the film had been shown to the audience at SDCC. As per reports, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) will start as a science teacher. He, Grimm, and siblings Johnny (Joseph Quinn) and Susan “Sue” Storm (Vanessa Kirby) are then sent into outer space via shuttle. The footage also shows a first look at the team’s Fantasti-Car. Most importantly, Galactus’s (Ralph Ineson) eyes are shown peering through the glass windows of a building. This suggests that the antagonist takes on his Celestial form—as opposed to his cloud-like appearance in the 2007 movie.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to release on July 25th, 2025, one year after Deadpool & Wolverine.
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars
The Fantastic Four will make more appearances in later Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Six films, notably the next two Avengers movies. Marvel Studios’ SDCC showcase transitions from Shakman’s film—skipping Blade—to the next big updates.
The first logos for both Avengers films have been revealed. The fifth film in the Avengers series is now subtitled Doomsday. This new change implies a pivot from the Multiverse Saga’s focus on supervillain, Kang the Conqueror—getting rid of The Kang Dynasty plot—, and now looks to Doctor Doom as the primary antagonist. Coming from 20th Century Studios/ 20th Century Fox’s Marvel universe, the supervillain character has been revealed to be portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. The actor has previously portrayed Tony Stark/ Iron Man across the Infinity Saga’s various films.
Doomsday will tie into the sixth Avengers installment, subtitled Secret Wars. The Russo Brothers will serve as the co-directors of both films, taking over Destin Daniel Cretton’s role as director of the former. Stephen McFeely has reportedly replaced Michael Waldron as the screenwriter for both upcoming Avengers films.
More Info on the Upcoming Avengers Films
Avengers: Doomsday is set to release on May 1st, 2026; while Avengers: Secret Wars is set to release on May 7th, 2027.
You can prepare for Avengers: Doomsday by purchasing either a hardcover copy or a paperbook copy (or both, we don’t judge!) of Ultimate Comics: Doomsday!
You can also prepare for Avengers: Secret Wars by purchasing physical copies of the 1984-85 comic book run as well as the 2015-16 run via our Amazon Affiliates links!
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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
