Marvel: The Multiverse Saga

[BusSport]

Marvel announced at SDCC that Phases 4-6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will be known as the Multiverse Saga, much as Phases 1-3 was known as the Infinity Saga. The Multiverse Saga is an official name, with an official logo:

 

[BusSport]

The schedule for all of Phase 5 was revealed:

Phase 5 in text form, with links to the threads on this website:

- Feb. 17, 2023 - Ant-Man 3: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
- spring 2023 - Secret Invasion
- May 5, 2023 - Guardians of the Galaxy 3
- summer 2023 - Echo
- summer 2023 - Loki season 2
- July 28, 2023 - Captain Marvel 2: The Marvels
- Nov. 3, 2023 - Blade
- fall 2023 - Ironheart
- winter 2023/24 - Agatha: Coven of Chaos
- spring 2024 - Daredevil season 4: Born Again
- May 3, 2024 - Captain America 4: New World Order
- July 26, 2024 - Thunderbolts

 

[BusSport]

Parts of Phase 6 were revealed:

Phase 6 in text form, with links to the threads on this website:

- fall 2024 - unrevealed 1
- Nov. 8, 2024 - Fantastic Four
- fall 2024 - unrevealed 2
- winter 2024 - unrevealed 3
- winter 2025 - unrevealed 4
- spring 2025 - unrevealed 5
- spring 2025 - unrevealed 6
- May 2, 2025 - Avengers 5: The Kang Dynasty
- summer 2025 - unrevealed 7
- summer 2025 - unrevealed 8
- Nov. 7, 2025 - Avengers 6: Secret Wars

 

[BusSport]

As can be seen from the timeline for Phase 6, there are still 8 films or TV series in Phase 6 which have not yet been revealed. So what are they?

Marvel has already announced Marvel Zombies, Spider-Man: Freshman Year, and What If...? season 2, but as those are animated properties taking place outside of MCU-616, it is unclear whether any of those are intended to fill in the slots in that Phase 6 timeline. The only project with an officially announced name that slots somewhere in there is Armor Wars.

On Friday, July 22, 2023, Marvel filed for 21 trademarks. The full list is below, with every trademark that has already officially been announced in italics. The remaining 8 unrevealed films or TV series of Phase 6 will likely come from the unannounced/unitalicized entries in the trademark list below. Not all these trademarks will necessarily end up as actual films or TV series: some could be films/series in development which later end up cancelled, and some could even be deliberate misleads, since Marvel knows trademark applications are public information. The full list, in alphabetical order, with my speculative thoughts on each of them:

- Avengers Academy - Looks like Marvel chose to go with the name Avengers Academy over Young Avengers (both are in the comics) for the younger generation of Avengers. Will this be a film or a TV series?
- Avengers Eternity Wars - This is a mystery. There's no "Eternity Wars" in the comics. Is this referring to the cosmic entity Eternity, the Eternals, or to the general concept of eternity as time? My theory is that this is what Marvel is going to call the Time Runs Out conflicts that lead up to Secret Wars.
- Avengers Excursion - Could this be related to the Incursions of Time Runs Out?
- Avengers Timeless - ??
- Avengers: Secret Wars - already announced as film
- Avengers: The Kang Dynasty - already announced as film
- The Black Knight: Origins - about Dane Whitman (Kit Harington), who was introduced in Eternals, but will this be a film or a TV series?
- Captain America: New World Order - already announced as film
- Captain America: Red, White, and Black - prequel TV series to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (one of two spinoffs to that show, the other being Nomad), because the title is from Truth: Red, White, and Black, the origin story of Isaiah Bradley in the comics
- Celestials: End of Time - in essence, the Eternals 2 film
- Eternity Saga - along with Timeless Saga, a synonym / alternative name for the Multiverse Saga
- Hercules: Rise of the Gods - about Zeus's demigod son (Brett Goldstein) who was introduced in Thor 4: Love and Thunder, but will this be a film or a TV series?
- Midnight Sons - About the superhero team that fights supernatural threats. I'm inclined to think this is a film, not a TV series, because I think this team is a unique and big enough corner of the Marvel Universe that they can build a film franchise off this, like they did with Guardians of the Galaxy.
- Multiverse Saga - what this whole thread is about
- Nomad - sequel TV series to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (one of two spinoffs to that show, the other being Captain America: Red, White, and Black), this one starring Bucky
- Red Guardian: Generations - TV series, because Red Guardian isn't notable enough to carry his own film
- Runaways: New Era - next season of Runaways?
- Sam Wilson Captain America - merchandising trademark for the character
- Shang-Chi and the Wreckage of Time - Definitely the Shang-Chi 2 film, and the single unannounced entry on this list that is most certainly a film, as we know that production on the Shang-Chi 2 film is imminent.
- Thunderbolts - already announced as film
- Timeless Saga - along with Eternity Saga, a synonym / alternative name for the Multiverse Saga

 

[BusSport]

Notice what is conspicuously missing from the trademark list above: X-Men and/or mutants.

My theory: Avengers: Secret Wars will follow the comics storyline of the same title and involve the destruction and recreation of the entire multiverse. The reshaped multiverse will include mutants. Thus, Phase 6 will only hint at X-Men/mutants without fully introducing them. Instead, it will be Phases 7-9 that will focus on X-Men/mutants, and Phases 7-9 will be known as the Mutant Saga or X Saga.

 

[BusSport]

I do have some concerns that the timeline is incredibly compressed now, and that too much stuff is being released too quickly, resulting in the danger of audience fatigue:

Infinity Saga (2008-2019) - 12 years, 23 films
Phase 1 (2008-2012) - 5 years, 6 films
Phase 2 (2013-2015) - 3 years, 6 films
Phase 3 (2016-2019) - 4 years, 11 films

Multiverse Saga (2021-2025) - 5 years, approx. 19-20 films
Phase 4 (2021-2022) - 2 years, 7 films
Phase 5 (2023-2024) - 2 years, 6 films
Phase 6 (2024-2025) - 2 years, approx. 6-7 films (estimate since some unrevealed)

The number of films in the sagas has stayed about the same, but the pace at which they are being released has dramatically increased. And on top of the films mentioned above, there are all the Disney+ TV series now.

Two Avengers films just 6 months apart is overkill. I think they should be a year apart, like Infinity War and Endgame were. I wouldn't be surprised if Marvel ends up coming to the same conclusion and delaying some of these films.

 

[BusSport]

Thanos was the Big Bad of the Infinity Saga. It is an interesting open question who the Big Bad of the Multiverse Saga will be.

The obvious answer seems to be Kang the Conqueror. However, The Kang Dynasty is the title of the 5th Avengers film, not the final and 6th, Secret Wars, which ends the Multiverse Saga.

In the comics, the main antagonists of Secret Wars were the Beyonders and Doctor Doom. The Beyonders are so weird and unknown to the general public that they would be a hard sell to the general audience. Doctor Doom is easily more famous and iconic.

I wouldn't be surprised if The Kang Dynasty ends with Kang's defeat through Doom usurping Kang and taking over Kang's machinations and thus becoming an even bigger threat.

 

[Duffman]

I do have some concerns that the timeline is incredibly compressed now, and that too much stuff is being released too quickly, resulting in the danger of audience fatigue:

Infinity Saga (2008-2019) - 12 years, 23 films
Phase 1 (2008-2012) - 5 years, 6 films
Phase 2 (2013-2015) - 3 years, 6 films
Phase 3 (2016-2019) - 4 years, 11 films

Multiverse Saga (2021-2025) - 5 years, approx. 19-20 films
Phase 4 (2021-2022) - 2 years, 7 films
Phase 5 (2023-2024) - 2 years, 6 films
Phase 6 (2024-2025) - 2 years, approx. 6-7 films (estimate since some unrevealed)

The number of films in the sagas has stayed about the same, but the pace at which they are being released has dramatically increased. And on top of the films mentioned above, there are all the Disney+ TV series now.

Two Avengers films just 6 months apart is overkill. I think they should be a year apart, like Infinity War and Endgame were. I wouldn't be surprised if Marvel ends up coming to the same conclusion and delaying some of these films.

I think you can argue that Phase 4 started in 2019 with Spider-Man Far From Home, now it wasn’t under the Multiverse Saga banner but I think it still counts.

If you don’t count it, what would you call that little time period of movies before the MS really took off?

 

[Clayton]

I'm kinda skeptical about Kang, F4, and the Skrull. Although I haven't kept up as much with Marvel lately so Im probably not the target audience

 

[nynasty]

So DD is going to do the Born Again storyline, again?

 

[ill]

So DD is going to do the Born Again storyline, again?

what gave it away?

 

[Sparhawk]

So DD is going to do the Born Again storyline, again?

It clearly says 'Dorn Again', so I think we're going to see Daredevil in the next Major League sequel.....

 

[Superbelt]

Thanos was the Big Bad of the Infinity Saga. It is an interesting open question who the Big Bad of the Multiverse Saga will be.

The obvious answer seems to be Kang the Conqueror. However, The Kang Dynasty is the title of the 5th Avengers film, not the final and 6th, Secret Wars, which ends the Multiverse Saga.

In the comics, the main antagonists of Secret Wars were the Beyonders and Doctor Doom. The Beyonders are so weird and unknown to the general public that they would be a hard sell to the general audience. Doctor Doom is easily more famous and iconic.

I wouldn't be surprised if The Kang Dynasty ends with Kang's defeat through Doom usurping Kang and taking over Kang's machinations and thus becoming an even bigger threat.

Well, the thing with Kang is, he's never really defeated because there is always another Kang. Unless they are going to collapse the multiverse.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

not sure if this is why or not... but my biggest complaint about this marvel universe is that during it there has been no new marvel cartoon shows... besides the one that is entirely for babies...

 

[OUGuy1999]

I haven't watched anything past "The End Game", felt to me like that was the end of the story and everything else was just to milk the franchise for all they can.

 

[ill]

not sure if this is why or not... but my biggest complaint about this marvel universe is that during it there has been no new marvel cartoon shows... besides the one that is entirely for babies...

and you feel that the cartoons are fucking up the MCU cannon?

 

[MilkSpiller22]

and you feel that the cartoons are fucking up the MCU cannon?

not fucking it up per se... but could definitely add to it... i guess the problem is you cant do a cartoon now without the real life actor...

but spiderman cartoons have always been around and always great...

wouldnt be bad to do a fantastic 4 cartoon as they wont even be introduced into this world for another couple years...



I just miss superhero cartoons... Even DC has been slacking, theres been no superman or batman cartoons in a long time... sure theres been movies, but those have been more targeted to adults than kids...

we need to bring back kid cartoons that we adults watch!!! and superhero cartoons have always been the best...


even if they bring in lesser known superheroes... Even the Marvel Future Avengers(which was more of an anime) was pretty decent....

 

[ill]

not fucking it up per se... but could definitely add to it... i guess the problem is you cant do a cartoon now without the real life actor...

but spiderman cartoons have always been around and always great...

wouldnt be bad to do a fantastic 4 cartoon as they wont even be introduced into this world for another couple years...



I just miss superhero cartoons... Even DC has been slacking, theres been no superman or batman cartoons in a long time... sure theres been movies, but those have been more targeted to adults than kids...

we need to bring back kid cartoons that we adults watch!!! and superhero cartoons have always been the best...


even if they bring in lesser known superheroes... Even the Young Avengers(which was more of an anime) was pretty decent....

I honestly haven't been looking all too hard for them but it seems like there are plenty out there for DC.

Marvel is doing the X-Men '97 reboot, which should be cool.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I honestly haven't been looking all too hard for them but it seems like there are plenty out there for DC.

Marvel is doing the X-Men '97 reboot, which should be cool.

yes, im looking forward to that but even that seems more targeted to nostalgia than to the new generation of kids... maybe i am wrong... i just think they are missing an opportunity...

even star wars and star trek have been targeting children recently... good for them...

 

[calsnowskier]

I honestly haven't been looking all too hard for them but it seems like there are plenty out there for DC.

Marvel is doing the X-Men '97 reboot, which should be cool.

I didn’t watch the X-Men cartoon from the 90s when they came out. I have been trying to watch them prepping for the new shit, and man, is it rough. They are BAD.