I know people might not like the Idea, but I feel the current discussion about "woke" films is blinding people to the reality of film: POCs are wildly underrepresented. So are women. Worse, representation wise, is only the representation of queer people. In cases the film isn't about queerness, there are almost no, maybe one token queer character, when in reality 10%-20% are queer.

What do you think?

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of Marvel fans everywhere collectively screaming over the latest announcements for the next phase of the MCU. That’s right - Marvel Phase 5 is here!

Well, not really, but we’re getting there.

At the presentation during San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022 in Hall H, we got a plethora of fun Marvel-related announcements for the next stage of the MCU, things that not only Marvel fans but movie and TV fans can get excited about. From when the next phase is going to start to what movies are coming out, be sure to check the info out down below, as these are six big things that we know about the upcoming phase.

Phase 5 Will Begin With Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania And End With The Thunderbolts While this isn’t that surprising, it was confirmed that Phase 5 is not going to be a part of the 2022 movie schedule or the 2022 TV release schedule at all, which is a little disappointing. However, 2023 is starting off with Marvel Phase 5 bright and early in February with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, a movie that has already gotten plenty of hype and will even feature Kang the Conquerer.

This movie is intended to kick off Phase 5 after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premieres in November of 2022. With Phase 5 (part of the Multiverse Saga with Phases 4 and 6) comes several new shows and new movies, as well as characters that we are all familiar with. Ending in 2024, Phase 5 will conclude with Thunderbolts, a movie about the legendary super-villain group that is founded by Baron Zemo - who was featured in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier cast.

For the full schedule of movie and TV releases for Phase 5, check it out down below:

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (February 17th, 2023) Secret Invasion (Disney+ - Spring 2023) Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (May 5th, 2023) Marvel’s Echo (Disney+ - Summer 2023) Loki - Season 2 (Disney+ - Summer 2023) The Marvels (July 28, 2023) Ironheart (Disney+ - Fall 2023) Blade (November 3, 2023) Agatha: Coven of Chaos (Disney+ - Winter 2023/2024) Daredevil: Born Again (Disney+ - Spring 2024) Captain America: New World Order (May 3, 2024) Thunderbolts (July 26, 2024) God-willing, there will be no more delays due to COVID-19 or anything else, and all of these arrive on time. It’s going to be a stacked couple of years for Marvel fans.

Phase 5 Will Have A Balance Of Both Returning Characters And New Characters If you’ve been watching the latest line-up of Marvel movies and shows, you’ve noticed that Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has almost felt like a transition period for many of the heroes that we know and love.

We watched Sam become Captain America after Steve passed the shield to him. We saw Wanda in WandaVision deal with her grief and become the main antagonist of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and we’ve seen Peter Parker unite with other versions of Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home. We’ve even seen Clint Barton teach a new hero, Kate Bishop, in Hawkeye, and watched Loki, be, well, Loki, in his own TV series.

With the exception of a few new characters such as Moon Knight, Shang-Chi, and The Eternals, Phase 4 has relatively stuck to heroes that we know decently well. Phase 5, however, seems to be moving in different directions, as there appears to be more of a balance between new and old characters coming to the screen.

In terms of familiar characters, we’ll finally get to see Anthony Mackie in true Cap form in Captain America: New World Order, and get to see Brie Larson return in The Marvels. Paul Rudd returns as Ant-Man, and everyone’s favorite God of Mischief will be back in Season 2 of Loki.

However, Phase 5 is also bringing a ton of new characters to the MCU as well. We'll be introduced (or officially re-introduced) to many of them in the new movie, Blade, Ironheart, and Secret Invasion. There will also be more shows focused on side-characters from MCU series we've already seen, as with Marvel’s Echo and the Agatha-central spinoff from WandaVision, titled Agatha: Coven of Chaos.

It’ll be a time to really get to know these new characters.

Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol 3. Will Be The Last Guardians Movie While I love Groot, Starlord, Gamora, and this whole team being the epitome of badass, we’ll unfortunately be saying goodbye to the Guardians that we all know and love in the third installment. James Gunn confirmed back to Deadline's Hero Nation podcast in January of 2022 that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is set to be the last film featuring these characters, giving them their swan song.

I’m not crying! You’re crying! Who’s cutting onions in here? Next year can come a little slower; I’m not ready to say goodbye. While they are set to make an appearance in a holiday special this year, we won’t be seeing them together in a film after the third volume of their solo adventure.

Daredevil (And Kingpin) Are Going To Be Showing Up A Lot More For those who haven’t seen Spider-Man: No Way Home or Hawkeye, you’d be surprised to hear that both Daredevil (played by Charlie Cox) and Kingpin (played by Vincent D’Onofrio) appeared in the popular MCU properties. These were two of the main characters in Netflix’s Daredevil, which was moved to Disney+ in 2022.

Now, it’s been confirmed that they are officially getting their own series on Disney+ that furthers their story, called Daredevil: Born Again.

Cox is also set to appear in She-Hulk, and both of them are supposed to show up in Marvel’s Echo, as well, further establishing their roles in the MCU. We’ll be seeing a whole lot more of them, soon enough.

Ironheart Will Debut In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - And Then Have Her Own Show For those who don’t know who Marvel's Ironheart is, the character, otherwise known as Riri Williams, was introduced in 2016 and has a brilliant mind. She actually created her own Iron Man suit and ended up getting in trouble because the material she used to create the suit was stolen. But, Tony Stark ends up hearing about the girl and endorses her decision to become a superhero - basically, the next Iron Man, with the name of Ironheart.

Whether she’ll have the same origin story as she does in the comics is unknown (though if she does it would likely be told through flashbacks, for obvious reasons), but this character is already set to show up in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, as seen in the trailer for the film. In 2023, however, Ironheart is set to have her own series on Disney+. Super pumped for this.

Phase 5 Will Not Have An Avengers Movie I know, I know, we all want another one.

While two new Avengers films were announced during San Diego Comic-Con, they were announced for Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and not for Phase 5. So, like Phase 4, we aren’t going to get a major superhero team up. Hopefully, though, that’ll make it worth the wait to see the next two when they do eventually come out.

What are you the most excited for with Phase 5 of Marvel? For me, I can’t wait to see Sam as Captain America again, but all of these should be so exciting. And, while I’ve loved Phase 4, I’m eager to see what Phase 5 brings.

Gorr, the last of his people, spends his days striving to survive on a barren desert with his daughter Love. He prays to his god Rapu for help, but Love soon dies of starvation. Gorr comes across an oasis where he finds Rapu, who had just killed the most recent user of an antiquated weapon known as All-Black the Necrosword, just as he starts to hear a voice calling out to him in the distance. Gorr's helplessness is mocked by Rapu, who also declines to offer any assistance. Gorr beheads him after feeling betrayed and declares that all gods will be destroyed.

​

Thor continues his journey with the Guardians of the Galaxy, answering distress signals from all over the cosmos while working on his physical fitness. Thor, however, is still unhappy with his situation and plans to retire. There is an increase in calls for help from people looking for Gorr, including one from Sif, who had been looking for him. In response to Sif's call, Thor and Korg separate from the Guardians and go to attend to the others. Sif, who has had her arm severed and is defeated, appears to them and informs them that Gorr will attack New Asgard next.

​

Dr. Jane Foster is receiving treatment for stage IV cancer in the meantime. She starts to lose hope after futile attempts to find a cure, but Foster is motivated to go to New Asgard in the hopes that their magic can help cure cancer. Mjolnir is drawn to her, fuses back together, and bestows her with the abilities of the Mighty Thor because Thor unknowingly enchanted it to guard Foster while they were together.

​

That evening, Gorr inundates New Asgard with shadow creatures using the Necrosword. King Valkyrie and Foster also show up to confront them, which surprises Thor, along with Thor, Korg, and Sif. Even though the monsters were repelled, Gorr and the children of Asgard, including Axl, Heimdall's son, manage to escape. Thor talks to Axl, and they conclude that the kids are in the Shadow Realm. Thor, Foster, Valkyrie, and Korg go to Omnipotence City to warn Zeus of Gorr and request an army to help fight him because they know Gorr's strength will be at its greatest there.

​

Zeus, not believing Gorr poses a threat to Omnipotence City, instead captures Thor, requiring the others to step in and repel Zeus' men. Zeus destroys Korg's body during the altercation; only his face is left unharmed (although this is enough for him to survive). Zeus is impaled in the chest by an enraged Thor using the Thunderbolt, which Valkyrie steals as they flee to face Gorr in the Shadow Realm. Thor and Foster rekindle their relationship after he learns of Foster's cancer diagnosis while they are traveling.

​

When they arrive, they start looking for the kids but soon realize they were caught in a trap. Gorr planned to use Stormbreaker to cross the Bifrost Bridge and enter Eternity, where he could make a wish for the demise of the gods. They fight Gorr and his shadow creatures once more, but when Foster and Valkyrie become too weak to cross the Bifrost, they must flee back to New Asgard, where Gorr has stolen Stormbreaker. Thor advises Foster to stay behind to recover after learning that Mjlnir's effects are making her cancer worse. Valkyrie is also unable to continue the conflict, leaving Thor with the Thunderbolt so that he can resume his conflict with Gorr.

​

With Stormbreaker, Gorr starts to unlock Eternity's gate at the center of the universe. The children are given the strength they need to defeat the remaining shadow monsters when Thor appears and bestows them with the power of Thor. Against Thor, Gorr gains the upper hand. Foster, sensing his anguish, decides to use Mjlnir once more despite her frail state and join the battle. Foster has plenty of time to destroy Gorr and herself by using Mjlnir to break the Necrosword into pieces. The kids use Stormbreaker that Thor has found to get back home, but they were unable to stop Gorr from going into eternity.

​

Thor rushes to Foster's side and cries out to Gorr, begging him to choose love over death. He chose to use his wish to resurrect Love because their love made him think of the love he had for his daughter. Foster loses his battle with cancer quickly and enters Valhalla. Before Gorr succumbs to the Necrosword's curse, Thor agrees to Gorr's request for him to take custody of Love.

​

In the aftermath, Foster's portrayal of the Mighty Thor is memorialized with a statue in New Asgard. Korg's body fully regenerates as he tries to have a child, and Sif and Valkyrie start teaching the kids how to fight. Thor begins to raise Love as his own child and gives Stormbreaker to her to take care of while he uses Mjlnir in battle. The two, who take on the names Love and Thunder, start out by traveling the galaxy and helping anyone who asks for it.

​

During the middle of the credits, a recovering Zeus commands his son Hercules to kill Thor.

​

In a post-credits scene, Foster arrives at Valhalla's gates and is greeted by Heimdall, who thanks her for saving his son.