Marvel Studios has spent months building anticipation around its current cinematic run, teasing crossovers, character returns, and a scale never before attempted in the franchise. Fans have been dissecting every trailer frame and Comic-Con soundbite for clues about what comes after the present slate of films wraps up. Between Avengers: Doomsday and its eventual follow-up, speculation about mutants, new heroes, and a fresh creative direction has only grown louder across the fandom.

While speculation keeps piling up online, one simple question still needs a straight answer before anyone plans their next rewatch marathon.

MCU Phase 7 has not started, and it will not begin until the current Phase 6 run concludes. Phase 6 kicked off with The Fantastic Four: First Steps and continues through Spider-Man: Brand New Day this year. Avengers: Doomsday arrives in December before Avengers: Secret W*** closes out the saga entirely in December 2027. Only after that finale wraps does Marvel plan to step into its next chapter, reportedly centered on mutants.

Marvel has already locked theatrical dates stretching into 2029, suggesting Phase 7 could launch around May 2028 once Avengers: Secret W*** settles the dust. Kevin Feige has referred to this next era as a multi-stage Mutant Saga, placing the X-Men at its very center. Jake Schreier is attached to direct a rebooted X-Men film built around a younger cast, while mutants like Kamala Khan and Jean Grey are already present on Earth-616.

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Long before that new chapter opens, though, Feige has something far more immediate on his mind for this December.

At San Diego Comic Con, Kevin Feige spoke about Avengers: Doomsday and hinted that its conclusion will leave audiences both satisfied and caught off guard. He suggested the ending sets up an agonizing twelve-month wait for Avengers: Secret W*** to finally arrive. Feige also called Avengers: Doomsday one of the most ambitious projects the studio has ever attempted, citing its sprawling, multi-reality cast.

The film brings together heroes from the Fox-era X-Men series, Fantastic Four alumni from another timeline, and familiar Avengers faces, with Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom serving as the central threat. Names like Chris Evans, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen point to a genuinely unprecedented crossover. Avengers: Doomsday lands in theaters on December 18, and it appears built to make the road toward Phase 7 feel worth every bit of the wait.

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What are your thoughts on Marvel's mutant-focused future and Kevin Feige's Avengers: Doomsday tease? Let us know in the comments.