Marvel Studios is preparing to reset its cinematic universe, describing the upcoming slate of films as a “new beginning” for the MCU, which has spanned nearly 20 years.
With Captain America: Brave New World (2025) crawling toward a $400 million global box office total and Thunderbolts* (2025) poised to conclude Phase Five, Marvel finds itself at a crossroads. Disney CEO Bob Iger previously hinted that Marvel’s focus on quantity over quality had contributed to recent struggles following his surprise return to Disney in 2022.
Phase Four faced challenges, launching in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and a period of limited theatrical access. Despite successes like Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), which earned $1.953 billion worldwide, and WandaVision’s debut on Disney+, many fans felt overwhelmed by the sheer volume of content. Nostalgia for Marvel’s pre-Endgame storytelling focus quickly took hold.
Phase Five has continued to face hurdles, with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) and The Marvels (2023) struggling at the box office. However, Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) proved a rare highlight, reuniting Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as the foul-mouthed mercenary and adamantium-clawed mutant in one of Marvel’s biggest recent hits.
Meanwhile, Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World had a rocky production process, including reported casting concerns, and its estimated $400 million box office take may fall short of what Marvel hoped to recoup on the costly project.
Thunderbolts* generated little buzz until Marvel dropped a striking, A24-inspired trailer that has since sparked newfound excitement for the film.
The upcoming Phase Six promises significant changes. Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) will introduce Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/Thing, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch. Following that, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) will see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes face off against a new threat, with Robert Downey Jr. stepping into the role of Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom.
Downey Jr.’s return was confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con alongside the news that Anthony and Joe Russo would return to direct the two upcoming Avengers films. Speaking with Omelete, the Russo Brothers shared their perspective on the MCU’s future.
“What’s compelling about these two new Avengers movies is they’re a beginning. It’s a new beginning,” they explained. “So we told an ending story, now we’re going to tell a beginning story, and then who knows where we’ll go from there. Maybe there’ll be another five years, but I think we just needed that time and perspective to figure out where it needed to go next, and the only thing that brought us back was the right story.”
This comment aligns with insights from The Direct, which highlighted concerns that the MCU’s recent lack of cohesion might affect the build-up to Avengers: Doomsday and its 2027 follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars. Rather than concluding the Multiverse Saga, these Avengers films appear intended to launch a new MCU chapter.
Tom Holland’s return as Peter Parker in the untitled Spider-Man 4 further signals this shift. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), the film is expected to follow Parker’s journey after the world forgets his identity. Rumors also suggest that Sadie Sink may join the cast as a Multiversal version of Mary Jane Watson.
Director Jon Watts once described the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy as one long origin story, and Spider-Man 4 appears positioned to continue that arc as Marvel pushes forward into this fresh era.
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