D23 Expo 2022 is just around the corner and fans of every Disney property are gearing up for tons of announcements, trailers and other surprises at the fan convention this weekend.
The three-day event, which kicks off on Friday 9 September, will host multiple panels in Anaheim, CA, including a Marvel Studios showcase.
The Disney subsidiary is expected to reveal tons of new content for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). We expect a lot of news for the MCU Phase 4, Marvel Phase 5 and Phase 6 projects at D23 Expo 2022, so you’ll want to strap on to the two-hour spectacle later this week
So what can we expect from Marvel Studios when MCU boss Kevin Feige takes the stage on Saturday September 10? We’ve listed six things we’d love to see at the Marvel’s Hall H panel below. This includes MCU movies – check out our Marvel movies in the Order Hub while you’re here – and the Disney Plus shows we already know, some we know little about, and a few surprises that can just make tongues waving around the world.
1. Trailers, trailer, trailers
In the next 15 months alone, Marvel plans to release five movies, two Disney Plus specials and potentially six TV shows, so fans will be eating well by the end of 2023.
So is there a better time to show the first public material from some of these productions than at D23 Expo 2022? For those who participated in the Marvel Comic-Con 2022 panel, only the Secret Invasion, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania teasers were shown. Wouldn’t it be great if these trailers were posted online so non-participants can enjoy the new content and start enjoying these projects?
MCU insiders have hinted that the global Marvel fanbase will see Secret Invasion for the first time, while we’re sure an official Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer will be revealed during the event and also online. The final Phase 4 movie is just two months into its release in theaters, so it’s high time Marvel gave us a fresh look at the long-awaited sequel.
There will be other sizzle drums and trailers for sure at D23 Expo, but we suspect they won’t be released to the public. If we were to guess, we’d say contestants would get exclusive looks at The Marvels, Echo, Ironheart, and Loki season 2, which are currently being filmed or being reruns. Just don’t hold your breath that any teasers of these projects will be published online.
2. A special release date for Disney Plus is revealed
It’s less than six weeks until Halloween and only three months until Christmas, but Marvel still has not announced the release dates of its upcoming Disney Plus holiday shows.
Werewolf by Night, the upcoming scary TV show directed by film music composer Michael Giacchino (Spider-Man: No Way Home, Lightyear) is still set to be with us before Halloween. We hope Marvel will finally announce when it will be available to stream on Disney Plus at the D23 Expo.
Meanwhile, James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy should be with us over the holiday season. Again, Marvel has not confirmed when it lands on Disney’s streaming service, and the D23 Expo is the last opportunity for Marvel to announce it at a public event. We keep our fingers crossed that we will also learn more about the release date of this event.
3. Phase 5 Cast Announcements
Blade, Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts are half of the Marvel Phase 5 movie franchise, but we have yet to find out more about who was cast in each superhero movie.
The D23 Expo is a great opportunity for the studio to officially confirm the cast of each film. Leaks from Marvel have already teased who can join Mahershal Ali’s Blade in the reboot of the anti-hero vampire movie, while we previously reported on who could be part of the Thunderbolts, a team of Marvel anti-heroes and villains that could take the place of the Avengers Phase or two.
This trio of films is currently scheduled to hit theaters between November 2023 and July 2024, so it’s time for Marvel to confirm the cast of each film. All three projects are sure to start rolling soon given their release dates, so let’s hear more about which actors will be the last to join the MCU’s growing roster of major and supporting characters.
Speaking of cast announcements …
4. A fantastic time to introduce the iconic Marvel Quartet
Since early 2022, the internet has been full of rumors of the Marvel movie Fantastic Four reboot. Recently, many MCU insiders have claimed to know who was hired to play Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, Man of the Torch, and Things.
With this MCU Phase 6 video due out in November 2024, now seems like the best time for Marvel to announce who will star in this highly anticipated production. Not only that, but the studio should reveal who the new director of the film is, with former helmsman Jon Watts quitting the project earlier this year.
The rumor mill will continue speculating about who will appear in Marvel’s Fantastic Four film until a Disney-owned company reveals them. So it should just bite the bullet and confirm who will play the iconic quartet in the MCU at the D23 Expo. There won’t be a better opportunity for this for a few months – so please Marvel, save us from our misery.
5. Fleshing Phase 6
Speaking of the Marvel’s Phase 6 board, we only know of three projects – Fantastic Four, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars – that will be part of the lineup for this phase.
As the studio revealed at Comic-Con 2022, eight more films remain to be shot on the Phase 6 schedule. Currently, four are expected to hit theaters between mid-end 2024, two in spring (March-May) 2025, and two in summer (June-August) 2025.
While we don’t expect Marvel to announce each of these movies, we’d be surprised not to provide details on the first four. A few obvious choices are the sequels to Doctor Strange 2, Shang-Chi and Eternals – of which it is rumored to have a sequel despite being viewed as one of the worst MCU movies ever made.
However, there are other possibilities. The Marvel leaks have suggested that Deadpool 3, a solo movie featuring fan-favorite Nova, or a World War-era Hulk movie might be part of the deal. Other options may include the long overdue MCU X-Men / Mutants movie, Thor’s fifth solo movie, or the third Black Panther movie. Honestly, we will undertake any number of these projects as long as they are announced this weekend.
Then there is the prospect that more of the Disney Plus MCU series will be part of Phase 6. A spin-off focused on the organization of the 10 Shang-Chi Rings, a show based on an unknown Wonder Man hero and possible sequels to Moon Knight, She-Hulk, and Mrs.Marvel could be lit green. Again, we don’t expect all of them to be announced, but a few disclosures here and there would be fantastic.
6. Give us the latest information on Armor Wars
Poor tank wars. The upcoming Disney Plus show featuring Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes / War Machine must feel like the black sheep of the family at this point, due to the lack of updates around it.
A spin-off series in which Rhodey will face what happens when Tony Stark’s technology falls into the wrong hands was made visible by its absence at Comic-Con 2022. Marvel did not provide an update on this. long time, and there was so much fear that it had been canceled, showrunner Yassir Lester I had to report to social media to confirm it was still in development (opens in a new tab).
Given that it was announced in December 2020, it’s high time to find out more about Armor Wars – more specifically, if it’s still in development and if so, will it be part of Phase 5 or 6. Give us something, Marvel for Rhodey’s sake.
Looking for more MCU content to read ahead of D23 Expo 2022? Read our spoiler-free review of Thor: Love and Thunder, which recently landed on Disney Plus. Or you can find out how we rated every Marvel movie to date.