Top 10 MCU Phase 5 And 6 Predictions Explained

Even if he’s not riding the waves with the Fantastic Four any time soon, that doesn’t mean this minted antihero can’t make a name for himself in a different corner of the MCU. Given his ties to Galactus and space travel, it’s only a matter of time before he runs into Earth's Mightiest somewhere across the stars. The cosmic side of Marvel has already been thoroughly explored in films like “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Captain Marvel,” so it makes sense to introduce him there, first. Sure, the Guardians have plenty on their plate with Adam Warlock and Gamora, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make a detour to recruit a new Avenger.

After the resounding failure of the Sokovia Accords, it’s unlikely Earth’s governments would simply give up their attempt to reign in superheroes. And, this time, we wouldn’t be surprised if they took a less diplomatic approach. Say, in the form of cutting-edge technology. Mysterio has already proven that drones are a worthy match for the likes of Spider-Man, after all. Given the political bend of Sam Wilson’s inaugural outing as Cap, it doesn’t take Bruce Banner’s intellect to see that he may be up against a man-made threat in his feature film. If it turns out anything like Ultron did, it would certainly live up to its name of a “New World Order.”

Following years of gestating rumors, Marvel’s internet-breaking Phase Five and Six announcements finally confirmed the adaption of the iconic “Secret Wars” storyline. While most of the important players are already introduced or confirmed to be coming soon, there’s one notable absence. In the original comic, lesser-known villain Molecule Man played a prominent role in anchoring the multiversal conflict with his various bodies across reality. But, there may not be a need for him here since the MCU has already introduced their own universe-hopping hero in America Chavez. Including them both would be kind of redundant. Plus, in our book, more America Chavez is never a bad thing.

Wanda’s Synthezoid husband may be technically gone for good, but a near-identical replica with all the same memories is still out and about. There’s been no word on what this lost Vision is up to following the end of “WandaVision,” but knowing Marvel, it won’t be too long before he pops up somewhere. Since Tony Stark is no more, who better to rival the new Vision than the new Iron Man? Riri Williams is slated to be introduced in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” before appearing in her own starring vehicle on Disney+. A machine with human emotions against a human with a machine suit? It practically writes itself.

This might be less of a prediction and more of a finger-crossed hope, but there is a precedent set. Plenty of prominent MCU characters have spun off into their own shows, and few would relish the opportunity as well as Namor. While he’s set to be an antagonist in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, his lengthy history in the comics means he might be sticking around for a while. He opens up a whole new corner of the Marvel Universe through Atlantis, and that kind of worldbuilding deserves more than a two hour film can offer. Namor’s future with Marvel is technically unconfirmed, but there’s still plenty of Phase Six yet to be announced.

If anyone’s surprised to hear this, you must not be paying very close attention. At this point, it can’t be a coincidence that nearly all of the Young Avengers have been introduced in the past few years. Kate Bishop? Hit a bullseye. Kid Loki? Hopping multiverses. Billy and Tommy Maximoff? Still young, but also check and check. With America Chavez now punching through universes, and Cassie Lang getting majorly upgraded in the next “Ant-Man”, there’s more Young Avengers in the MCU than left on the pages. If this isn’t building to an epic crossover, then we don’t know anything, anymore.

One of the biggest hurdles of introducing a foursome of fantastic heroes is the lingering question of where the heck they’ve been all this time. Well, if Scott Lang’s adventures are anything to go by, the answer might be more than just the simple multiverse macguffin. Instead of receiving their powers from radiation in space, the Fantastic Four could be born from a botched experiment involving the Quantum Realm. It would explain where they’ve been all this time, and also tie their origins deeper into MCU lore. Since Janet Van Dyne got her powers from the Quantum Realm, who’s to say it can’t happen to four others?

There’s yet to be a single Disney+ Marvel show that hasn’t crossed over to the main continuity in some form. With the excuse of multiverses, there’s absolutely no reason these characters can’t leap between animation and live-action. After all, it’s already happened with “What If...?”, and if that show is canon to some universe, introducing the X-Men is child’s play. Animation could also help them smooth over the tricky interpretation of a certain Merc with a Mouth without completely gutting him, either. He is a part of the X-Men after all, even if he’s a bit beyond their age range nowadays.

Even before a “Thunderbolts” movie was officially announced, fans suspected this shady handler wasn’t just recruiting baddies for the fun of it. From the way she positioned Yelena against Hawkeye, it’s clear Valentina’s no saint, which would make her the perfect fit to lead a team of criminals in covert operations. Also, the “Thunderbolts” have to be recruited somehow, and Valentina has already given her proverbial business card to Walker in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” Unless she just really likes crummy company, she’s totally the team's talent scout. Truly, you don’t cast someone like Julia Louis-Dreyfus to keep them a background player for long.

If the comics are any indication, the Fantastic Four’s arch-nemesis will be getting a lot of screen time in the next two phases. He played an instrumental part in the original comic book storyline by instigating the multiversal threat, recruiting Molecule Man, and even reviving Kang. Yeah, Kang. You know, the confirmed big-bad of the Multiverse Saga? With the Fantastic Four also making an appearance soon, the table feels immaculately set for an appetizer of Dr. Doom before Kang’s main course, just like Loki did with Thanos. It’s admittedly a tough task to find an Avengers-level threat left in the comics, but if anyone’s worthy, it’s definitely Dr. Doom.