Summary
After a pretty quiet 2024, theMarvel Cinematic Universelooks like it’s kicking things into overdrive once again in 2025. As Phases 5 and 6 of theMCUcontinues to expand, a full reveal of the upcoming TV slate has fans worried that the world’s highest-grossing franchise is doomed to repeat the mistakes of its past.
While 2024 saw the MCU dial things back to only includeEcho,Agatha All Along, and the upcomingWhat…If?season 3 as Disney+ releases, 2025 is bombarding fans with a supersized crop of TV shows. Despite promises of quality over quantity, there are fears thatsuperhero franchise fatiguewill drag the MCU down next year.
What’s on Disney+’s MCU Slate in 2025?
Disney has just locked in its 2025 slate for the MCU, boasting highly anticipated returns likeDaredevil: Born Again, animated outings, and even a dip further into horror with the long-awaitedMarvel Zombies. There are firsts including the Dominique Thorne-ledIronheart, while Yahya Abdul-Mateen II makes his debut as Simon Williams forWonder Man. In anew MCU sizzle reel, the studio confirmed the following projects and release dates for 2025:
In a time when experimental shows likeWandaVisionandMoon Knighthave proved popular among fans, more out-there projects likeWonder Manhave a chance to soar. The problem is that this relatively obscure member of the Avengers is yet to be teased in the MCU, and it’s unclear how he’ll inevitably be introduced ahead of his December 2025 standalone series.
There are also critiques thatIronheartwill be another miss, deciding to focus onRiri Williams who was introduced in 2022’sBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. LikeMs. Marvelwas criticized as being a show aimed at kids, there are already fears thatIronheartis another childish series that doesn’t need to exist.Marvel Zombiescan continue the success ofWerewolf by Nightby giving audiences a darker outing, although the MCU’s first TV-MA animated outing already had its episode count reduced to just four.
It seems the MCU is going hard on animation, and alongside the final season ofWhat If…?,Eyes of Wakandais an animated anthology charting the history of Black Panther’s technologically advanced stomping ground. Similarly,Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manis set in an alternate timeline and will givePeter Parker a different origin storyto the one that was skipped over inSpider-Man: Homecoming. Following the success of Sony’sSpider-Versemovies andX-Men ‘97, it’s hoped that this could be 2025’s breakout series.
At least there’s plenty of hype forDaredevil: Born Again, and after the Netflix series was canceled in 2018, Charlie Cox is finally getting to suit up full-time as amore ‘brutal’ Daredevil in the MCU. The character has popped up inSpider-Man: No Way Home,She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, andEcho, with the latter particularly putting the pieces in place forBorn Again. Given the backlash to Netflix axing its Defendersverse, there’s excitement to see how the ashes of this world can be brought into the mainline MCU. There’s a lot going on in 2025, and for many, this hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Kevin Feige Promised Quality Over Quantity
The MCU only had one movie in 2024, withDeadpool & Wolverinebeing a record-breaking success that made the most of the franchise’s Multiverse potential. This follows 2023’s rough patch whereSecret Invasioncost a jaw-dropping $212 million,Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumaniawas critically and commercially butchered, andThe Marvelswas undeservedly the MCU’s worst-performing movie ever. Couple this withJonathan Majors being dropped as Kang the Conqueror, and there were rumbles of crisis talks behind the scenes.
2025 is also back on top in terms of its movies, boasting the pulling power ofCaptain America: Brave New World,Thunderbolts*, and a lot ofbuzz surroundingFantastic Four: The First Steps. Curiosity is sure to bring eyes back to the silver screen in a year of action-heavy movies, but in terms of the MCU’s TV output in 2025, there are likely to be some casualties.Agatha All Alongwas a hit because it made the most of bringing back Kathryn Hahn’s fan-favorite witch, while also relying on the legacy ofWandaVisionas one of the MCU’s best creations.
This deluge of shows also seems to be the exact opposite of what fans were previously told. A May 2024 report fromVarietyhad Disney CEO Bob Iger confirm that there would be no more than three movies and two shows released every year. 2025 hits its movie quota but is set to flood fans with a slew of shows to try and justify their Disney+ subscription hike. Even thoughWhat If…?is technically debuting in 2024, 2025 is still saturated with shows.
Kevin Feige himself has waded into the debate, and in a 2024 interview withCinemablend, explained:
I think over the past few years, certainly with the amount of projects we’ve had between Disney+ and the features, there was an overabundance of product.
Saying that he’s always ‘believed’ that if the movies are unique and fun, the MCU would be able to avoid franchise fatigue. Feige used this analogy as an explanation for why theBlademovie was taking so long(before it was quietly parked), adding that there are plans to slow down, “Making sure each thing is special, each thing has the time internally to be developed right.”
Unfortunately for Feige, while the release schedule has slowed down, the output of shows hasn’t. Filming onIronheartwrapped back in November 2022 and plans are already being steamrolled forDaredevil: Born Againseason 2. The worry is that after an overload of shows in 2025, things will then dry up again in 2026. Only thePaul Bettany and James Spader-led Vision seriesis penciled in for 2026, and although all eyes will likely be onAvengers: Doomsdaythat year, other upcoming shows would’ve usually been announced by now.
Despite arguments that the MCU has ‘lost its way’, there’s renewed hope thanks to the likes ofDeadpool & WolverineandAgatha All Along. If the franchise can keep up with these experimental shows and movies that push the envelope in terms of what audiences have come to expect, there’s a chance thatnext year could be one of the MCU’s best ever. Here’s hoping 2025 doesn’t repeat the mistakes of 2023, and that the MCU can continue its current winning streak.
