Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in the middle of its Multiverse Saga with films such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the release schedule has been quite strange. Although Phase 4 seemingly introduced many critical concepts and characters surrounding the multiverse, it seems there won’t be much payoff ahead of the saga’s culminating Avengers films. To that end, Marvel’s current Phase 5 plans in particular look odd.
Marvel’s first three phases were titled The Infinity Saga, 23 connected movies culminating with a final battle against Thanos to reverse the Decimation he caused after collecting all six Infinity Stones. Now, the MCU is in the middle of the Multiverse Saga. After the completion of Phase 4 which also included shows on Disney+, Phases 5 and 6 will culminate with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars with both crossover events expected to feature all kinds of multiversal crises threatening the MCU’s status quo. However, the release schedule is quite bizarre when considering those endpoints.
Phase 4 Set Up Doctor Strange As A Key Player – So Where Is He?
As seen in Phase 4 of the MCU, Doctor Strange was very much set up to be a big deal in the Multiverse Saga. Beginning with Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange helped introduce the concepts of the multiverse to Peter Parker as well as the audience while villains and versions of Spider-Man from other realities came swinging into the MCU. This directly led to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness where Strange faced variants of himself and others (much like the MCU’s Loki series), ending with a tease that Strange would become a critical multiversal hero preventing incursions of realities.
It initially seemed as though Doctor Strange was being set up to be a central figure like Iron Man was for the Infinity Saga. However, he’s been quite absent from the MCU since his sequel, presumably helping the Dark Dimension’s Clea with another incursion as teased in the post-credits scene for Doctor Strange 2. Regardless, there’s been no sign or tease as to where the Master of the Mystic Arts will be seen next in the Multiverse Saga or if he’ll be getting a third movie ahead of Avengers: Secret Wars.
Marvel Billed Quantumania As A Kang Dynasty Prologue – But It Was Too Soon
In the same vein, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was billed as a direct prologue to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Officially introducing Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror by building upon the set-up for the villain provided by Loki, the threat Kang and his countless variants pose to the multiverse was clearly established. Likewise, the build-up to the future of the Multiverse Saga was largely viewed as the best thing the third Ant-Man movie accomplished, making it an important addition to the Multiverse Saga overall.
However, one can argue that 2023’s Quantumania was released far too early seeing as how The Kang Dynasty doesn’t release until 2025. Likewise, there aren’t many upcoming movies and shows between the two films that seem inherently focused on the multiverse. Captain America: New World Order, Blade, and Thunderbolts will undoubtedly be more grounded. Quantumania could have been saved for 2024, providing more balance to the MCU’s current release schedule rather than sandwiching a series of non-multiverse related movies between those that are.
How Will Marvel Keep The Multiverse Saga Going Until 2025?
As it stands, there are only a couple of known MCU projects that will keep the overarching Multiverse Saga narratives going until 2025. The first will likely be Loki season 2 as the first season ended with a Kang variant’s takeover of the Time Variance Authority combined with Quantumania’s post-credits scene featuring another Kang variant in the Disney+ show. Likewise, 2024’s Deadpool 3 will reportedly be multiversal-focused and will also feature Owen Wilson’s Agent Mobius from Loki, potentially in conflict with Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and the return of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine.
Beyond those two projects, it’s unclear if any other movies or shows will have direct connections to set up the culmination of the Multiverse Saga. Hopefully, there will be. Although there are of course unknown elements about what Marvel Studios has in the works narratively, the current release schedule for the Marvel Cinematic Universe still looks odd nonetheless.
Key Release Dates
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
