2025 is expected to bring some of the biggest updates and breaking news stories in the history of theMarvel Cinematic Universeand Marvel’s other franchises. Unlike 2024, 2025 will be a jam-packed year forMarvel movie and TV show releases. The release of three new feature films, at least five new TV shows, and the continued development of both the MCU and Sony’sSpider-Versefranchise is very exciting. With so many new releases comes more promise for the future, so Marvel could be on the verge of releasing some huge new updates.
Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepswill see huge developments made to the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. Aside from these major releases, Marvel Studios also seems to be on the verge of confirming majorcasting news forAvengers: Doomsday,Black Panther 3and the MCU’sX-Menreboot, while thefate of Sony’s Spider-Man Universecould also be confirmed, and the animatedSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versesequel will get closer to releasing. These possible news stories make 2025 a very exciting year for Marvel fans.
10Avengers: Doomsday Cast List As Filming Starts
Avengers: Doomsday Is Scheduled For Release In May 2026
Avengers: Doomsdayis scheduled to be released on June 26, 2025, withfilming expected to begin in the second quarter of 2025 in London. As the start date nears for the MCU’s next crossover movie, with the Russo brothers back leading the charge, it’s very likely that more solid casting news will soon be released for the much-anticipated project. So far, Robert Downey Jr. has been confirmed to beDoomsday’stitular villain, Doctor Doom, while Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Mackie and the casts ofThunderbolts*andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepshave also been confirmed.
10 Evil Avengers Who Could Appear In Avengers: Doomsday After RDJ And Chris Evans' Castings
Now that Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans are both returning to Avengers: Doomsday, it’s time to see what other Marvel stars could return evil.
The fact that Downey Jr. and Evans are returning inAvengers: Doomsdaysuggests thatMarvel Studios may try and bag the other members of the original Avengers, too. This could mean Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner will be confirmed to return, whileScarlett Johansson is more of a wildcard. It’s very likely several new MCU heroes, such as Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, Tatiana Maslany’s She-Hulk and Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight, among others, will also be confirmed, and 2025 could provide much-wanted confirmation.
9New Avengers Line-Up After Captain America 4
Captain America Will Be Urged To Rebuild The Avengers In 2025
Trailers for 2025’sCaptain America: Brave New Worldhave shown Harrison Ford’s President Ross urging Anthony Mackie’sSam Wilson to rebuild the Avengers team, with Captain America being their new leader. This meansaudiences may finally see the Avengers reform in 2025, which would provide insight into the official line-up of the upcoming team. While it’s unclear whether Sam Wilson will actually agree to bring together a new Avengers team,Brave New Worldcould still hint at the team’s possible roster.
Popular theories have suggested thatCaptain America: Brave New World’spossible Avengers team could include a number of new and familiar heroes, including War Machine, She-Hulk, Shuri’s Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Star-Lord and Spider-Man, among others.It would, of course, be great to see these heroes cameo inBrave New World, though it’s perhaps more likely that audiences won’t see the titular team form untilAvengers: Doomsday.Brave New Worldcould still be followed with aconfirmation of the Avengers' new line-up, however, which would be huge for the MCU.
8Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse Release Date
Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse Will End Miles Morales' Trilogy
Sony’s third animatedSpider-Versemovie, featuring Shameik Moore as the voice of Miles Morales, was originally intended to be released on July 07, 2025, almost a year afterAcross the Spider-Verse. However,Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versewas removed from Sony’s release schedule in July 2023 following production delays and the SAG-AFTRA strike. Sony still has July 15, 2025, reserved for a Marvel release, but this hasn’t been confirmed asBeyond the Spider-Verseand could be too soon for the epic animated trilogy-capper.
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Recent reports suggestSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versewill release in 2026 at the earliest, while 2027 seems to be a more believable release window. Following the recent news thatBob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson will be directingthe sequel and with voice recording starting shortly, it seems 2025 could come with a finalized and definite release date for the much-anticipated movie.Sony’sSpider-Versefranchise comprises its most successful and popular Marvel movies, so getting an actual release date for the final movie in Miles Morales' trilogy is an exciting prospect.
7Scarlet Witch’s MCU Return Details
Elizabeth Olsen Has Been Heavily Rumored To Return To The MCU
Elizabeth Olsen first appeared as Wanda Maximoff, one of Marvel Comics' most popular and powerful characters, in the post-credits scene of 2014’sCaptain America: The Winter Soldier.Over the following eight years, she became one of the MCU’s most central heroes, and this became even more prominent in the Multiverse Saga, asWandaVisionandDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessput her front-and-center. However, theScarlet Witch transformed into a bona fide villainin these projects, culminating in her sacrifice - a death that Marvel Studios has confirmed a number of times.
Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff debuted in the MCU alongside her twin brother, Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a. Quicksilver. Although Taylor-Johnson recently starred as Kraven the Hunter in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, he has also been speculated to be reprising the role of Pietro Maximoff in the MCU’s upcoming crossover movies.
Despite her death, Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch has been heavily rumored to be returning to the MCU, just as she did after theHouse of MandDecimationevents in Marvel Comics.Marvel’s recentAgatha All Alongseries hinted at Wanda Maximoff’s return several times, but didn’t actually bring the Scarlet Witch back. While Olsen will return to voice the zombifiedScarlet Witch in Marvel Animation’sMarvel Zombiesminiseries, her live-action return, perhaps inAvengers: Doomsday, may also be confirmed in 2025.
6MCU Phase 6 Release Schedule
MCU’s Phase 6 Still Has Many Empty Release Slots
Avengers: Secret Warsis expected to be the finalmovie in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, bringing the current chapter of the franchise to an end in May 2027. Prior to that, however, there are still several empty release slots that Marvel Studios needs to fill. AlongsideAvengers: DoomsdayandSpider-Man 4,Marvel Studios has empty slots on February 13 and July 16, 2025, and 2025 could deliver confirmation regarding which movies will fill these spots. There are a number of projects currently in development that don’t yet have release dates, each vying for these coveted Phase 6 slots.
Predicting The MCU’s 3 Secret Movies With 2028 Release Dates
The MCU has just added 3 dates to its release schedule in 2028, but none of the dates have an official film attached, but some titles just make sense.
Marvel Studios also has empty release slots on July 23 and June 12, 2025, and February 18, May 5 and August 17, 2025, though these will seemingly fall in theMCU’s next Saga, which is heavily rumored to focus on the MCU’s mutants and the X-Men.There are also many TV shows for Disney+ currently planned for the MCU’s Phase 6 and beyond. These updates in 2025 could give audiences a clearer idea of what the future of the MCU looks like, and will surely come with some surprise additions, too.
5What Does The Asterisk In Thunderbolts* Mean?
Thunderbolts*' Title Mystery Will Become Clear In 2025
In a video released from the set of this highly-anticipated MCU crossover movie, Florence Pugh revealed an addition to the title, asThunderboltsgained a mysterious asterisk. Currently, Marvel Studios has not revealed what this asterisk means, though it has persisted in the marketing material for the upcoming 2025 movie, including the first trailers forThunderbolts.The addition of the asterisk has spurred theories regarding its meaning, with some suggesting the titular team may not actuallybethe Thunderbolts, but could be a new version of the MCU’s Avengers, instead.
Marvel Studios’Thunderboltswill bring together antiheroes and reformed villains from the MCU’s history, including the Winter Soldier, Yelena Belova, the Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and US Agent, as a brand-new superpowered team. There has been speculation thatThunderbolts‘asterisk could hint at the team changing their name, perhaps being called the Dark Avengers or even, simply, the New Avengers.Since the movie releases in July 2025, it won’t be long before this lingering mystery is finally resolved.
4Black Panther 3 Cast & Release News
Black Panther 3 Is Officially In Development For The MCU
While speaking toThe Today Showin November 2024, Hollywood legend Denzel Washington let slip that Ryan Coogler is writing a role for him in Marvel Studios’ then-unannouncedBlack Panther 3. This prompted Marvel to, a month later, confirmBlack Panther 3is in development for the MCU, following on from 2018’sBlack Pantherand its emotional 2022 sequel,Wakanda Forever, which payed homage to the late Chadwick Boseman. Whileit’s unclear who Denzel Washington will be playing inBlack Panther 3, the movie’s confirmation means more casting news should follow.
Who Is Denzel Washington Playing In Black Panther 3: 10 Best Marvel Casting Choices
Denzel Washington revealed he will appear in Black Panther 3, confirming the Marvel film, and there are exciting characters he could play in the MCU.
Ryan Coogler’sBlack Pantherfranchise is one of the most successful corners of the MCU, soit makes sense that the franchise will continue to develop pastBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverand the upcoming animatedEyes of Wakandaseries.Wakanda Foreverended with Letitia Wright’s Shuri, Winston Duke’s M’Baku, Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia, Danai Gurira’s Okoye, Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross, Tenoch Huerta’s Namor and more perfectly set up to return. It’s possible all these stars, and perhaps even the youngDivine Love Konadu-Sun, who played T’Challa’s secret son, could be confirmed to return.
3Sony’s Marvel Future After Spider-Man 4 & Spider-Noir
Kraven The Hunter May Be The SSU’s Final Movie
Competing with the behemoth that is the MCU is a tall order, and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe completely crumbled under the weight.Sony’s Marvel franchise, which curiously didn’t feature the titular wall-crawler, who instead was portrayed by Tom Holland in the MCU, released six feature films between 2018 and the end of 2024, most of which were critical and commercial failures. Shortly before the premiere of 2024’sKraven the Hunter, it was revealed theSSU as audiences know it would be ending, with no future movies planned.
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Cast and crew confirmed back in mid-2024 thatVenom: The Last Dancewould be the final movie starring Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, which spurred theories suggesting the Symbiote could make the move to the MCU proper. Following Andy Serkis' debut as Knull, who came with the promise of future annihilation, it seems possible theSSU will be folded into the MCU’s main timelinein Marvel Studios and Sony’s upcomingSpider-Man 4.Sony is also developingSpider-Noir, a series starring Nicolas Cage, so more updates concerning actual Spider-Man-starring projects are surely on the horizon.
2Blade, Shang-Chi 2, Doctor Strange 3 & Armor Wars Updates
Several MCU Movies Have Uncertain Futures
As well as the projects that do have release dates getting some much-wanted updates, Marvel Studios could also clarify the futures of some more uncertain movies and TV shows in 2025.Marvel Studios’Bladereboothas been through an incredibly tumultuous production period, so 2025 could deliver some good news for the Mahershala Ali-led movie.The likes ofArmor Wars, starring Don Cheadle, andShang-Chi 2have also been announced, but have seen few developments, so it would be great for Marvel to provide some clarification as to their statuses.
Destin Daniel Cretton has recently been hired to directSpider-Man 4, so it might be even longer before audiences get any updates regarding his return forShang-Chi 2.
There have also been calls for Marvel Studios to release details regarding some hoped-for sequels, such asDoctor Strange 3, Thor 5, Captain Marvel 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4, Eternals 2and more, none of which have yet been confirmed to be in development.Upcoming TV shows, such as theNovaseries, an untitled Wakanda-set show and a series starring Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder also haven’t seen many updates.Marvel slowed its output following recent criticisms, so it may be some time before these projects get fleshed out more, but 2025 could be the year for these huge updates.
1First X-Men Reboot Casting Confirmations
X-Men Casting News Is Beginning To Heat Up
Perhaps the most exciting possible updates and breaking news that could be expected from Marvel Studios in 2025 is the naming of some of the firstcast members for the MCU’s upcomingX-Menreboot. This may have already begun, asStranger Things’Sadie Sink has recently been suggested to be the frontrunner to be the MCU’s Jean Grey, taking over from Famke Janssen and Sophie Turner in 20th Century Fox’sX-Menfranchise. Marvel boss Kevin Feige recently teased notable mutants would be appearing in the MCU soon, so major casting news must be on the way.
Stranger Things Star Frontrunner For X-Men’s Jean Grey According To New MCU Report
According to a new report, Stranger Things' Sadie Sink is in the running to portray iconic X-Men member Jean Grey in the MCU’s X-Men reboot.
Sadie Sink’s possible casting as Jean Grey hints at ayounger X-Men team debuting in the MCU, which could imply an adaptation of the original team’s line-up from Marvel Comics.This could mean Marvel Studios may want to cast Professor X, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman and Angel next, with other iconic mutant heroes and villains from Marvel Comics following after. 2025 could see these casting choices confirmed, and could even mark their official debuts in theMarvel Cinematic Universe, which would set the stage for the next several years of live-action Marvel stories.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
