2025 is set to be a big year for theMarvel Cinematic Universe. Ever sinceAvengers: EndgameandSpider-Man: Far From Homeconcluded the Infinity Saga, their new Multiverse Saga has seen its fair share of ups and downs. They were forced to skip out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While their return started strong with critically acclaimed series likeWandaVision,Loki, and films likeShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsandSpider-Man: No Way Home, by 2023, it appeared that cracks in the MCU were starting to form.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniawas a critical and box office disappointment;Secret Invasionis regarded by many as one of the worst entries in the franchise, andThe Marvelsbecame their first outright flop. Due to the combined WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strike in 2023, Marvel Studios paired down 2024 with just two live-action Disney+ series,EchoandAgatha All Along,withDeadpool & Wolverinebeing their only feature film.
Over the past two years, Marvel Studios has made behind-the-scenes changes to correct their franchise. While one could argue how much needed to be course-corrected whenall three of their 2022 films were in the top 10 biggest movies worldwide, the MCU has taken note of what has and has not been working. Even recently, at D23 Brazil, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige spoke about how they were course correcting and how that has shaped their 2025 slate.
From Bob Chapek no longer forcing Marvel to greenlight an endless stream of material for Disney+ to dropping Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, here are five major ways the MCU is course-correcting ahead of 2025.
5Slowing Down on Announcing Projects
Following the release ofIron Manin 2008, Marvel has made a habit of announcing their slate of films ahead of time. In 2012, at San Diego Comic-Con followingThe Avengers, they confirmed their Phase Two plans forGuardians of the Galaxy. In 2014, they held a special presentation for the press to announce their entire Phase Three slate. Not only did Marvel make big slate announcements, but the movies on that list tended to happen. The only two exceptions wereThe RunawaysandInhumans, and even then, both were reworked into television series that aired during the Infinity Saga.
Marvel Studios seemed to keep this momentum rolling into Phase Four and beyond when, in 2019, they announced their slate of films and Disney+ series. In 2020, during Disney Investor Day Call, they announced more film and television series, and in 2022, as production seemed to be rolling along following the COVID-19 pandemic, at both Comic-Con and D23, they announced a slew of new film and television series through Phase Five andteased some of Phase Six including two newAvengersmoviesandThe Fantastic Four.
However, titles likeBladeandThe Fantastic Fourhave been delayed for a long time, while others likeArmor Warshave never happened. This was because former Disney CEO Bob Chapek put pressure on Marvel Studios to constantly release new series for Disney+ to boost the value of streaming services, leading to more titles being announced but little movement being made. Chapek has since been forced out of the company, andBob Iger’s returnwas signaled by his emphasizing theatrical releases and valuing quality of quantity.
Keeping Attention on Phase Five
Marvel Studios seems to have learned its lesson, and right now, they are keeping the audience’s attention on what is immediately coming out. At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, theMarvel Studios panel only focused on the three MCU films set for release in 2025while retitlingAvengers: The Kang DynastytoAvengers: Secret Warsand confirming that Robert Downey Jr. would be Doctor Doom.
Other thanThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, the twoAvengersmovies, and the recently announcedSpider-Man 4, not much is known about Phase Six. That is okay, as2025 has plenty of titles that will close out Phase 5. There will be three live-action films, and Disney+ will release three live-action MCU series and three animated projects.
Many of Marvel’s delays were out of their control, like the COVID-19 pandemic and both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strike, which has led to the Multiverse Saga seemingly having a lot of false starts and stops. Because of this, they seem to be focusing on getting throughAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars, ending this franchise chapter and prepping what lies beyond for later. While some fans might be frustrated at a lack of news forShang-Chi 2,Doctor Strange 3, orThe Young Avengers, Marvel Studios is keeping attention focused on what they have now and not what comes next until they are ready.
4Not Afraid to Rework Projects in Development
Part of Marvel Studios' issues from announcing titles so far in advance was the pressure to get them released, sometimes rushing them out regardless of the quality, withSecret Invasionbeing the best example. In 2023, following the disappointing reaction toSecret Invasionand with the SAG-AFTRA Strike delaying filming on all projects for nearly four months, Marvel Studios took that time off to rework some entries. They delayed anddid extensive reshoots ofCaptain America: Brave New Worldand retooledDaredevil: Born Againto be closer to the Netflix series.
Instead of rushing the projects out because the work was already done, they invested the money to improve them. In the long run, it is an intelligent investment because multiple poorly received titles will hurt the brand more in the long term.
Don’t Rush Blade
The best case of Marvel Studios not rushing out a project isBlade.Bladewas first announced in 2019, with Mahershala Ali set to play the lead role. In five years, the film has undergone many production delays, with multiple screenwriters having done a pass on the film and two directors having dropped out.
Many fans have been critical of this, but instead of rushing out aBladefilm so the character can appear inAvengers: Doomsday, they will take their time until it is ready, which is a good sign that quality is more important than meeting a release date. Marvel Studios is committed to making a good Blade movie, which, as seen by the poor reaction toBlade: Trinity, is harder than it looks. They will delay and rework it if the result is a better movie. This should be praised because, in the end, that is what people will remember and not the headlines of it being delayed.
Marvel’s Blade Delay Is Good News for Fantastic Four
While fans might be frustrated at another delay to Blade, it is good news for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
3Shifting From Kang to Doctor Doom
One of the biggest course corrections in the entire history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been shifting the big bad of the Multiverse Saga from Kang the Conqueror to Doctor Doom.Marvel Studios invested a lot in the character of Kang and star Jonathan Majorsand made their intentions clear in 2022 when they announced that the fifthAvengersmovie would beThe Kang Dynasty.
2023 was going to be a Kang-heavy year asAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumanianot only featured Kang as the main villain, but all of the trailers were teasing the next Avengers movie with the tagline “witness the beginning of a new dynasty.” The council of Kangs was teased in the film’s mid-credits scene.
However, just one month afterAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniahit theaters, actor Jonathan Majors was arrested for physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend and, in December of that year, was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of assault and harassment. That same day,Marvel fired him from the role of Kang the Conqueror. Instead of recasting the part, Marvel Studios pivoted and, seven months later, at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, not only announcedAvengers: The Kang Dynastywould be retitledAvengers: Doomsday,but that Robert Downey Jr. would play Doctor Doom.
Doctor Doom s a Better Villain
Doctor Doom is a better villain to be the ultimate foe for a culmination Avengers movie than Kang was for a couple of reasons. One is that Doctor Doom is more popular as a character, so his presence is a bigger deal to general audiences.Kang the Conqueror is undoubtedly a powerful Marvel villainand an Avengers-level threat. Had they introduced him inAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaand then setAvengers: The Kang Dynastyas anotherAvengersmovie, like Loki going fromThortoThe Avengers, that would have worked. But trying to make him the new Thanos was always an ill-advised move.
The other is that the sixthAvengersmovie,Avengers: Secret Wars, is adapted from the 2015 comicSecret Wars, which isfamously a Doctor Doom comic. So, it makes more sense to establish Doctor Doom than to give his most iconic story to Kang the Conqueror. IfAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsare not just Avengers movies but big massive epic culminations, then the idea of pivoting from Kang to Doctor Doom is the right call.
2Emphasizing the Interconnected Universe While Providing a New Entry Point for New Viewers
Four of the MCU’s big 2025 projects,Captain America: Brave New World,Daredevil: Born Again,Thunderbolts*, andIronheart, will all be stories building off plot lines and threads across the MCU. Long-standing plot threads likethe Celestial head fromEternalsand the status of The Leader will be answered inCaptain America: Brave New World, whileThunderbolts*will finally answer whobought Avengers Tower back inSpider-Man: Homecomingas well as what exactly Valentina “Val” Allegra de Fontaine has been up to since her introduction inThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Meanwhile,Daredevil: Born Againwill continue from the NetflixDaredevilseries and tie into plotlines set up inShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law,Hawkeye, andEcho.Ironheartlooks to give the spotlight to Riri Williams after her introduction inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is starting to feel more connected again, paying off storylines and plot threads that have been seeded throughout.
Feeling More Interconnected
Technically, the MCU has been just as interconnected as ever. Doctor Strange did appear inSpider-Man: No Way Home. At the same time,Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesspicked up fromWandaVision, andThe Marvelsacted as a sequel toCaptain MarvelandMs. MarvelandWandaVision.
Yet the individual movies did not feel like they were building off one another, making the universe feel lived in the same way they did back in Phases Two and Three whereCaptain America: Winter Soldier’s HYDRA reveal led into the beginning ofAvengers: Age of Ultron, and that film’s climax kicked offCaptain America: Civil Warwhich then splintered off intoBlack Panther,Spider-Man: Homecoming, andAnt-Man and the Waspbefore culminating inAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame. The 2025 slate of MCU projects looks to recapture that feeling of embracing the interconnectivity of the universe, paying off plotlines and colliding characters into intersecting stories.
For audiences who might also be concerned about needing to watch plenty of new titles,The Fantastic Four: First Stepswill provide a new entry point to the franchiseunburdened by continuity likeGuardians of the Galaxydid back in Phase Two.
Why Marvel’s Phase 4 Was a Reset for New Audiences
Phase 4 of the MCU has a lot in common with Phase 1, and in many ways is a reset for the franchise to allow new viewers to come aboard.
1Know When to Listen to the Fans and When Not To
Easily the biggest course correction the MCU has taken is less about what they have done and more about what they have chosen NOT to do. Starting in Phase Three, Marvel Studios began to diversify their hero roster with characters like Black Panther and Captain Marvel, and that paid off as both those heroes' solo films grossed $1 billion. In the comics, the Marvel Universe was always sold as “the world outside your window,” and the MCU committed to featuring more heroes outside of traditional cis-straight white males. Through Phases Four and Five,they committed to making projects centered around a diverse cast of characters.
They introduced plenty of new heroes like Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Werewolf by Night, Ironheart, America Chavez, Maya Lopez, Kate Bishop, and more to reflect the growing global audience of the franchise. This, however, had some subsets of audiencesbegin targeted hate campaignsagainst these diverse projects, with some labeling it the “M-She-U” as a type of insult, suggesting the franchise was suffering because it opted to go more varied. To Marvel’s credit, they are not listening to this and are still committing to making the MCU an inclusive space both on-screen and off-screen.
The MCU Is For Everyone
The MCU’s commitment to inclusion was seen in 2024’sAgatha All Along. The series captured the attention of entirely new audiences for the MCU. Marvel’s call to invest in Kathryn Hahn’s breakout character fromWandaVisionpaid off as it catered to a crowd who might not be into the MCU’s overall continuity but did want a fun witch show.Agatha All Alongalso delivered on the queer representationthat Disney projects often get criticized for marketing but rarely deliver on and seemingly will continue to move forward in the MCU following how successful the series was.
Marvel Studios is also maintaining that Sam Wilson IS Captain America. This is his franchise now, and he is worthy enough to carry one of Marvel’s most prominent titles over.Ironheartis finally coming to Disney+, and despite a nearly two-year delay, it will arrive on Disney+ in June 2025. Even thoughThe Marvelsbombed at the box office,Marvel Studios seems to be committing to Brie Larson’s Captain Marveland Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel being key pillars of the franchise moving forward.
Marvel Studios knows when to listen to the fans and when not to, and which fan criticisms are being done in good faith. Are fans concerned aboutDaredevil: Born Againkilling off Foggy Nelson and Karen Page? It might be a good idea to change that. Are people sayingThe Marvelsbombed because it was “woke”? It’s probably not worth paying attention to.
