Editorial: Tying up the Loose Ends of Marvel’s Phase 5
Marvel Studios announced their plans for Phase 5 and Phase 6 at San Diego Comic-Con to much fanfare. There’s a lot to get excited about, but there were some names conspicuous by their absence in the lineup.
Marvel never leaves loose ends untied for long — just look at Abomination’s reappearance in Shang-Chi and She-Hulk — but there are plenty of properties and heroes who we received no update on. Here’s a look at those characters and a bit of light speculation on where we might see them next.
Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings included a mid-credits teaser telling us Shang-Chi had just taken his first steps into a larger world, indicating that we would be seeing him go on more adventures in the MCU soon. But there was no news of a sequel for him in the Phase 5 announcements, and there’s no obvious story in Phase 5 for him to pop up in either, as he’s only briefly met Wong, Bruce Banner, and Carol Danvers so far — not enough to justify a cameo in She-Hulk or The Marvels.
However, it’s important to remember that his sequel has been officially confirmed even though it wasn’t included in this batch of announcements. Maybe his sequel will come in Phase 6?
Eternals
The Eternals also didn’t get a sequel announced for Phase 5, but maybe that was to be expected considering the film’s poor critical reception. It’s possible that their sequel will come in Phase 6, but there are a couple of options for them to turn up in other Phase 5 projects.
Currently, all of the Eternals are in space, either captured by Arishem or blazing a new path for themselves with Eros and Pip the Troll (Feige teased the return of these two in an interview after the panel). Could the latter group pop up in another film set in space? Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 seems unlikely, given how long ago the script was written, but don’t rule out an appearance in a post-credits teaser. We know almost nothing about The Marvels, though it would seem Kamala Khan is stranded out in space somewhere after swapping bodies with Carol Danvers. Perhaps we could see some Eternals lend a hand in that film next year, though if they were, surely those casting news would have been reported already?
Moon Knight
Moon Knight was initially billed as a limited series on Disney+ with no plans for a sequel, though the finale’s post-credits scene clearly leaves the door open for a follow-up. It’s likely that Marvel Studios is waiting to officially tie Oscar Isaac down to another project before announcing anything, hence the lack of news. Once that happens, a second season could be shoehorned into Phase 5 or Phase 6.
However, there were rumors a while ago that he could appear in Blade, along with Kit Harrington’s character Dane Whitman from Eternals. Moon Knight would fit tonally, so it may not be the craziest rumor ever…
Spider-Man
There will almost certainly be another Spider-Man movie in Phase 5, which makes it slightly strange that it wasn’t announced. However, given the shared nature of the character between Marvel and Sony right now, it seems likely that Sony would prefer to make that announcement on their own terms. Feige will just have to wait until Sony announce their plans before he can officially add Spidey into the Phase 5 lineup.
With Daredevil getting an 18-episode long season though, wouldn’t it be wonderful if Spider-Man showed up there for an episode or two? The two characters often team up in the comics, and Peter has already met Matt Murdock in the MCU, so maybe it wouldn’t be too much to ask for a Disney+ crossover.
Yelena Belova
Yelena never had her own film or series in Phase 4, but played a significant role in Black Widow and Hawkeye. It was reported a few weeks ago that we could be seeing her in Thunderbolts, but considering that comes at the end of Phase 5, it would be nice to see her before.
Secret Invasion is unlikely, as Kevin Feige has said that series takes place between the events of Infinity War and Endgame. Perhaps she could show up in Echo, but that also seems unlikely as the only connection she shares with Maya López is that they both fought Hawkeye on the same rooftop.
Kate Bishop
Speaking of Hawkeye, there was no news about what’s next for Kate Bishop, which is surprising as rumors abound that Hailee Steinfeld is appearing in multiple projects over the next year or two. It’s possible that she could appear in Echo, given that she already tangled with Maya López in the Hawkeye series.
As a New York-based hero, it seems likely that she could pop up in Daredevil too. Maybe she could even appear in a currently unannounced Spider-Man film? She could even team up with Riri Williams in her Ironheart series if the creators wanted, given that the two heroes are of a similar age, plus a Young Avengers project has been rumored for years now.
Vision
We last saw the White Vision fly away in WandaVision, right at the very beginning of Phase 4. There’s been no hints of him ever since, not even when Wanda returned for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Where has he been this whole time, and where will he surface next?
The newly announced Avengers films that bookend Phase 6 seem like solid bets for Vision to reappear, but surely, he’ll come back before then? There are no obvious properties for him to pop up in, but here’s hoping.
War Machine
James Rhodes has only had one cameo appearance in Phase 4 so far, way back in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. We know he is getting his own Disney+ series in Armor Wars, but that was not mentioned in the Phase 5 lineup. It looks like Armor Wars probably won’t arrive until Phase 6 at this point.
Thankfully though, Rhodes appeared in the footage shown for Secret Invasion, so we will see him in that series next year. But considering that takes place in between two Phase 3 stories, we still don’t really know what Rhodey is up to post-Endgame.
Deadpool
We’ve been told that Deadpool 3 is happening for a while now, and that the film will actually be set in the MCU. There was no mention of Wade Wilson in the Phase 5 announcements though, so it seems likely that his film will arrive in Phase 6.
After that, perhaps we can expect an appearance in Avengers: Secret Wars? In a storyline based around multiversal shenanigans, it would be a big missed opportunity if he didn’t appear.
Hercules
Hercules was introduced in the mid-credits scene of Thor: Love and Thunder, and while it might not be reasonable to expect a solo film right off the bat, there don’t seem to be any obvious projects for him to appear in either. Perhaps he’ll have another cameo in a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 post-credits scene, confronting them on his search for Thor?
Doctor Strange and Thor
This isn’t as surprising, given these two characters only just had new films released in the last few months, but there’s no mention of either Doctor Strange or Thor in Phase 5. It seems incredibly likely that both of them will turn up in the Avengers films, seeing as they’re both members of the Avengers post-Endgame, but it would be nice if we saw them before then.
I’m not ruling out a surprise Thor appearance in Secret Invasion, as he was alive and on Earth during that time period, but it seems unlikely. Wouldn’t we have heard rumors already if that was the case?
Bucky Barnes
He wasn’t mentioned in the announcements, but it seems likely that Bucky Barnes will next appear in Captain America: New World Order. Not a lot of guesswork required there.
Are there any other characters that you think Marvel missed out on with their announced Phase 5 plans? Let us know in the comments.
Josh is a huge a fan of Star Wars, superheroes and video games. He spends most of his time wondering who would win in a fight between Boba Fett and Star Lord.
