The Infinity Saga came to a close in 2019 with the one-two punch of Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, and although Tony (Robert Downey Jr.) and Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) are gone, we haven’t seen the last of several of our other favorite Marvel characters. Though we might not see some of them on the big screen for a while — especially given that movie premiere dates are being shuffled due to the coronavirus pandemic — they’ll live on on Disney’s streaming platform, Disney+, in the form of several limited series that are officially part of Phase Four of the MCU. Meanwhile, a few new characters will be introduced via their own series later on. Here’s what we know about the MCU shows coming to Disney+.
WandaVision (Jan. 15, 2021)
Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision
WandaVision sees Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprising their roles of Scarlet Witch and Vision, respectively. A tonal mashup, the series is part classic sitcom à la The Dick Van Dyke Show and part Marvel blockbuster. The first footage was released during the Super Bowl teaser, revealing that although it appears Wanda and Vision are now living their ideal suburban lives, they begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.
Which makes sense, considering that Vision died in Avengers: Infinity War. Despite this, Olsen promises that the series is really going to dig into Wanda in a way the movies never could. “We’re going to have a lot of fun. It’s going to get weird. We’re going to go deep. We’re going to have lots of surprises and we’re going to finally understand Wanda as the Scarlet Witch,” Olsen teased at San Diego Comic-Con last year.
The show will also feature Teyonah Parris as an adult Monica Rambeau. You might remember the character from Captain Marvel, played in that movie by Akira Akbar. Monica is the daughter of Carol Danvers’ best friend, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch). In the comics, Monica eventually takes on the title of Captain Marvel herself after she gains powers when she is exposed to extra-dimensional energy. Additional cast members include Thor‘s Kat Dennings, making her return as Darcy, and Randall Park, who is reprising his role from Ant-Man and the Wasp. Finally, Kathryn Hahn will appear as a nosy neighbor.
The series, which premieres Jan. 15 on Disney+, will be the first to tie directly into one of the MCU’s upcoming feature films, but it won’t be the last. Olsen is confirmed to appear in the Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in theaters May 7, 2021.
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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TBD)
Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier
Remember how great it was to watch Falcon, aka Sam Wilson, and the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes, bicker back and forth in Captain America: Civil War? These two are taking their show on the road in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their roles as Falcon and the Winter Soldier, respectively.
The six-episode series was originally set to be the first MCU Disney+ series, but its original August premiere date was delayed due to COVID. Now it’ll premiere sometime in 2021, as WandaVision steps up to the plate first.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier is written by Malcolm Spellman and directed by Kari Skogland. Daniel Bruhl is confirmed to return for the series as Zemo, and you can catch a glimpse of him in the footage that Marvel/Disney+ released during its Super Bowl teaser. Meanwhile, Emily VanCamp will reprise her role as Sharon Carter/Agent 13, and Lodge 49‘s Wyatt Russell is portraying new comic book character John Walker.
The logo for the show features a certain shield, because as you’re probably aware, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) handed over his iconic shield to Sam, and thus passed on the title of Captain America, in the final moments of Endgame. You can see Sam trying to get a feel for the shield in the opening of the Super Bowl teaser.
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Loki (Spring 2021)
Loki, a new limited series that finds Tom Hiddleston reprising his fan-favorite role, is still reportedly on track to premiere in the spring of 2021, but that might change with Falcon and the Winter Soldier now coming in later than expected. Although the god of mischief met his demise at the hands of Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Infinity War, a different version of Loki escaped with the Tesseract during the events of Endgame, and that’s who we will be following in the new series, not the evolved man from Thor: Ragnarok.
“He’s still that guy [from Avengers], and just about the last thing that happened to him was he got Hulk-smashed, so there’s a lot of psychological evolution that has still yet to happen,” teased Hiddleston during San Diego Comic-Con this summer. In the Super Bowl teaser, Loki can be seen, seemingly in an interrogation room, promising to burn everything to the ground.
Rick & Morty’s Michael Waldron will not only serve as showrunner but also write the pilot and executive produce. Like WandaVision, the series will tie directly into the events of the Doctor Strange sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in theaters May 7, 2021.
What If…? (Summer 2021)
Marvel will take a brief break from its live-action Disney+ series during the summer of 2021 to debut the animated series What If…? The show is based on Marvel’s “alternative history” comics that debuted in the 1970s and looked at how things might have happened if key moments from the timeline had gone differently. This series imagines what might have happened if major events in the MCU films hadn’t played out the way we know them.
The 10-episode season is helmed by Ashley Bradley and features many Marvel actors reprising their roles from the films. The first episode will follow Hayley Atwell‘s Peggy Carter and explores what would have happened if Peggy, not Steve, had been given the super-soldier serum.
Hawkeye (Fall 2021)
Marvel is also working on a series starring Jeremy Renner‘s Clint Barton, who was first introduced in 2011’s Thor. The series, which is being called Hawkeye, originated as a film before being developed for TV. The show will introduce fans to Kate Bishop (who has not yet been cast, though there are rumors of Hailee Steinfeld being offered the role) as Clint trains her to take on the mantle after he retires, and it will explore more of Clint’s time as Ronin after the events of Infinity War.
Hawkeye will be written by former Mad Men writer Jonathan Igla. It is set to premiere in the fall of 2021.
Find out more about Hawkeye here
Ms. Marvel (TBD)
Following the release of four Disney+ shows in the MCU that feature the characters we already know and love, Marvel will introduce fans to Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, in Ms. Marvel. She will be the first Muslim character to lead her own Marvel superhero series. While no details about the show were announced at Disney’s D23 Expo (including when we can expect to see the series), Bisha K. Ali of Hulu’s Four Weddings and A Funeral will serve as showrunner.
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She-Hulk (TBD)
Bruce Banner is no longer the only Hulk in the MCU. Marvel is launching a new series about She-Hulk, aka Jennifer Walters, who is an extremely intelligent lawyer who gives legal aid to various Marvel superheroes. Created by Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she made her debut in Savage She-Hulk No. 1 in 1980. It was reported in September 2020 that Tatiana Maslany will be playing Walters in the upcoming series.
Unfortunately, not much else is known about the Disney+ show, including when it will premiere, but we know it will be one of the final shows of Phase Four, potentially placing its debut in 2022. Jessica Gao, who won an Emmy for writing the Rick and Morty episode “Pickle Rick,” is attached to develop and lead the writing team for the show.
Moon Knight (TBD)
The final series to be released as part of Phase Four of the MCU is Moon Knight, about Marc Spector, who has a military background and powers that are dependent on the moon’s lunar cycle. Oscar Isaac is reportedly in talks for the titular role, making his formal introduction into the MCU after playing Apocalypse in the X-Men Universe and Spider-Man 2099 in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
This isn’t the first time Marvel has attempted to bring the character to the small screen; way back in 2006, two years before Iron Man, Marvel discussed a potential series, but that fell through. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn then revealed that he once pitched a Moon Knight movie, but it never came to be.
The Umbrella Academy‘s Jeremy Slater has signed on to lead the writers’ room for the series, while Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Diab has reportedly been tapped to direct. It’s likely we won’t even see the series until 2022 or beyond.
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Additional reporting by Rachel Paige