Now that Thunderbolts* has released in theaters, the feature film portion of MCU’s Phase 5 has come to a close. The fifth wave of Marvel movies launched to a turbulent start and experienced arguably the lowest point the cinematic saga has endured so far. Still, the franchise appears to be finding a rhythm again as Disney looks ahead to The Fantastic Four: First Steps to begin Phase 6 with a bang.
With a narrative that continues to grow and become increasingly complex, Phase 5 features a variety of stories spread out across Earth and beyond, starring a mix of well-known heroes and several welcome newcomers. Here’s the final grade for all six of the Phase 5 movies, ranking them by how faithfully they told their heroes’ stories, introduced fun new ideas, and entertained fans, new and old.
6
‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ (2023)
Directed by Peyton Reed
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicked off Phase 5 to a questionable start when Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and his newfound family are sucked into the Quantum Realm. Scott’s daughter, Cassie (Kathryn Newton), has found a way to communicate with the dangerous Quantum Realm, but the device works too well when she, Scott, Hope (Evangeline Lilly), Hank (Michael Douglas), and Janet (Michelle Pfeiffer) find themselves stranded there. As the group seeks to reunite and find a way home, they’ll first need to defeat Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) before a return is possible.
The thing that makes Marvel characters work is the ability to infuse stories of fantasy with relatable human traits that make audiences connect to them. The Ant-Man movies started with humble origins, and with each new story, they slowly got more lost in spectacle until the third film didn’t play to anyone’s strengths. It’s incredibly disappointing because there’s an all-star cast that feels spread out and underutilized to tell a story that one has to assume was rushed into production.
5
‘The Marvels’ (2023)
Directed by Nia DaCosta
Three heroes are inexorably linked, leading to chaotic results in the space adventure The Marvels. Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), known in the galaxy as Captain Marvel, Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) get a chance to walk in one another’s shoes when their activated powers cause them to switch places. As a Kree threat looks to destroy the Earth’s life force to restore their own, the three heroes will have to quickly learn how to work together to save human existence.
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The Marvels is possibly the least accessible of all the Phase 5 movies. If the casual audience member who doesn’t watch the MCU’s Disney+ content walked into the theater for The Marvels, they would likely feel lost, because the movie expects them to have watched both WandaVision and Ms. Marvel. Vellani does well as the audience surrogate of Kamala, excitedly living out the fantasy of saving the world alongside her idol, but after multiple appearances, there’s still a struggle with defining who Carol Danvers is. Larson is a talented actress with natural, engaging charisma, but there is a disconnect somewhere that prohibits her talents from properly shining in this role. That said, The Marvels was a step in the right direction, giving Larson someone like Vellani to play off that humanized the more cosmic-leaning storyline.
4
‘Captain America: Brave New World’ (2025)
Directed by Julius Onah
Captain America: Brave New World follows Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as he adjusts to the title of Captain America and the responsibilities that come with it. Sam is finding his groove as the iconic Avengers leader when he’s invited to the White House by the new President and old antagonist, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford). Ross offers a chance to start over and work together, but an attack on the President puts their potential partnership on ice and reignites old tensions. As Wilson goes rogue to clear a friend’s name, a mysterious villain from the past appears to be pulling strings that will lead to a public humiliation of the President as payment for broken promises.
The fourth entry in the Captain America series has proven to be divisive, with a 48% critical score vs 78% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Outside of casting changes that had already been set up in Avengers: Endgame and the Disney+ series, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Brave New World was free of big surprises to shake up the MCU. The marketing campaign spoiled the third act reveal of Red Hulk, but in a world where the entire plot of MCU movies ends up online before the premiere, maybe it was destined to happen either way. As a standalone adventure chronicling the first steps of a new Captain America, time will most likely be kind to Captain America: Brave New World, but the original trilogy casts a long shadow.
3
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (2024)
Directed by Shawn Levy
A long-awaited on-screen team-up happens for two of Marvel’s most dangerous mutants in the buddy action comedy Deadpool & Wolverine. Life has been rough for Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) when the third solo Deadpool movie begins; he’s hung up his red tights for a job selling cars and has broken up with longtime girlfriend Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). He’s forced to shake off his funk after learning his world will soon be destroyed after the death of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Taking it upon himself to act like an Avenger and save the world, Deadpool travels to other universes to steal their Wolverine, eventually bringing the most emotionally damaged version to prevent his timeline from collapsing. The Wolverine theft doesn’t go as planned, and the mismatched pair must fight their way out of the Void wasteland to return home before it ceases to exist.
Whether people love or hate Deadpool and his particular brand of humor, there has to be an appreciation that Deadpool and Wolverine made it to the big screen with an R-rating. The plot is a collection of loose ideas that run like sketches to set up cameos, but that’s how a Deadpool movie needs to flow for it to function. Deadpool is a random character who’s easily distracted by the next shiny object, and Deadpool & Wolverine leans into that, with the mutant there to anchor the film when it needs to move to the next plot beat. The future for Deadpool in the MCU is questionable, but if this was the end of the road for the Merc With a Mouth, it allowed him to take a final bow in an appropriately light-hearted and sentimental story.
2
’Thunderbolts*’ (2025)
Directed by Jake Schreier
Counted-out characters with villainous pasts get a shot at redemption in this fantastic addition to the MCU. Thunderbolts* sees a team of antiheroes, including Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and John Walker (Wyatt Russell), manipulated into fighting one another by the scheming CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). After joining forces against a common enemy, the group will have to put aside their differences and personal failures to stop a new threat from throwing the city into permanent darkness.
For the first time in a long stretch, an MCU film was released that felt like a departure from the standard superhero origin story that the franchise has become known for. That’s not to say the film is a complete 180, because the script is quippy even in moments that it maybe shouldn’t be, but there’s also far more emotional depth present within the story. The plot’s focus on mental health is a welcome surprise and carries an unexpected positive message about the power of asking for help instead of suppressing emotional pain. Thunderbolts* wisely doesn’t ignore the misdeeds of the antiheroes, choosing to dig in and examine the desire for forgiveness, whether as public validation or from within. Pugh is excellent as Yelena, and regardless of what is in store for the future of the MCU, one can hope she’ll be prominently featured in it moving forward.
1
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3’ (2023)
Directed by James Gunn
Rocket Raccoon’s (Bradley Cooper) origins are explored in the trilogy closer, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The Guardians have hit a low point with leader Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) unable to recover from the loss of teammate and lover Gamora (Zoe Saldaña). When Adam Warlock’s (Will Poulter) attack leaves Rocket fighting for his life, the rest of the team will embark on an impossible mission to save their friend. Old secrets are revealed and goodbyes are said as the Guardians must each determine what they need for individual happiness.
The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy was one of the high points in the MCU, a risky, slightly more adult-oriented world filled with characters that didn’t fit neatly into a convenient moral template. Their occasional appearances in crossover movies always felt like a boost of energy, and the idea that the third standalone movie for the team would be their final was going to lead to a bittersweet energy. The third volume is more morose than the previous two, which was potentially going to turn off fans, but the tone was honest to the characters who had endured many hardships up to this point. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 excelled in giving the characters appropriate send-offs to close off long-term arcs, while not completely ruling out their future involvement in world-ending disasters that might arise in the future.
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