The upcoming lineup of the MCU’s Phase 5 properly represents the transition from the Infinity Saga into the Multiverse Saga finally taking place.

The slate for Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe properly highlights Marvel’s transition from the Infinity Saga to the Multiverse Saga. Since Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home marked the end of the Infinity Saga, Phase 4 has served as both an epilogue and a prologue. A selection of projects in Phase 4 focused on the lasting legacy characters of the Infinity Saga, while the others centered on the introduction of some of the Multiverse Saga’s key players.

Due to the difficult nature of serving as both an ending and a new beginning, Marvel’s Phase 4 came under scrutiny for lacking a sense of direction. That being said, the MCU’s Phase 5 and Phase 6 are expected to drastically ramp up the story of the Multiverse Saga, with some Phase 6 problems still unannounced. When concerning the former, the projects of Phase 5 certainly hint at this, with both the films and TV projects outlining how the MCU is finally leaving the Infinity Saga behind.

Phase 5 Is Finally Taking Marvel Into A New Era After Phase 4

The first two projects of Phase 5 highlight Marvel finally leaving the Infinity Saga behind. These two movies are Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which both serve as cappers of trilogies that originated in the Infinity Saga. While Ant-Man 3 left the story open for the Ant-Man family to return in the future, the story was wholly centered on moving away from Avengers: Endgame and setting up the main concepts and villains of the Multiverse Saga. Similarly, Guardians 3 will be the end of this iteration of the team, with James Gunn promising a satisfying conclusion to end another Infinity Saga journey.

Furthermore, the middle two movie projects of MCU Phase 5 are The Marvels and Captain America: New World Order. With the first two ending Infinity Saga journeys and potentially beginning new ones for early Infinity Saga characters, The Marvels and Captain America 4 are transitioning later Infinity Saga characters to the future of Marvel. Finally, the last two Phase 5 film projects – Thunderbolts and Blade – are featuring brand-new stories. The former has new and old characters coming together for a new dynamic, while the latter is a debut MCU character. The longer Phase 5 goes on, the further the MCU moves away from Phases 1-3 and into the future.

Phase 5’s TV Shows Reflect This Transition

Similarly, the MCU’s TV projects for Phase 5 reflect this transition. Outside of Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk, all of Marvel Studios’ TV projects in Phase 4 centered on legacy characters. WandaVision served to transition Wanda into the Scarlet Witch, moving her more in line with the Multiverse Saga while Falcon and the Winter Soldier saw Sam become Captain America, setting up his own film. Also, Loki and Hawkeye focused on legacy Marvel characters, with both paving the way for new versions of the titular hero to be focused on in the Multiverse Saga.

With Phase 5’s TV shows, though, the transition is evident. From Secret Invasion which centers on a Captain Marvel-related story, to Loki season 2 which continues the new version of Loki, MCU Phase 5’s TV show slate promise a new direction for Marvel rather than a focus on legacy characters. Other live-action shows like Agatha: Coven of Chaos, Echo, Ironheart, and Daredevil: Born Again are all centered on MCU characters who debuted in Phase 4, truly solidifying the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s transition to the next era of superhero content.