According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Marvel Studios plans to release X-Men on May 5, 2028.
As Sneider mentioned in his report, the film will be releasing nearly 20 years to the day after Iron Man kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Given the studio’s struggles during its current Multiverse Saga, Disney will be looking to ensure Marvel’s X-Men gets the next saga off to a hot start, especially with Feige’s claim that finally having the live-action rights to the characters is a “dream come true.”
In an interview with EW, Marvel TV boss Brad Winderbaum revealed that Lillard will be playing named Mister Charles, an international power player and an antagonistic force working against Wilson Fisk.
“The story is about power. When Wilson Fisk takes over New York, not just as a mayor but as a king in a way, it puts him in a new class of power players on the international stage,” said Winderbaum of Season 2.
“Matthew Lillard’s character represents that. So he’s a bit of a new antagonist on the field, but he’s as influential in many ways as Fisk is. That power negotiation at a very high level of politics and international diplomacy is also fun to watch. He is dealing with Mr. Charles up here and Daredevil down here for different reasons. So he’s getting squeezed a little bit.”
While he’s certainly not Marvel’s most famous Charles, a Mr. Charles does exist in the comics, having made just one appearance in 2013’s AAFES #15. Interestingly, though he was entirely inconsequential on the page, Mr. Charles was affiliated with the powerful Roxxon Corporation which could indeed become involved with Fisk’s bourgeoning empire as attempts to expand offshore.
Though it hasn’t even had a major presence in the MCU, Roxxon appeared in all three Iron Man films and played a more significant role in the Netflix Defenders-verse series.
“We don’t want it to get swallowed up by people watching Home Alone and Die Hard and Elf,” said Winderbaum of the move, which comes ahead of Marvel Animation and Marvel Television’s appearance at New York Comic Con.
Created by Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, Wonder Man stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen as Simon Williams and his journey trying to make his way as an actor in Hollywood.
Wonder Man continues to be one of Marvel’s most enigmatic projects. Announced via trade report in June 2022, the series was created by Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest but was never acknowledged by the studio until Marvel Parliament member Stephen Broussard confirmed it was happening in a 2023 interview. Incredibly enough, despite being filmed on location in and around Los Angeles, production began and ended with very few set photos or plot leaks, leaving only rumors and speculation about the show’s true nature and some to believe it only to be a product of the Mandela Effect.
Via Discussing Film, a new in-universe promo for Wonder Man has been released that provides some intriguing new details about the series.
Based on the character of Wonder Man, one of Marvel’s oldest characters, first introduced in 1964 in the pages of Avengers No 9. Known as Simon Williams, a celebrity actor and stuntman. In a nutshell, it is a story of two actors struggling to make it in the Hollywood of the MCU, [asking] the big question what does Hollywood look like in a world where super heroes are real?
-First synopsis for Marvel Television’s Wonder Man
The eight-episode Marvel Spotlight series was heavily influenced by the comics and was described by Winderbaum as a “love letter to Hollywood.” It’s also been rumored to satirize the filmmaking industry and the new promo seems to confirm that.
In it, actor Zlatko Burić is in character as Von Kovak, an MCU in-universe “award-winning director” who is remaking Wonder Man, a classic superhero film.
Award-winning director Von Kovak tells us why his remake of the classic film ‘WONDER MAN’ will be one of the best superhero movies of all time.
“The Wonder Man story spoke to me on a very deep level, there is an opportunity to reimagine a whole genre of storytelling” pic.twitter.com/07dHyETu8W
This all tracks with what little we’ve seen of the project, which included Abdul-Mateen‘s Simon Williams auditioning for Wonder Man. At this point, it seems safe to assume a full first teaser trailer for the project will debut this weekend.
Over the past few years, fans have shared plenty of opinions about where Marvel Studios Multiverse Saga went wrong. While some place the blame on individual projects, others find fault in the premise, believing it was doomed to fail with general audiences struggling to find interest in alternate realities. Whether it’s one, the other or a little bit of both, the end is nigh and the big shots behind the scenes at the studio have remained relatively quiet about the struggles.
Sure, under Bob Iger’s second term, there’s been a mandatory reduction in content and some rebranding meant to make projects more accessible, pivoting from the “It’s All Connected” era. According to Marvel’s head of streaming, television and animation, Brad Winderbaum, the rebranding was meant as a “signal to the general audience that we’re creating a lot of options, and you can follow your tastes within this brand.”
We’re trying to dispel the idea that you need to do any kind of setup work to watch anything else.
-Brad Winderbaum
To that end, the studio attempted to make it clear that its latest theatrical release, The Fantastic: Four First Steps, was “homework-free,” requiring to prior knowledge of the MCU. The same idea holds mostly true with Marvel Animation’s recently released Marvel Zombies, which spun out of one 30-minute episode of the first season of What If…?. Despite garnering underwhelming reviews, the TV-MA series has been wildly popular on D+, leading to speculation that a second season could be given the green light relatively soon.
In a world where viewership matters most, Marvel Zombies looks to be another in a string of successes for the studio as it looks to right the Multiverse ship. In an interview with CBR, TV boss Winderbaum explained why the project works while addressing the “valid criticisms” of the studio’s Multiverse narrative.
“I think one of the valid criticisms of multiverse storytelling is that when you have multiple realities, the stakes diminish,” Winderbaum explained. “But there’s another way to look at it when you have the opportunity (with) something like Marvel Zombies, where actually it raises the stakes quite a bit to be in a pocket universe outside of the MCU. Where death feels very final, and we don’t have to worry about putting the toys back in the toy box unbroken. We can really make a mess.”
Winderbaum’s comments are more than just talk. In both the zombie episode of What If…? and in Marvel Zombies, high-profile heroes were subjected to Mortal Kombat-esque violence, something that just isn’t possible in live-action, making them ideal Multiverse stories. “The fact that the audience might not know what’s coming, because all bets are off,” he continued. “There’s no guarantee for anybody. People come in this cold, they’re truly surprised. They have literally no idea what we’re about to pull on them.”
Unafraid to put a point on it, Winderbaum levied his own criticism against the Multiverse Saga stories, citing a lack of stakes.
“I think, you know, for better or for worse, it’s been missing a little bit. You go into someone’s franchise movie, and it’s like ‘You’re making it out at the end!’ And the filmmakers are doing the best they can to build some tensions, so you worry. And they do, and that’s great,” explained Winderbaum. “But in this, it’s just like, no, there’s no guarantees for anything. It’s a whole different type of viewing experience.”
Given his position at the studio as both the D+ gatekeeper and a member of the Marvel Parliament, fans might want to take Winderbaum‘s comments to heart and as a sign that the studio’s course correction isn’t simply superficial.
As it was rolled out to fans in Hall H at SDCC ’22, The Multiverse Saga was originally intended to be composed of an incredible 39 projects. However, as part of a mandate from Disney Head Honcho Bob Iger, Marvel Studios deployed the Time Ripper on the 3-phase saga, accelerating its end by cutting projects–both theatrical and streaming–including recently jettisoning a 2027 movie.
We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three. And we’re working hard on what that path is.
-Bob Iger
The result was a net loss of at least two live-action films while projects such as Armor Wars, Blade, Nova, Strange Academy and Terror Inc. were shelved, in some cases forever. As 2025 enters the home stretch, only eight projects remain on the docket before The Multiverse Saga comes to a close. Ahead of NYCC ’25–where Marvel will update its streaming slate–we look at the remaining projects that pave the way to the end of what’s been a very rocky road for the studio.
TBD December 2025-Wonder Man
Joss Whedon may have hated on Simon Williams but thanks to Destin Daniel Cretton, the Avengers ionic engine will lead what’s been called “the best Marvel show” after early screenings.
Wonder Man is eight episodes. It’s a very new flavor for Marvel. It’s straight from the minds of Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest. Honestly, it is one of my favorite things ever. I think it’s the best show no one’s ever seen, and I’m very excited to see the audience reaction to it. I think it’s a love letter to what we do as filmmakers. It’s a love letter to acting as a profession, and it’s a very sincere, beautiful show.
-Brad Winderbaum
The eight-episode series, which Brad Winderbaum called “a two-hander between two amazing characters, this odd couple of Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery” will star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Sir Ben Kingsley in those respective roles. Heavily influenced by the comics, including Williams’ time as a West Coast Avenger, Wonder Man will satire the superhero genre by asking “what does Hollywood look like in a world where super heroes are real?”
TBD March 2026-Daredevil: Born Again Season 2
The first season of Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again left Matt Murdock and crew up against it, with Mayor Kingpin having near total control of New York City. Season 2, which will see Krysten Ritter join the cast as drunk private dick Jessica Jones, which executive producer Jesse Wigutow described as “a singular vision,” is likely to be more akin to its Netflix predecessor than what the “jigsawed together” Season 1 ended up being.
Without giving too much away…when you’re working in what I would call the Hell’s Kitchen corner of the MCU, those iconic characters are always in your mind.
-Showrunner Dario Scardapane
Season 2 will tell “a big New York City story” with crime and politics at its center while exploring the unique relationship between Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock.
TBD 2026-The Punisher Special Presentation
As Marvel Television continues to transition to the mid-10s Netflix era, Jon Bernthal‘s Frank Castle will find himself at the center of feature sometime in 2026. The Punisher Special Presentation will follow Castle, who was last seen escaping Kingpin’s dungeon prison, as he takes on organized crime, including Ma Gnucci.
It’s like a shotgun blast of a story, but also has all the pathos and emotion that you want out of a Frank Castle story.
-Brad Winderbaum
As one might expect, photos and videos from the New York City set of the project indicated it will be hyper-violent, feeding the blood lust of the TV-MA crowd. It also looks as though it will tee up the next chapter for Castle where he probably won’t be able to be quite so intense.
July 31, 2026-Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton walked away from the sequel to his 2021 film to jump on board Spider-Man: Brand New Day and it sounds as though he’s set to deliver a banger. While the details are a little murky, the fourth installment in the Spidey franchise is beginning to sound like it might be one of the studio’sost ambitious projects ever, with the Hulk, the Punisher and a slee of classic Spidey rogues, including Scorpion and Tombstone, all set to appear. Oh…and maybe that symbiote fragment that got left behind when Essie Brock visited.
[It] really feels like we aren’t making the fourth movie. We’re making the first movie in the chapter… This is a rebirth. This is something completely new.–Tom Holland
Star Tom Holland has made it clear that he wants to make something special for the fans and adding Cretton’s eye for action to the street-level Spidey story fans have been asking for is starting to sound like the right combination to make it happen.
TBD 2026-Untitled Vision Series
Like Wonder Man, the Paul Bettany-led Vision series has been developed and produced mostly under the radar. Originally developed by Jac Schaeffer, the project landed in the hands of Terry Matalas and it sounds as though it may be at least partially set in cyberspace where all manner of AI madness could unfold.
It’s about intergenerational trauma…fathers and sons and denial of pain and denial of your own truth and coming to terms with who and what you are.
In nearly two decades, Marvel Studios has never really dealt with what it is dealing with in Avengers: Doomsday. Despite bringing back its most successful directing duo and star, Marvel has been roundly criticized for nearly every choice it has made. Bringing back Robert Downey Jr. and the Russo brothers has been called desperation. Bringing in Fox’s original X-Men has been called fan service. And that may all turn out to be true but that doesn’t mean the film might not turn out to be alright.
Doctor Doom has officially arrived in the MCU. This villain, a master of cutting-edge science and powerful magic, will unleash a cascading crisis across the entire multiverse.
-First synopsis for Avengers: Doomsday
Believed to be inspired by Jonathan Hickman‘s work iconic Avengers and New Avengers runs, Avengers: Doomsday is rumored to see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes face off against the X-Men as their respective Earths are on course for an incursion. It will also feature the World of Wakanda and the TVA, allowing it to incorporate settings and characters from across the Multiverse Saga.
TBD 2027-Daredevil: Born Again Season 3
Recently renewed for a third season, Daredevil: Born Again remains, for the time being, Marvel Television’s flagship series. While it’s way too early to know much, rumors have begun to pop up that the third season may be a Defenders reunion with Elektra and Luke Cage among those believed to be joining the show. Filming on Season 3 will kick off next Spring in New York City.
December 17, 2027-Avengers: Secret Wars
All bets are off when it comes to Avengers: Secret Wars. Anthony and Joe Russo returned to the studio to tell this story, so while Avengers: Doomsday has been a bit turbulent, it’s likely the duo have something special in store for the Multiverse Saga finale.
Really what happened was, we ended up stumbling upon an idea that activated all of us. You couldn’t see it coming until it came, and once it came it was like, “Well, that’s a story we need to tell.”
-Joe Russo
Production will commence next year, with the brothers working off a script from Stephen McFeely and, perhaps, Michael Waldron. It’s expected to be influenced by both the original 1984 comic book event and the 2015 version which, of course, heavily featured Doctor Doom.
As Daredevil: Born Again entered the back half of its first season, the goal of the series’ creative retooling under the purview of Dario Scardapane became clear: make it Netflix-ier. Sure, with Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Wilson Bethel, Jon Bernthal and Ayelet Zurer all taking on major roles AFTER the overhaul, the new direction should not have come as a surprise but beginning with Episode 6, “Excessive Force”, the series pivoted aggressively, starting down a far darker path. The series continued to creep along in that darkness through the Season 1 finale setting up whatcm already feels more like Daredevil Season 4 than Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.
With production on the series taking place largely in view of the New York City public, plenty of photos and videos from the set of the sophomore season of Daredevil: Born Again made their way online. While you can’t safely infer too much from set photos, it does seem as though the new season will indeed dwell in the darkness fans of the Netflix series loved and, perhaps, room for more of the Defenders-verse characters to join the MCU.
Krysten Ritter joined the cast of Season 2 and Luke Cage star Mike Colter all but confirmed he was set to return as Harlem’s Hero but a new report from a trusted insider claims they won’t be alone. According to Daniel Richtman, Elodie Yung, who played Elektra in Daredevil and The Defenders, will return to the role in Daredevil: Born Again.
I have confirmed Elektra is coming back. Not sure if it’s for season 2 or 3.
-Daniel Richtman
Richtman was unable to confirm whether Yung was among the many Defenders-verse era actors rumored to appear in Season 2 or set to appear in Defenders Season 2Daredevil: Born Again Season 3, which films next Spring, though it’s worth pointing out both options are a possibility.
Not since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down productions across the world has the studio seen such a reduction in the volume of its content output. With the recent removal of yet another project from its theatrical slate, Marvel will release just three films in the next 27 months. On the bright side, that should give them plenty of time to work on things behind the scenes, including devoting considerable effort to the post-production and marketing of Avengers: Doomsday, a film on which quite a bit is riding.
Official New ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’ Tease featuring the Avengers, Fantastic 4, and X-Men logos from the @Disney Merchandise Expo in China!#AvengersDoomsday hits Theaters December 18, 2026! pic.twitter.com/r63SwxeHD7
Indeed, though the film won’t release until December 2026, it seems as though marketing for Avengers: Doomsday is already underway. A holographic teaser of the film debuted at Disney’s 2026 Merchandise Expo in China, which also provided a good look at the costume of Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. According to multiple reputable insiders, Disney has big plans to continue heavily marketing the film well ahead of its typical schedule, including getting the film’s first teaser trailer out to the public this year.
According to longtime Marvel Studios insider Daniel Richtman, Disney plans to attach the first teaser for Avengers: Doomsday to the theatrical release of James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash. With the third installment in the Avatar franchise set for release on December 19th, Marvel will be providing a look at the first Avengers film in over six years nearly 12 months before it’s release.
Doctor Doom has officially arrived in the MCU. This villain, a master of cutting-edge science and powerful magic, will unleash a cascading crisis across the entire multiverse.
-First synopsis for Avengers: Doomsday
While Marvel has effectively kept production on Avengers: Doomsday out of sight for the most part, it is believed to be largely inspired by Marvel Comics writer Jonathan Hickman‘s work on Avengers and New Avengers titles. Cyclops star James Marsden‘s recent tease that “worlds are ready to collide” seems to have confirmed the belief that the film will feature Fox’s OG X-Men taking on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as an incursion threatens both of their worlds.
Since Kevin Feige pushed Daredevil and Spidey as the MCU’s cornerstone street-level heroes in 2022, the two New York-based vigilantes have yet to cross paths in a live-action MCU project. While all the details aren’t exactly crystal clear, Marvel’s contract with Sony seems to prevent Spider-Man from appearing in Daredevil: Born Again, which means a team up between the two can only take place on the big screen. That’s how Charlie Cox was able to appear as Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home but as fun as the cameo was, it wasn’t as exciting as seeing Spidey and DD swing across the NYC skyline…but that might be coming sooner than we all thought.
Spidey franchise star Tom Holland recently made it clear that he and director Destin Daniel Cretton have been working hard to make sure that Spider-Man: Brand New Day gives fans what they want from a Spider-Man movie. And if Holland truly has “been active sifting through the internet ” to find out what that is, he has certainly found plenty of fans looking forward to Spider-Man and Daredevil working together. Now, a new rumor claims that the pair will indeed feature the classic Marvel Team-Up.
The rumor comes via Nuke the Fridge, not a site well-known for dropping this kind of news, as the author of the article points out.
According to the site, a reliable source casually let skip that “Charlie [Cox] will be heading over there to film Spider-Man.“
Given what is currently known about Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it truly makes more sense to have Cox‘s Daredevil swing into the action than to leave him out. A plot featuring The Punisher–who Daredevil knows all too well–hunting down street-level baddies, crime bosses purportedly vying for control of New York with Kingpin off the board and a rampaging Hulk destroying “his city” would all certainly attract the attention of the Man Without Fear.
Production on Spider-Man: Brand New Day is now underway in the UK and Cox does appear to have some time open in his schedule before an appearance at NYCC on October 11th and 12th where he’ll be part of the Marvel Television panel. Given the volume of stunt work an appearance by Daredevil would likely entail, 10 days or so might provide plenty of time for Cox to do his part and allow his stunt double to do the rest, as has been the case for Holland for much of what’s been filmed. So yeah, a rumor for sure, but one that certainly makes quite a bit of sense and would elevate the hype for a film that’s already generating enormous excitement.
As it was first revealed during Marvel Studios Hall H panel at SDCC ’22, Phase 6 was originally intended to be made up of at least 11 projects. As of July 2022, only three of those projects were “known” and they were all films (The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars). At that time, the Multiverse Saga was on track to be composed of an incredible 39 projects with 8 of them being unknowns.
Post-SDCC ’22, fans already found it hard to believe that the studio would roll out two Avengers films in one year and by October 2022, they were proven right. The studio moved Avengers: Secret Wars into 2026 which meant there was now room for 3 movies to be released between the fifth and sixth Avengers films. And now, there is room for none.
We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three. And we’re working hard on what that path is.
-Bob Iger on the reduction of content being produced by Marvel Studios
According to Variety, Disney has now removed the last remaining untitled Marvel Studios movie from its slate. Once slated to release on July 23, 2027, the project has been preempted for The Simpsons 2.
As it stands, here’s a look at the remaining live-action projects known to be currently slated to release before the end of Phase 6:
Wonder Man-TBD December 2025
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2-TBD March 2026
The Punisher Special Presentation-TBD 2026
Spider-Man: Brand New Day-July 31, 2026
Untitled Vision Series-TBD 2026
Avengers: Doomsday-December 18, 2026
Daredevil: Born Again-TBD 2027
Avengers: Secret Wars-December 17, 2027
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