2025 is the year when the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) transitions from Marvel Phase 5 to Marvel Phase 6. Women of Marvel podcast editor Ellie Pyle explains why this is so significant to her and what the year has in store for franchise fans.
In 2024, I experienced something I hadn’t in years: I watched a Marvel movie not as a comic book editor or the host of Women of Marvel, but simply as a fan. Deadpool & Wolverine was the perfect movie to remind me that I will always be a fan at heart. As we enter 2025, I’m excited to see what Marvel Phase 6 has in store.
I can’t wait to see Anthony Mackie fully step into the role of Captain America on the big screen in Captain America: Brave New World (released February 14th). It’s been 10 years since Sam Wilson first took on the mantle in the comics (All New Captain America #1 by Rick Remender and Stuart Immonen), and this movie promises to be the same kind of action-packed thriller we’ve come to expect from the Captain America franchise.
Not only will it explore Sam's evolution as America’s hero, but it will also dive deeper into the first Captain America: Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), further exploring the generational impact of a person of colour as Captain America.
Tragically, William Hurt passed away before his character General Thaddeus Ross could evolve into Red Hulk, but there’s no better replacement than Harrison Ford. He’s said he took the role to “have a good time” and I believe it.
Given Ford’s signature mix of intensity and dry comedic chops, I expect he’ll own the role in more ways than one. It’ll be fascinating to see the pathos he draws out of an elderly President suddenly able to explode into the incredible physical powers of a very angry Red Hulk.
This film will also introduce some badass women to the MCU including Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Seraph, an Israeli former Black Widow who is now a high-ranking U.S. government official, Rosa Salazar as Serpent Society member Diamondback and of course the return of Liv Tyler as Betty Ross (last seen in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk).
Speaking of badass women… get ready for Florence Pugh’s return as Yelena Belova in Thunderbolts* (released May 2nd). Nothing says ‘Marvel’ quite like a ragtag team, but unlike the Avengers or the Defenders, the Thunderbolts always include some shady characters.
The team first appeared in the comics in 1997 as a group of heroes ready to protect the world after the death of the Avengers, but their #1 issue (by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley) shockingly revealed them to be the Masters of Evil in disguise.
The heroic ambiguity of the Thunderbolts* team is already well established with Yelena being joined by former villains John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), Red Guardian (David Harbour) and of course Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).
Given Stan’s appearances as Bucky/The Winter Soldier in the Captain America movies, we might expect a passing of the torch between the Captain America and Thunderbolts* franchises.
That said, the MCU has been building to the Thunderbolts* team up for a while with Valentina Allegra De Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), familiar from the Disney+ series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, gathering everyone together, like a probably evil Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).
Thunderbolts* will likely offer redemption for at least some of these characters, but hopefully not too much since it’s promising a darkly comedic tone. Hopefully, it will remind us how much fun anti-heroes can be.
Fantastic Four: First Steps is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, being the film that initiates Marvel Phase 6. I’ve always said that the true heroes of the MCU are the casting directors and it looks like they nailed it.
Pedro Pascal continues to add to his collection of fandom’s favorite fathers with Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, one of the smartest men in the world who loves his family, but also carries some guilt about his role in their transformation. I’ve been a Vanessa Kirby fan ever since her seasons of The Crown, so I can’t wait to see the layers she brings to Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, often underrated as potentially one of the most powerful FF characters.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach has the perfect blue-collar comedic chops for Ben Grimm/Thing and I can’t wait to see him spar with Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm/Human Torch in one of the best friendships in comics. (Does this mean we can look forward to future Quinn and Tom Holland hijinks someday when Johnny meets his other BFF? I can only hope!)
The Fantastic Four joining the MCU also paves the way for some of Marvel’s best villains. Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is an unprecedented threat and Julia Garner as Silver Surfer is too interesting of a casting choice, in my opinion, to be confined to just one movie. But one thing’s for sure, Phase 6 all builds up to a Secret War and… Doctor Doom! The Fantastic Four’s nemesis is of course being played by the former Iron Man Robert Downey Jr., as announced at Comic-Con 2024.
The possibility for future crossover opens up a whole world for these characters that the previous Fantastic Four films never had. It’s important to remember that before they were superheroes, these characters were explorers. Will it turn out that they come from a different earth? Or time? Or will this be a fresh start for Marvel’s first family at the moment they’re needed most?
It’s tough to say right now how Fantastic Four: The First Steps will fit into the MCU’s multiverse, but that’s one of its most exciting elements. As a Marvel acolyte, I can hardly wait.
Start your 2025 Marvel journey by booking your tickets for Captain America: Brave New World. It's released on February 14th. Get closer to the action and experience the movie in special format IMAX, plus the Cineworld-exclusive formats 4DX, ScreenX and Superscreen.
Don't forget to claim your exciting Captain America merch when you see the movie, including our shield-themed popcorn buckets, our Captain America/Red Hulk-themed cups and toppers, and our exclusive Red Hulk popcorn container.
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Ellie Pyle has been a Marvel fan since the age of 11 when she first thought Rogue and Gambit might kiss. She worked for Marvel off and on over the last 15 years as an editor in the Spider-office, an executive producer of the Marvel’s Wastelander’s podcasts, and a producer and host of the Women of Marvel podcasts.
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