The MCU will cross a massive milestone in 2025
2025 isn’t just a make-or-break year for theMCU: after three massive (hopefully) blockbusters, it will transition to an era that could redefine the franchise’s legacy, for better or worse.
In the mid-2000s, Kevin Feige and co. had an idea to bring together a group of remarkable, B-list superheroes (Hulk excluded) and serialize their adventures on the big screen. It started as an experiment, and almost 20 years later, theMarvel Cinematic Universeis arguablythefranchise of the 21st century.
However, you’d have to be wilfully ignorant not to acknowledge a few bumps along the way. Once upon a time, they didn’t matter; The Incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World are appalling, Iron Man 2 is pretty bad, but the nascency, novelty, and eventual obsession with the series outweighed any lapses in quality.
Alas, the times are a-changing just as the MCU is about to cross an enormous milestone – and after the past two years, it may be about to avenge itself.
The MCU’s Phase Six begins in 2025
We are two movies and three TV shows away from Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even if you’ve fallen out of love with the MCU, that is an extraordinary achievement.
Next year, Phase Five will round out withCaptain America: Brave New World(February 14) andThunderbolts*(May 2) on the big screen, with Disney Plus providingYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man(January 29),Daredevil: Born Again(March 4), andIronheart(June 24).
Phase Six officially begins with the long-awaited arrival of theFantastic Four in The First Steps. It’s momentous for two reasons: fans have been excited for the debut of Marvel’s first family since Disney’s takeover of Fox in 2019 (let’s be honest, it’s really been since 2015’s abysmal FANT4STIC), and it’s a film that’s expected to lay the groundwork forAvengers: DoomsdayandSecret Wars.
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Who knows, maybe its post-credits scene will unveilRobert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doomfor the first time.
Robert Downey Jr. revealing himself as Doctor Doom is INCREDIBLEpic.twitter.com/OfOOHOe7hK
The Fantastic Four aside, there’s a lot riding on Phase Six; we’ve gotSpider-Man 4, the follow-up to the biggest Spidey movie ever; and the next Avengers two-hander will truly answer whether or not actually care about the MCU anymore. Sure, Secret Wars will probably be the movie equivalent of Super Smash Bros’ “everyone is here!” advert, but will it reach the heights of Infinity War and Endgame?
There’s also the small matter ofBlade, Mahershala Ali’s seemingly doomed take on the Daywalker, and a smattering of semi-interesting Disney Plus shows like Marvel Zombies, Wonder Man, and Vision Quest.
Phase Five has almost been the MCU’s undoing. The Multiverse Saga has had its moments, but it’s been altogether too muddled: too many post-credits scenes going nowhere, too many sub-par efforts (or appalling, in Ant-Man 3’s case), and a reliance on toy-box thrills over cohesive and singularly compelling storytelling.
There’s just cause to be excited, and Feige isn’t an idiot. He wisely pared back the slate for 2024, and 2025’s releases indicate confidenceandcaution; he knows he needs to earn our interest again, and I want to believe that’s possible.
Even if the franchise peaked early, look at how far we’ve come: five phases, 34 movies, 13 TV shows (and more if you include its pre-Disney Plus programming), a saga that dominated and reshaped pop culture forever, andmore than $31 billion in box office receipts.
There was an idea… and it was a bloody good one.
Check out ourranking of every Marvel movieand thebest superhero movies, and find out upcoming Marvel movie and TV show in development. you may also check out our list of thebest movies of 2024.
