Vision Returns! A Look at Marvel's Next Live-Action Shows!
With The Fantastic Four: First Steps hitting theaters last week, Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has officially begun. Compared to previous phases, this new stage will feature fewer films, with only four known titles: The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the two Avengers movies, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
In terms of series production, Marvel has recently decided to reduce the number of new projects and shift towards a more traditional television production model. This involves hiring a showrunner for each series to oversee its creative and production process, as well as reducing production budgets. Furthermore, these new series are intended to run for multiple seasons, focusing on their own internal storylines with fewer direct ties to the films, and will no longer exclusively feature movie characters in lead roles.
Beyond several animated series, including the upcoming Eyes of Wakanda which premieres in a few days, Marvel will release the following three live-action series and one special over the next two years:
Wonder Man, Premieres on Disney+ in December
This series is created by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and Andrew Guest (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), with Guest serving as showrunner and Cretton directing the first two episodes. Other episode directors include James Ponsoldt (The Circle). Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen) will star as the protagonist Simon Williams / Wonder Man. Demetrius Grosse and Golden Globe winner Ed Harris (Westworld, The Truman Show) will play his brother and manager, respectively, with Grosse's character being the comic book villain Grim Reaper. Also returning are Ben Kingsley (Iron Man 3, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) as comedic actor Trevor Slattery, and Arian Moayed (Ms. Marvel) as Damage Control agent P. Cleary. Lauren Glazier (Mindhunter), Josh Gad (voice of Olaf from Frozen series), and Byron Bowers (Lady in the Lake) will also appear.
This series, like Echo, will be released under the "Marvel Spotlight" banner, suggesting a more grounded approach with less direct connection to the overarching MCU storyline. The show will present a comedic take on the Hollywood entertainment industry, following super-powered stuntman Simon Williams as he auditions for a leading role in a superhero series.
Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, Premieres on Disney+ in March 2026
This season will consist of 8 episodes, with Dario Scardapane continuing as showrunner. Season one's directing duo Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson will direct the first episode, and other episode directors include Iain B. MacDonald (Shantaram) and Angela Barnes (Ironheart). In addition to the returning cast from the first season, Krysten Ritter will reprise her role as Jessica Jones, a member of The Defenders. Also joining the cast are Matthew Lillard (Five Nights at Freddy's), Lili Taylor (The Conjuring), and Annie Parisse (Friends from College). Lili Taylor is reportedly playing a political rival of Wilson Fisk / Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio).
In the finale of season one, New York City Mayor Wilson Fisk / Kingpin declared martial law and used anti-vigilante task forces to suppress and ban vigilantes. Season two is expected to revolve around Matt Murdock / Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and his allies' resistance.
Vision Quest (Working Title), Premieres on Disney+ in 2026
This live-action series, centered on Vision (Paul Bettany), will consist of 8 episodes. Star Trek: Picard showrunner Terry Matalas will work as the showrunner. Besides Paul Bettany returning as Vision, Faran Tahir (Iron Man) will reprise his role as Raza, who kidnapped Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in the past, and James Spader (Avengers: Age of Ultron) will return as the villain Ultron. T'Nia Miller (The Fall of the House of Usher ) will play Jocasta, a robot created by Ultron as his bride, and six-time Canadian Screen Award winner Emily Hampshire (Schitt's Creek) will play E.D.I.T.H., an AI created by Tony Stark.
Vision originally died in Avengers: Infinity War, but he returned in WandaVision. In that series, S.W.O.R.D. repaired Vision's body and used the chaos magic they collected to reanimate him, creating this white version of Vision and commanding him to attack Wanda. Later, the Vision created by Wanda's chaos magic and memories transferred the original Vision's memories to him, and after recalling his "past life," the White Vision flew off. Based on the plot, he will likely need to understand his identity and decide his future path. For him, he was originally a new being who believed his purpose was to follow S.W.O.R.D.'s orders, but then he was injected with the original Vision's memories, learning about his "past life." How will he choose to live? Will he continue the original Vision's life? Or embark on a new one? This series is expected to answer these questions.
Beyond creating White Vision, WandaVision also introduced two important characters: Wanda and Vision's sons, Billy and Tommy. Billy, known as Wiccan in the comics, possesses magical abilities similar to the Scarlet Witch, while Tommy, known as Speed, has super-speed like Quicksilver. Last year's series Agatha All Along continued this storyline, showing Billy's soul possessing the body of a deceased teenager, and he later found Tommy's soul and placed it in another deceased teenager's body. In the finale of Agatha All Along, Billy and Agatha (Kathryn Hahn) set off to find Tommy. It is speculated that Vision Quest might continue this storyline, with 25-year-old actor Ruaridh Mollica potentially playing Tommy. If Tommy does appear in this series, their reunion could lead to them becoming members of the Young Avengers. Indeed, several members of the Young Avengers from the comics have already appeared in Phase 4 and 5: Billy and Tommy in WandaVision; Eli Bradley / Patriot (Elijah Richardson) in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier; Hawkeye / Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in Hawkeye; Miss America / America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness; and Stature / Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) returned in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Furthermore, Ms. Marvel / Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) contacted Kate Bishop in The Marvels, hoping to assemble a young superhero team.
The Punisher Special Presentation, Premieres on Disney+ in 2026
This "Marvel Studios Special Presentations" is directed and written by Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), with Jon Bernthal, who plays Frank Castle / The Punisher, also contributing to the writing. In addition to Jon Bernthal, The Punisher Netflix series co-star Jason R. Moore will return as Punisher's friend Curtis Hoyle.
In the season finale of Daredevil: Born Again, Frank Castle / The Punisher was initially imprisoned by Wilson Fisk / Kingpin but successfully escaped in a post-credits scene. This special's villain is reportedly Ma Gnucci, a mob boss and enemy of The Punisher in the comics.
In addition to Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 and this special, The Punisher will also appear in next year's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, indicating that he will be one of Marvel's key characters next year.
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Photo and Source: Marvel