Looking at what’s ahead for Marvel, Phase 5 has the potential to offer five shocking twists that would fundamentally change the MCU’s future.
Phase 5 has what it takes to offer several twists that would fundamentally change the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If the scale of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is an indicator of what Marvel has in store for the remainder of Phase 5, the next few MCU movies and shows could be packed with exciting, game-changing developments.
While Quantumania’s villain may have made it seem more important than the other Phase 5 projects on the surface, movies like Captain America: New World Order, The Marvels, and Secret Invasion are in similarly good positions to set up later installments. Their characters and stories provide them with the means necessary to have profound impacts on what comes next. Whether or not they’ll actually make use of this potential, though, remains to be seen. Here’s five ways Phase 5 can shake up the MCU.
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5The Marvels Kills Off Nick Fury
Even though he’s been in the MCU since it started in Iron Man, there’s currently no expectation for Samuel L. Jackson’s time in Marvel’s world to come to an end anytime soon. As characters come and go in the MCU, Nick Fury has been a constant of the MCU and a character that can be counted on to pop in on an intermittent basis. For that reason, it would be easy to take for granted that Nick Fury will have more MCU appearances after Secret Invasion and The Marvels, hence why killing him off could amount to one of Phase 5’s biggest twists. Phase 4 was a bit light on huge deaths, whereas Phase 5 can be a sharp reminder of how high the stakes are in the MCU if it kills off someone as important as Fury.
4Captain America 4 Sets Up World War Hulk (& Brings Back The Original Hulk)
Mark Ruffalo has no confirmed appearances after Phase 4’s She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, which makes it seem as if there will be a long wait for Marvel to set up a possible World War Hulk crossover. But with the cast Marvel is putting together for Captain America: New World Order, some big stepping stones toward World War Hulk happening in Phase 5 shouldn’t be ruled out. In a single movie, Marvel is using the Leader, Betty Ross, and Thunderbolt Ross. The latter, who will now be played by Harrison Ford, might even get his long-rumored Red Hulk transformation courtesy of one of the Leader’s sinister plans. Red Hulk would undoubtedly be a huge World War Hulk building block.
Of course, the most important thing a World War Hulk project needs is the original Hulk. With Captain America: New World feeling almost like The Incredible Hulk 2 at this point, it’s entirely plausible that Marvel finally ends Bruce Banner’s Smart Hulk phase. If he’s hiding in the movie, Marvel can use the plot to trigger a moment where the classic Hulk persona returns. This could be caused by the machinations of the Leader, or perhaps Banner seeing something truly traumatic, like the death of Betty Ross. Hulk, having been repressed by Banner for several years, could come back angrier than ever and ready to start World War Hulk, which could be Phase 7’s big crossover.
3Scarlet Witch Returns
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seemingly ended in Scarlet Witch’s death, but her fate remains unconfirmed. An opportunity to bring her back could come in Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Since it acts as a WandaVision spinoff and deals with sorcery, it’s the most appropriate place for Marvel to revisit Wanda before Phase 6. In Agatha Harkness’ upcoming series, it could be revealed that Scarlet Witch somehow survived the collapse of Chthon’s temple on Mount Wundagore. In the aftermath of Doctor Strange 2’s ending, Wanda could return to Westview during Agatha: Coven of Chaos, possibly to force Agatha into helping her with whatever her next plan is.
Scarlet Witch being alive would be a massive turn of events, especially in terms of what it would mean for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes won’t have good reasons to trust her after everything that happened in Doctor Strange 2, but would be hard-pressed to turn her away in the face of Kang’s arrival. With the Council of Kangs as their next villains, the Avengers could benefit considerably from her help. Scarlet Witch’s return in Phase 5 could be the secret key to Kang’s defeat in Phase 6.
2The MCU Reveals Its First X-Men Team Members
Judging by what’s on the slate, Marvel may not get around to giving the MCU its own X-Men team until after the Multiverse Saga ends. However, the lack of a proper X-Men movie announcement doesn’t mean Marvel is going to wait until Phase 7 to start building its roster. After all, it already set up the existence of mutants in Ms. Marvel. It could be that this was always the job of Phase 4, with Phase 5 being the chapter that will bring in mutant heroes for its future X-Men projects to build around.
Based on what’s coming up, Phase 5 has opportunities to do just that. Since Beast’s primary love interest in the source material is Abigail Brand’s comic counterpart, Secret Invasion could include him as a secret guest character. Beast would make sense, especially with him being the best friend of another MCU newcomer, Wonder Man. Another viable option for an early, unexpected introduction would be Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine showing up in Captain America 4 due to its super soldier and Weapon X connections. It’s assumed that he’ll be entering the MCU through the multiverse in Deadpool 3, but Jackman’s character also having a presence on Earth-616 is far from an implausibility. In fact, the idea of there being a Wolverine in the main MCU reality was previously teased in She-Hulk.
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1The Marvels Introduces Annihilus As Phase 7’s Villain
Before it was confirmed that Kang the Conqueror was on the horizon, Annihilus was one of the top choices to be the MCU’s Thanos replacement. In Marvel Comics, the alien warlord is the overarrching villain of the Annihilation event, a crossover that encompassed many of Marvel’s strongest cosmic characters, including Nova and Silver Surfer. The coming of Annihilus and the Annihilation Wave was so great that even Thanos himself had to get involved. But when taking into consideration just how huge an MCU Annihilation story would be, the chances of him appearing within the Multiverse Saga may seem unlikely. However, Marvel may want a separate villain for its cosmic characters to fight, and Annihilus would perfectly fit that bill.
After Earth-based heroes like the Avengers battle Kang, Marvel may lean into an Annihilation movie, which could focus more on its space-bound superheroes. The Marvels could very well be the project sets this up, especially since hints of Annihilus can be found in Ms. Marvel’s finale. The scene that laid the groudwork for her team-up with Captain Marvel showed what appeared to be Ms. Marvel’s mysterious bracelet causing the two to swap places. Their situation mirrors the predicament shared by Captain Mar-Vell and Rick Jones, who were bound to the Negative Zone, Annihulus’ prison. If the heroes go on an adventure in the Negative Zone, the movie could end with Annihilus gaining his freedom.
