MCU Phase 7 quietly delayed, but the leaked movies are worth the wait

Marvel Studios has reportedly delayed some upcoming films on the slate for Phase 7 of the MCU.

Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is due to kick off in July with the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

It will be the final phase for the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, which began with Black Widow back in 2021 and will end with Avengers: Secret Wars at the end of 2027.

The original plan was for Secret Wars to be released in May 2027, but it was pushed back to 17th December.

This occurred along with Avengers: Doomsday, which now has an 18th December 2026 release date.

With the news that Phase 6 will be ending a little later than expected, it obviously means that Marvel’s plans for Phase 7 have also been pushed back.

Although the exact plans for the next MCU saga probably won’t be confirmed until after Secret Wars’ release, rumours are that it will be called the Mutant Saga, and will feature the X-Men fully integrating into the MCU.

According to Sam Hargrave at TheDirect, Marvel’s plans originally involved releasing the first Phase 7 film in November 2027, but this is now delayed to 2028.

One of the films currently being developed for Phase 7 is an untitled X-Men film.

This will presumably feature a brand new cast, rather than bringing back the actors from the original Fox X-Men films.

Although some of those versions of the characters are due to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, it’s unknown if Marvel has plans to keep them around for more films.

Some of the other potential Phase 7 films include Black Panther 3 and Doctor Strange 3. There’s also Armor Wars, which focuses on Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes, and an untitled sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Then there’s also Blade, which has been in development since 2013 but has received numerous delays over the years.

Mahershala Ali will be playing the titular character, but development on the film is currently paused.

Although the slight delay to Phase 7 means we won’t be seeing any of these films until 2028 at the earliest, at least we’ve got the remaining Phase 6 films to be excited about.

The next MCU film to release is The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which will release in cinemas on 25th July, 2025.