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In addition to being a year full of new MCU content, 2022 saw a long list of memorable reveals related to Marvel's movies and shows. A slew of casting news, movie announcements, and shocking returns allowed for an exciting year for fans of the MCU. Some of these reveals have already come to fruition, while others pertain to projects releasing in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Going into 2022, there was already quite a lot to look forward to for the next few years. In addition to the three movies that hit theaters and the Marvel Disney+ shows that released in 2022, it was well-known that movies like Guardians on the Galaxy Vol. 3, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and The Marvels were on their way. But, there was still a great deal of uncertainly regarding Marvel's plans for 2024 and beyond. But after 2022, the future of the MCU is significantly clearer. Here's a look back at the best Marvel news of the year.

8/8
Professor X's Doctor Strange 2 Cameo

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Marvel started the year off strong when it released the first full trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Easily its biggest highlight was a line from Patrick Stewart that spoiled his cameo as Professor X. By using the character, Marvel essentially proved that Fox's X-Men franchise occupy their corner in the MCU's multiverse and set up all sorts of theories on which X-Men character could join MCU canon next.

7/8
Charlie Cox Returns As Daredevil In She-Hulk (& Beyond)

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As it turned out, Charlie Cox's cameo as Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home was just the beginning of Cox's presence in the MCU proper. AT SDCC 2022, the release of the trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney At Law confirmed that not only would Cox appear in the series as the character, he'd be in-costume as Daredevil, which was something that No Way Home never offered. In the same day, speculation surrounding a potential Daredevil season 4 on Disney+ ended with's Marvel's Daredevil: Born Again announcement. Exactly how much the new show will connect to the events of the original show remains to be seen, but The Man Without Fear playing an active role in the MCU (and headlining his own series again) is a scenario that has been discussed for years at this point.

6/8
Ms. Marvel Is A Mutant In The MCU

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Despite being the MCU's least-watched Disney+ show to date, Ms. Marvel dropped a bomb in its season finale when it revealed that Kamala Khan's powers stem from a "mutation." Just that one word on its own generated a tremendous response due to its implications. By including this line, the MCU has officially introduced its first-ever mutant and in turn laid the groundwork for the X-Men to be introduced at Marvel's leisure. Considering that Ms. Marvel is an Inhuman in the comic books, making her a mutant wasn't an obvious route for Marvel to take, which is all the more reason why this moment came as such as a huge surprise.

5/8
The Avengers Are Returning TWICE

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Ahead of SDCC 2022, there were hopes that Marvel would finally announce a fifth installment in he Avengers franchise. The studio did more than meet those expectations when it unveiled titles for not one, but two movies centered on Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. Years after saving the world from Thanos, the heroes will reassemble for a battle with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania's Kang the Conqueror. One year later, the Avengers will be back on the big screen for a sixth time in Avengers: Secret Wars against an unrevealed threat.

Marvel hasn't revealed team lineups for either movie, but confirmation that both films are happening sets a roadmap for its current slate of movies. Up until this announcement, there was a lack of clarity regarding where Marvel was taking its characters in Phase 4. Now, it seems that the two films will be the culmination of everything that happens in the Multiverse Saga, not unlike how Avengers: Endgame wrapped up the Infinity Saga.

4/8
Hugh Jackman's Wolverine Joins Deadpool 3

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Of all the characters that have yet to appear in the MCU, the one that arguably gets the most attention is Wolverine. However, there have long been concerns that if and when Marvel uses him, its portrayal of the character won't be able to top what Fox's X-Men franchise did with Hugh Jackman's take on the character. Those fears were at least partially alleviated when a video posted by Ryan Reynolds confirmed that Jackman will be back as Wolverine in the MCU's Deadpool 3. Regardless of whether or not his role is a one-off in the same vein as Stewart's Professor X cameo in Doctor Strange 2, Jackman's foray into the MCU is sure to be a memorable one, particularly since it'll incorporate a popular pairing of Marvel Comics heroes via Deadpool and Wolverine.

3/8
Harrison Ford Is Joining The MCU As Thunderbolt Ross

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Marvel added to the list of high-profile, iconic actors in the MCU with its decision to cast Harrison Ford in Captain America: New World Order. In the Phase 5 movie, Ford will replace William Hurt in the role of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. Hurt's death in March of this year left Ross' continued relevance to the MCU in doubt, but with Ford playing the character in a movie with the Leader (a major Hulk villain), the chances of him following in the footsteps of his comic counterpart and becoming the Red Hulk are greater than ever.

2/8
After 16 Years, Tim Blake Nelson Will Return As The Leader

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For Sam Wilson's first villain as Captain America, Marvel has elected to pull from a surprising hero's rogues' gallery. Not only that, but the specific character it chose for the role is one many had come to accept would never return to the big screen. At the end of The Incredible Hulk, Marvel set up the introduction of the Hulk's greatest villain by teasing Samuel Sterns' transformation into the Leader. That was over a decade ago, yet what happened to him has never been explained. At the D23 Expo, Marvel Studios announced that Tim Blake Nelson will return to the MCU as the Leader in Captain America: New World Order. The Leader serving as the film's main villain makes it possible for Marvel to finally do the character justice and reveal what he's been up to all these years.

1/8
Marvel's Thunderbolts Cast

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Thunderbolts is one of several Marvel properties subjected to numerous rumors over the years. Not long after confirming that Thunderbolts was in development for its Phase 5 slate, the studio released an image of the cast at D23. The photo showed off an all-star assembly of anti-heroes, with each member of the team being an existing MCU character. Since there weren't many reasons to suspect that Ghost and Taskmaster still had a place in the MCU, their inclusion was welcome news. In the cases of MCU fan favorites like Winter Soldier and Yelena Belova, future MCU appearances were expected, but exactly where they would wind up wasn't known. The idea that several of these characters will be together in one movie has built a ton of hype for the film, making Thunderbolts one of Phase 5's most highly anticipated releases.

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