According to Marvel Studios, the Avengers: Secret Wars, an epic named after a story in which the entire multiverse collided.
In truth, it's long been clear the MCU was headed for Secret Wars; this was the most logical endpoint for the multiversal focus, and the only question was really about the timing. 's post-credits scene, the Stephen Strange of Earth-616 unwittingly caused an incursion of some kind, and that presumably involves his own universe.
Viewers have rightly complained that Marvel's Phase 4 has seemed relatively disted. Looking ahead to MCU Phase 5, that still appears to be the case, because it's difficult to see exactly how some of these stories fit into the Multiverse Saga. Still, the following films and Disney+ TV shows appear to be crucial to the MCU's overarching narrative.
WandaVision
The first MCU Disney+ TV series, Scarlet Witch arc isn't consistent, and it's still unclear what nexuses have to do with this particular story. Still, it's a first step along the road, even if the MCU did change direction a little.
Loki Season 1
The Multiverse Saga continued to build up momentum on Disney+ in variants of Kang the Conqueror. The winner of the last multiversal war, He Who Remains, established the Time Variance Authority to prune branched timelines and retain just the one "Sacred Timeline," but by the end of Loki season 1 he was killed by Sylvie - and the branches began to spread out once again.
Marvel's What If...? Season 1
What If...? season 1 impacted the main MCU by setting up so many narrative ideas.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man was absent from Comic-Con 2022), which makes sense. In the comics, the Spider-Men are connected to the Web of Life and Destiny that holds the very multiverse together. Marvel's SDCC announcements didn't contain any mention of Spider-Man, of course, because the film rights still sit with Sony - so these films wouldn't be for Marvel to announce. Still, it's almost certain Tom Holland's Peter Parker will be involved in some way.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness served as something of a multiversal road-trip for Stephen Strange, introducing viewers to a new universe of Earth-838. It revealed traveling through the multiverse is a hazardous endeavor, with the potential to cause devastating incursions in which entire universes are destroyed. This raised the stakes of the Multiverse Saga, revealing just how dangerous Kang's multiverse war could really be. Although Scarlet Witch was killed (in theory), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hinted her rampage had caused real damage to the fabric of the multiverse, with a post-credits scene seeing Strange summoned to help deal with the problems that had been caused. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is also important in that it introduced viewers to Xochitl Gomez's America Chavez, a being apparently unique in the entire multiverse who possesses the power to punch portals between dimensions. She's sure to be a key figure in the Multiverse Saga.
Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania
Ant-Man & the Wasp, drawing the narrative threads together.
Marvel's What If...? Season 2
What If...? season 2 will clearly continue to develop the Multiverse Saga, releasing sometime during the first quarter of 2023 - and Marvel has already signed up on a third season. The second season will feature another Captain Carter story, a timeline in which Odin battled the Mandarin, and one in which Steve Rogers somehow seems to have defeated Thanos before he could snap his fingers. What If...? season 1 actually launched a spinoff series, so it will be interesting to see whether season 2 is successful in the same way.
Loki Season 2
The ending of Loki season 1 revealed a variant of Kang the Conqueror had already taken over the Time Variance Authority. It's currently unclear whether season 2 will pick up where season 1 left off, or whether those particular narrative threads will be picked up in Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania. Still, whatever the case may be, it's clear this is going to be a crucial part of the Multiverse Saga and it's fitting the God of Mischief and chaos-maker Loki will be in the middle of it.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos
Witchcraft and sorcery have been strongly linked to the multiverse in the MCU, and Darkhold may have been destroyed by Scarlet Witch, but its dark magic could still remain to further damage the fabric of the multiverse.
Marvel Zombies
The first spinoff from Marvel's What If...?, Marvel Zombies continues a timeline in which exploration of the Quantum Realm unleashed a zombie virus on the world. At first glance, this animated TV series - Marvel Studios' first R-rated release - seems as though it's simply an exploration of a variant timeline. But the narrative thread of the Quantum Realm may mean it has a tie to Kang the Conqueror, and it's even possible the zombie virus is one of Kang's weapons.
Fantastic Four
will launch Phase 6 in 2024. In the comics, the Fantastic Four are a group of cosmic explorers who become some of Kang's greatest enemies. They're also strongly tied to the 2015 Secret Wars epic, which will serve as the climax of the entire Multiverse Saga. Marvel is yet to confirm any details about the new Fantastic Four, but they are potentially being set up as the MCU's greatest heroes.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty
Phase 6 will include not one Avengers film, but two. The first, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, is clearly set up as a spectacular multiversal epic. It's named after one of the most important Kang stories in the comics, where he successfully conquered Earth, with the Avengers forced to serve as something of a resistance movement. It's likely the differences between the comic book and MCU versions of Kang mean this will only serve as loose inspiration.
Avengers: Secret Wars
The Multiverse Saga will come to a head in , titled after another comic event - one where all of Marvel's different timelines collided into one reality called Battleworld. In the comics, this was ruled by Fantastic Four foe Doctor Doom, but it's possible Marvel will switch things up in the MCU, with Kang as ruler of the entire multiverse and all the various heroes desperately attempting to overthrow him. If the MCU version of Secret Wars is anything like the comics, it will be even greater in scale than Avengers: Endgame.
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