Draft:Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Seven

Phase Seven of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films and television series produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. Phase Seven features all of the Marvel Studios productions set to be released starting in mid-2027, with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributing most of the films, while the series release on Disney+. Kevin Feige produces every film and executive produces every series in this phase, alongside producers Nate Moore for Armor Wars and Amy Pascal for the untitled Spider-Man: No Way Home sequel.

The films of the phase include Armor Wars starring Don Cheadle, the untitled Spider-Man: No Way Home sequel from Sony Pictures Releasing with Tom Holland returning as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, the untitled Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel with Simu Liu returning as Shang-Chi, and the untitled X-Men film.

The Disney+ television series of the phase include a series set in Wakanda starring Danai Gurira, the animated Marvel Zombies, the second season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and the third season of What If...?, Wonder Man starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and the untitled Nova series.

Development
By April 2014, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said that additional storylines for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) were planned through 2028. During Marvel Studios' panel at the July 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Feige announced several films and Disney+ television series in development for Phase Four of the MCU, before revealing that mutants would eventually be introduced to the MCU, which include X-Men, and said those terms are interchangeable and that the MCU depiction would differ from 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series.

In December 2020, Marvel Studios announced the Disney+ series Armor Wars among others. In February 2021, a drama series set in Wakanda was revealed to be in development from Ryan Coogler, writer and director of Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), through his company Proximity Media. Armor Wars and the Wakanda series were believed to be a part of Phase Four at that time. By June 2021, in addition to What If...?, Marvel Studios was developing a slate of at least three more animated series. During the Disney+ Day event in November 2021, Marvel Studios officially announced the What If...?-related Marvel Zombies. By mid-November 2021, Marvel Studios was working on an unknown project with Scarlett Johansson, who would serve as a producer, and by the end of the month, Marvel Studios was planning at least three more Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland with Sony Pictures. The following month, a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) was announced, with Destin Daniel Cretton returning to write and direct. This was in addition to an overall deal Cretton signed with Marvel Studios to develop television projects for the studio for Disney+; a comedy series was in development at that time as well, through Cretton's company Family Owned. Later in December, Marvel Studios and Sony were actively beginning to develop the story for the fourth MCU Spider-Man film.

By March 2022, a space-centered series was revealed to be in development, which was confirmed to be a project featuring the character Richard Rider / Nova. In April 2022, Feige said he and Marvel Studios were on a creative retreat to plan and discuss the MCU films for the following 10 years. In June, Cretton's series was revealed to be Wonder Man. In July, following the reveal of titles and dates for content in Phase Five and Phase Six, Disney announced a third season of What If...? and a second season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, titled Spider-Man: Sophomore Year. By September, Marvel Studios decided to rework Armor Wars into a feature film. By that November, Coogler's Proximity Media was revealed to be developing several series set in Wakanda.

In July 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated the company would be reducing the spending and creation of Marvel content, admitting that Marvel Studios' expansion into Disney+ series and more films had "diluted focus and attention" after a number of underachieving films at the box office in Phases Four and Five. In early September 2023, Marvel Studios announced Wonder Man had an undetermined release, in part because of the ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes and a desire to slow down their content output and make each of their titles "an event".

Films


Armor Wars
James Rhodes must confront one of Tony Stark's greatest fears when Stark's tech falls into the wrong hands.

In December 2020, Marvel Studios announced Armor Wars as a Disney+ series based on the comic book storyline of the same name, with Don Cheadle reprising his role as James Rhodes / War Machine. In August 2021, Yassir Lester was hired as the series' head writer. In September 2022, Marvel Studios decided to rework the series into a feature film, with Cheadle and Lester remaining with the project. Filming was expected to begin in early 2023, at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

Armor Wars is set after the events of Secret Invasion (2023). Walton Goggins reprises his role as Sonny Burch from Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018).

Untitled Spider-Man: No Way Home sequel
By August 2019, a fourth MCU Spider-Man film was reportedly in development alongside Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). In November 2021, producer Amy Pascal revealed that Sony and Marvel Studios were planning on making at least three more Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, with work on the first of those films getting ready to begin. Marvel Studios and Sony were actively developing the film's story the following month. Writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers had begun work on the film in February 2023, with Pascal confirming at the end of May that the film was still in development but that work was put on hold because of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike that began earlier that month, and that work would resume after the strike concluded. By that time, Holland reiterated that the film was in early stages of development and that he had been involved in meetings about it, which were also put on hold because of the writers' strike. Filming is expected to begin in September or October 2024 in the United Kingdom.

Untitled Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel
In December 2021, a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) was announced to be in development, with Destin Daniel Cretton returning to write and direct. Simu Liu was expected to return as Shang-Chi by the following month. Filming is expected to begin in 2025.

Untitled X-Men film
At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019, Kevin Feige stated that mutants would eventually be introduced to the MCU, which include X-Men, and said those terms are interchangeable and that the MCU depiction would differ from 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series. By September 2023, Marvel Studios was preparing to meet with writers for an X-Men film later that year, and Michael Lesslie entered negotiations to write the film in May 2024.

Television series
All the series in Phase Seven are being released on Disney+. 



Untitled Wakanda series
In February 2021, a drama series set in Wakanda was revealed to be in development from Ryan Coogler, writer and director of Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), through his company Proximity Media. By that May, Danai Gurira had signed a deal to reprise her role as Okoye, the head of the Dora Milaje, in the series, which was said to be an origin spin-off for the character.

Marvel Zombies
A new generation of heroes battle against zombies.

In November 2021, a Marvel Zombies animated series was announced, with Bryan Andrews directing and Zeb Wells serving as head writer, and is based on the comic book series Marvel Zombies. It is a continuation of the reality first introduced in the What If...? episode "What If... Zombies?!" and includes characters introduced in Phase Four of the MCU. Marvel Zombies will consist of four episodes.

Wonder Man
In December 2021, Destin Daniel Cretton signed a multi-year deal with Marvel Studios to develop television projects for Disney+, with a comedy series already in development at that point, through Cretton's company Family Owned. In June 2022, the series was revealed to be in early development and titled Wonder Man, centered on the character Simon Williams / Wonder Man, with Andrew Guest joining to develop the series along with serving as head writer; Guest later became showrunner. In October, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was cast as the title character. Filming began in April 2023 in Los Angeles, and occurred at Radford Studio Center, with Cretton, Stella Meghie, and James Ponsoldt directing episodes of the series. Onyx Collective co-produces the series. Filming resumed in early January 2024, and concluded by April 2024. Wonder Man is expected to debut on Disney+, and is set to consist of 10 episodes. It will be part of the "Marvel Spotlight" banner.

Ben Kingsley reprises his MCU role as Trevor Slattery.

Untitled Nova series
In March 2022, a project featuring the character Richard Rider / Nova was revealed to be in development, with Sabir Pirzada writing. Production Weekly had previously included an untitled space-centered series in their report of upcoming projects in development, later confirming the untitled series was the Nova project. Marvel Studios was taking a slower developmental timeline for the series by February 2023 amid Disney's larger decision to scale back content output and costs. In July 2024, Feige said the series would feature Rider and anticipated that it would be released three or four years later.

What If...? season 3
The second season of What If...? premiered in December 2023. A third season of What If...? was confirmed in July 2022. Series' story editor Matthew Chauncey was revealed in December 2023 to be taking over as head writer from A. C. Bradley, while Bryan Andrews returns as director.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 2
The first season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is scheduled to premiere in 2024. In July 2022, a second season was revealed to be in development. It was originally announced as Spider-Man: Sophomore Year, continuing the naming convention of the series' original title, Spider-Man: Freshman Year.