The future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Binoculars. — (Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images)

With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in the rearview, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are already looking ahead to 2026, when the franchise's next Avengers: Endgame-level event is set to be released. Between now and then, though, are a dizzying number of projects slated to introduce key characters and developments. Here's everything we know about all of the upcoming MCU films and TV shows and how they fit into Marvel's road map:

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (Nov. 25, 2022)

Set after Thor: Love and Thunder, the special finds Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) mourning the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), who was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) decide to travel to Earth to get Peter the perfect Christmas present in an effort to cheer him up — which involves trying to kidnap Kevin Bacon, played by the real Kevin Bacon.

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In the forthcoming third Ant-Man film, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Scott's daughter Cassie (who has been recast and is now played by Kathryn Newton) end up in the Quantum Realm, the microscopic universe where Janet disappeared before being rescued in the last movie, 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp. Along the way, they'll reportedly encounter Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors.

In the season one finale of Loki, Majors appeared as a mysterious man from the end of time, referred to as He Who Remains, who claimed to be protecting the universe from infinite versions of himself from other timelines. After he is killed, his ominous last words are, "I'll see you soon." So in Quantumania, we'll meet a "variant" of He Who Remains from another timeline named Kang, who is expected to be the next overarching villain of the MCU, similar to Thanos. After all, the next Avengers film (due out in 2025) is named after Kang. That said, it isn't entirely clear whether the variant of Kang seen in Quantumania will be the same one in future movies. It's always possible that, for example, Kang could be killed by the end of the film, only for another version of him to pop up courtesy of a different timeline.

Also making his MCU debut in Quantumania is Bill Murray, who has confirmed he's playing a "bad guy." The film will also introduce MODOK, a villain from comics with a giant head whose name stands for Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing. The Good Place's William Jackson Harper will pop up as well, though his role hasn't been revealed. Plus, Randall Park is back as Jimmy Woo, presumably to show off his refined close-up magic skills.

Notably, Scott's daughter Cassie is one of several characters in the MCU who joined the Young Avengers in the comics, in addition to America Chavez, Wanda's kids, and others. Cassie goes on to become a superhero in her own right, known as Stature, so it's possible she could take on that mantle by the end of Quantumania, setting up a future Young Avengers crossover and even allowing her to lead the franchise when or if Rudd wants to leave.

The season two premiere was shown at Comic-Con, and it's another episode about Captain Carter, this time based on Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The title is "What If … Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper," and the same way Steve Rogers finds out in The Winter Solider that his friend Bucky has been turned evil, Peggy finds out that Steve is evil and has become the Hydra Stomper, as described by Slashfilm.

Samuel L. Jackson returns to Earth in Secret Invasion as Nick Fury, who's been in space for years, as teased in the Spider-Man: Far From Home credits — and we'll see him without the eye patch this time. Cobie Smulders also stars as Maria Hill, and Ben Mendelsohn reprises his role as Talos, the Skrull leader from Captain Marvel who has been working with Fury and even impersonated him in Far From Home.

Martin Freeman returns as Everett Ross after reprising the role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, although that film left him in an interesting spot. Spoiler alert: Ross was arrested at the end of the film after being accused of treason by CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), though he's freed by the Wakandans. Presumably, Secret Invasion will follow up on that and perhaps depict Ross now working on his own — unless the show is set before Wakanda Forever.

It would also make sense for Valentina to return now that we know she's director of the CIA, which you'd assume would factor into this espionage story. Louis-Dreyfus hasn't been announced as part of the Secret Invasion cast, but then again, her appearance in Wakanda Forever was a surprise, too. But we do know that Don Cheadle is back as War Machine. Could another inexplicable Emmy nomination be in store?

In terms of new characters, Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke makes her MCU debut. Her role has been kept a secret, though a GIF shared by Marvel suggested she's playing a character who in the comics works for S.W.O.R.D., the intelligence agency we previously saw in WandaVision. Olivia Colman also stars as Special Agent Sonya Falsworth, an ally of Fury's, while Kingsley Ben-Adir reportedly plays a rebel Skrull leader.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was briefly thrown off its schedule when writer and director James Gunn was fired in 2018 over offensive tweets. But he's since been brought back to complete the trilogy, and he has described Vol. 3 as the "last time people will see this team of Guardians" — leading to speculation one or more of them could bite the dust. It will also, presumably, be the last time Gunn ever works with Marvel, as he has been hired to oversee the DC franchise.

In addition to all the returning characters, Will Poulter has been cast in the film as Adam Warlock, a fan-favorite character who in the comics played a role in the events of Infinity War. A credits scene in Vol. 2 showed Elizabeth Debicki's Ayesha, High Priestess of the Sovereign, creating Adam Warlock as part of an effort to destroy the Guardians; Debicki is returning in Vol 3, as well. Chukwudi Iwuji will also be playing the High Evolutionary, who is attempting to create the perfect species, while Maria Bakalova voices Cosmo the Spacedog after first appearing in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

Gunn has said he felt compelled to return for Vol. 3 especially to finish off the storyline of Rocket (Bradley Cooper). "I knew that that was what started me on this journey, was seeing who he could be and who he was, where he came from, and the thing that grounded me initially in the Guardians," he told Entertainment Weekly. Based on quotes like that, fans aren't feeling great about Rocket's odds of survival.

Cox returns in the lead role as the deaf Native American character, and Vincent D'Onofrio will also be back as Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin, her adoptive uncle — despite Maya shooting him point blank at the end of Hawkeye; he's now wearing an eye patch in Echo, according to footage shown at the D23 Expo. The plot sees Maya returning to her hometown, where she must "face her past" and "reconnect with her Native American roots," per Marvel.com.

One would expect this to be the next Marvel project after Quantumania to deal with Kang the Conqueror, although it hasn't been confirmed that Jonathan Majors will reprise the role. But the first season ended with Loki, after the death of He Who Remains at the end of time, finding himself in another timeline where nobody recognizes him and a statue of Kang has been erected at the Time Variance Authority headquarters.

Larson returns as Carol Danvers in the film, which is effectively Captain Marvel 2. But Iman Vellani also stars as Captain Marvel superfan Kamala Khan from the Disney+ Ms. Marvel series, while Teyonah Parris returns as Monica Rambeau from WandaVision. Monica is the daughter of Carol's best friend, Maria, and she was played by Akira Akbar in the original Captain Marvel, which was set in the 1990s. WandaVision revealed Monica's mother died during "The Blip," the five years that followed Thanos' snap.

The plot of The Marvels was teased in a credits scene of the Ms. Marvel finale, where Kamala's bangle appears to have caused her to swap places with Carol, who is suddenly transported into Kamala's bedroom and seems confused about how she got there. This credits scene was shot by Nia DaCosta, director of The Marvels, so it may have been taken directly from the film. Footage shown at D23 indicates that every time Carol, Kamala, or Monica use their powers, they swap places with one another. Samuel L. Jackson is also returning as Nick Fury, and Zawe Ashton is reportedly playing the villain.

The Marvels will be the first time fans get to see Kamala Khan meet her hero Carol Danvers, who inspired her to become a superhero herself, as well as the first time we see Carol interact with the adult version of Monica Rambeau, who also gained powers during WandaVision. WandaVision, though, appeared to suggest Monica may hold some resentment toward Carol for leaving her and her mother as a child and possibly never returning to Earth until Avengers: Endgame.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness gave a major shout-out to X-Men: The Animated Series by calling back its theme — and now, that classic cartoon from the 1990s is getting a revival on Disney+ called X-Men '97. It appears likely the events won't be canon to the MCU or at least won't take place in the main timeline, sort of like how the Professor X we saw in Multiverse of Madness was from another universe.

Anthony Ramos will star as Parker Robbins, who in the comics is a villain known as The Hood. At D23, Ramos described his character as a "misfit" who "wants to take in other misfits," and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said the character "deals in the dark arts," noting, "We've had technological heroes and villains, we've had people with magic, we've never seen them at the same time," per The Wrap. Alden Ehrenreich, who played the young Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story, has also reportedly joined the cast in what Deadline described as a "key role."

As of now, there is no confirmation that Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch will be in the show. Scarlet Witch was supposedly killed at the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in the process of destroying the Darkhold, but the death wasn't definitive, so fans are convinced she's still alive. Olsen's return to the MCU hasn't been confirmed, though it would make sense for her to have a cameo here.

After the Captain America mantle was passed to Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson in Avengers: Endgame, and after he accepted the mantle in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, our new Captain America is finally getting his own film: Captain America: New World Order, which is being co-written by the creator of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Malcolm Spellman. It will be directed by Julius Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox).

Plot details haven't been revealed, but the film is set to bring a huge movie star to the MCU: Harrison Ford, who will reportedly appear in the film as Thunderbolt Ross, the character previously played by the late William Hurt. Tim Blake Nelson is also returning as his character from 2008's The Incredible Hulk, Samuel Sterns. Last we saw him, Sterns had gotten Bruce Banner's blood on his forehead, implying he would turn into the villain The Leader — so it appears New World Order will finally follow up on that. It only took 16 years!

Ever since 2021's The Falcon and the Winter Solider, Marvel has teased that Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (who Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reveals is director of the CIA) is putting together a team for some unspecified purpose, and this all appears to be leading to the formation of the Thunderbolts — essentially, Marvel's equivalent of DC's Suicide Squad, a group of antihero Avengers.

The film's team will consist of Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, David Harbour's Red Guardian, and Olga Kurylenko's Taskmaster from Black Widow; Wyatt Russell's John Walker and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier; and Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Louis-Dreyfus also returns as Valentina. There have been conflicting reports about whether Ford will return as Thunderbolt to lead the team, though. Jake Schreier (Paper Towns) directs, while Eric Pearson, the screenwriter behind Black Widow, wrote the script.

Like Deadpool and X-Men, Fantastic Four is another property that Marvel gained the rights to following Disney's acquisition of Fox. The casting of the Fantastic Four is one of the most anticipated bits of Marvel news on the horizon, and it still hasn't been unveiled. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, John Krasinski had a cameo as Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic, which came after years of fans suggesting him for the role. But that was in an alternate universe, so it's not clear if Krasinski will be Reed Richards in the main universe or if that was just a one-time thing to nod at fans.

The movie could also potentially feature a payoff roughly seven years in the making. Spider-Man: Homecoming, from 2017, included a crucial plot point that Tony Stark was selling the Avengers Tower in New York City, but we never found out who the buyer was. Ever since, some fans have speculated the tower will be turned into the Baxter Building, the headquarters of the Fantastic Four. So could the Fantastic Four movie finally answer that question? (Alternatively, other fans have speculated the building was bought by Norman Osborn's company Oscorp, which could be revealed in a future Spider-Man film.)

Other than the general idea that the Avengers will fight Kang, we don't know much about the plot of the film or what the Avengers line-up will look like by the time it arrives. But the film will be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and written by Jeff Loveness, who is handling Kang's introduction by writing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Admittedly, Marvel never adapts comic storylines to the letter. But based on how much the MCU has focused on the multiverse lately, Secret Wars could see something similar, where the multiverse collapses into itself and many different universes are combined. That would give Marvel an infinite sandbox for ideas without the peskiness of contradictions or continuity, since practically any character could come into play with the simple explanation that they come from another universe. There has even been speculation this could allow for the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Chris Evans as Captain America, as they could play versions of those characters from other timelines. But really, absolutely anyone in Marvel history is in play, from Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man to even Ben Affleck's Daredevil.

The original Vision was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, and in WandaVision, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) created a fantasy sitcom world to see him again. But then the real Vision's body was used to create "White Vision," which, by the end of WandaVision, gained all of the original Vision's memories — meaning, in a sense, a version of the original Vision is back, just seemingly without his emotional connection to Wanda.

In March 2022, Deadline reported Marvel was developing a project about Nova written by Sabir Pirzada, who worked on the Disney+ series Moon Knight. The report said it wasn't clear whether this will be a film or a Disney+ show. But Nova, a.k.a. Richard Rider, is a fan favorite from the comics, and he serves in the Nova Corps, the police force we've already seen in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Could Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 set the stage for his introduction?

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.