A little more than two months after “Avengers: Endgame” changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe forever, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” will provide the first look at just where the MCU is headed now that Tony Stark is dead, Steve Rogers is an old man, and half the universe just came back five years after being turned into dust.
Part of that future will play out on Disney+. In an effort to prop up the upcoming streaming service Disney is rolling out in Nov. 12, Marvel Studios is developing a slew of TV series starring many of the MCU’s big-screen characters.
While details have been very scarce, TheWrap has rounded up everything we do know about the MCU’s future on Disney+ to keep you busy while you’re sitting in the theater, waiting for that end-credit scene.
1. Six MCU characters are getting spinoffs, though some of them are team-ups.
Currently Marvel has announced three series in the works for Disney+, which will be anywhere from six to eight episodes:
- “Falcon & The Winter Soldier,” with Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their roles as Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier
- “WandaVision,” with Elizabeth Olson and Paul Bettany returning as Wanda Maximoff and Vision
- “Loki,” with Tom Hiddleston back once again as the God of Mischief
Additionally, Marvel Studios is developing a fourth series around Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton/Hawkeye, that would see him train Kate Bishop (a character yet to appear in the MCU) to take up his mantle. Unlike those other three, Marvel Studios has yet to formally announce this one.
2. These shows will be influenced by the events of “Avengers: Endgame” (and probably “Spider-Man: Far From Home).
Given that “Endgame” ends with an elderly Captain America (Chris Evans) giving Sam Wilson his shield, it’s a fair assumption that “Falcon & The Winter Soldier” will focus on how Sam handles taking on the mantle of Captain America and how the two frenemies collectively move forward as allies. In the comics, both Bucky and Sam take on the Captain America moniker after Rogers retires the shield.
Loki is still dead after “Endgame” — at least, the Loki we’ve all known, up until his demise in “Infinity War,” appears to be dead. But a still-very-much-villainous Loki manages to escape with the Tesseract after Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Scott Lang time-travel back to the climatic Battle of New York from “Avengers” to try and grab the Tesseract for themselves. As we know, the plan goes awry and Loki manages to grab the cube and teleport… somewhere (and some time) unknown. The series is said to center on Loki influencing historical events on Earth, so this could be the pre-redemption Loki using the Space Stone to cause mischief in this new, offshoot timeline.
As far as “WandaVision,” it gets a bit trickier: Vision was one of the few characters not brought back from the dead, since he wasn’t killed by Thanos’ Snap. And since the Infinity Stones, including the one ripped out of Vision’s head, were destroyed by Thanos at the beginning of the “Endgame,” there doesn’t seem to be a way to bring Vision back. But a promotional image teasing the series portrayed a 1950s-setting, suggesting there could be an alternate reality in play, possibly created by Wanda herself as a result of her grief.
For Hawkeye, after his time as a bloodthirsty, sword-wielding Ronin in “Endgame,” he’s due for a good redemption story.
3. Some MCU side characters are returning as well.
Emily VanCamp and Daniel Bruhl are in talks reprise their roles as Sharon Carter and Helmut Zemo, receptively, on “Falcon & The Winter Soldier.” Bruhl and VanCamp both appeared in “Captain America: Civil War” and VanCamp made her MCU debut in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Zemo is one of the few Marvel villains to be “victorious” against the Avengers. Although he was apprehended by T’Challa at the end of “Civil War” and imprisoned, he was still able to force a rift between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark that wouldn’t be repaired until “Endgame.”
VanCamp’s Sharon Carter is the grand-niece of Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).
4. Unlike Marvel TV shows like “Agents of SHIELD,” these will actually factor in to the overall MCU storyline.
Even though “Endgame” finally linked the big screen MCU to the TV-adjacent universe on ABC (more on that here), the connections between the big and small screen up until this point have been a one-way street. TV shows like “SHIELD” and “Agent Carter” would reference the films, but not the other way around.
But unlike those other shows, the Disney+ series are being led by Marvel Studios, rather than Marvel TV, and its longtime creative overseer, Kevin Feige. Though the fact that these shows are starring big-screen characters bakes in that MCU bond, Feige has promised a strong connection.
“These will be major storylines, set within the MCU, with ramifications that will be felt both through the other Disney+ series we’re producing and our features on the big screen,” Feige said at an investor event in April that unveiled Disney+. “A post-‘Endgame’ MCU will be extremely different and extremely focused on Disney+ tying into our future movies.”
5. It will probably be awhile before we see them.
Nobody knows what’s coming for the MCU after “Far From Home,” and that includes when any of those will show up on Disney+.
All Disney has said officially is that “Falcon & Winter Soldier” will premiere within the first year of the service. TheWrap has previously reported Disney is eyeing an August 2020 debut, while both “WandaVision” and “Loki” will premiere during “Year Two” of Disney+.