The Marvel Cinematic Universe is bigger than it ever was before in Phase 4, as it now combines TV shows alongside the movies.
With a lot of the OG heroes ending their MCU runs in Avengers: Endgame, there's been a need for fresh faces in Phase 4 to lead the universe into the future – and there sure have been a lot of new faces.
In case you've forgotten some, here's a round-up of all the notable characters that have been introduced to date in Phase 4. Note: We haven't included any new characters who have already died as they (probably) won't return.
WandaVision
Characters introduced
Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), Billy (Julian Hilliard), Tommy (Jett Klyne)
When will they return?
Even though she was trapped in the Agnes persona at the end of WandaVision, Agatha will return in Disney+ series Agatha: House of Harkness which we imagine will see her break free of Agnes.
Monica received a superpowered upgrade during the events of the show, and will get to display them in Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels – due out in cinemas on July 28, 2023.
While Billy and Tommy were created by Wanda and disappeared at the end of the season when the hex was lifted, we've included them here as they appeared in Doctor Strange 2, and there are rumours a version of them could be in the rumoured MCU take on Young Avengers.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Characters introduced
US Agent/John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez), Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)
When will they return?
US Agent was recruited by Val at the end of the series, and is widely expected to appear in the Thunderbolts movie. That's assuming Thunderbolts is the team that Val has been busy assembling, as she's also recruited Yelena Boleva (more on her in a bit).
It's unclear if Joaquin Torres will return to the MCU, but with Captain America 4 on the horizon, he could fulfil the Falcon role to Anthony Mackie's newly-christened Captain America.
Black Widow
Characters introduced
Yelena Boleva (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), Taskmaster/Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko), Rick Mason (O-T Fagbenle)
When will they return?
Yelena has already returned to the MCU in Hawkeye, where she planned to kill Hawkeye as revenge for Natasha Romanoff's death. However, she spared his life and, like US Agent, is expected to appear in Thunderbolts as she's definitely working for Val now.
As for Yelena's family members Red Guardian, aka Alexei Shostakov, and Melina, we're hoping they'll return at some point, but nothing has been rumoured. The same goes for Antonia, now freed from the Taskmaster persona, and Rick Mason.
In the comics, they all have further adventures that the MCU could adapt for every character, yet it's equally likely we never hear from them again.
Loki
Characters introduced
Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), Mobius M Mobius (Owen Wilson), Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors), Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku)
When will they return?
This is a nice and simple one as we'd expect every notable character from Loki's first season to return in season two, which is already filming and is set to arrive on Disney+ in 2023.
That doesn't rule them out appearing in other future MCU projects. After all, He Who Remains will pop up – kind of – in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania in his Variant form of Kang the Conqueror.
What If...?
Characters introduced
The Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) and numerous alternate versions of established MCU characters
When will they return?
We know that The Watcher will return in season two of What If...?, but it's trickier to tell if anybody else from the first season will return in the second season or in other MCU projects.
It had been thought that Strange Supreme in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the same version as the one we met in What If...?, although it was confirmed not to be the case. The same (probably) goes for Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) from the same movie.
Until we learn otherwise, it's probably best to view these characters as separate to any we meet in the live-action MCU, although they're definitely in the same universe.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Characters introduced
Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Katy (Awkwafina), Xu Xialing (Meng'er Zhang), Razor Fist (Florian Munteanu), Ying Nan (Michelle Yeoh)
When will they return?
Another easy one as the most likely place for all of these characters to return is in the already-confirmed Shang-Chi 2. We don't yet have a release date for the sequel, so it might be a while away which could open the door for cameo appearances in other MCU projects.
Eternals
Characters introduced
Sersi (Gemma Chan), Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani), Dane Whitman (Kit Harington), Sprite (Lia McHugh), Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), Druig (Barry Keoghan), Thena (Angelina Jolie), Eros (Harry Styles), Pip the Troll (Patton Oswalt)
When will they return?
We haven't included Ikaris (Richard Madden), Ajak (Salma Hayek) and Gilgamesh (Don Lee) here as they all died in Eternals, and resurrections seem unlikely for any of them. (Then again, this is the MCU, so all bets are off.)
As for everybody else, the likeliest return for them will be in Eternals 2, but we're no closer to finding out if the movie will even get a sequel. If it doesn't, we imagine they'll find a way for the various members of the team to pop up in confirmed MCU projects.
For instance, Dane meets Blade (Mahershala Ali) – who's off-screen so hasn't technically been introduced yet – in the post-credit scene, and there's every chance that the upcoming Blade movie could feature Dane.
There's definitely a plan for characters from Eternals to come back, because you don't just introduce somebody like Harry Styles for a credit scene. We just don't know yet when any of them will return.
Hawkeye
Characters introduced
Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), Maya Lopez/Echo (Alaqua Cox)
When will they return?
There's no set plan for Kate's return yet, although it's widely expected that she'll form part of the Young Avengers in the MCU. They might get their own movie, but there's been no official confirmation yet.
Maya will pop up next year in her own spin-off show Echo, which will also bring back Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio) and Daredevil (Charlie Cox). Maybe Kate will swing by for a cameo too. Watch this space.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Character introduced
Agent Cleary (Arian Moayed)
When will he return?
Nice and easy one here as Spider-Man: No Way Home mostly brought characters we knew before into the MCU, such as two former Peter Parkers and Eddie Brock/Venom (Tom Hardy), who popped over in the credits scene for a brief visit.
The one potentially recurring MCU character that the movie introduced was Agent Cleary, who works for the Department of Damage Control. He's already returned in Ms Marvel and could well be a pain in our superheroes' backsides for a while yet.
Moon Knight
Characters introduced
Marc Spector/Steven Grant/Jake Lockley/Moon Knight/Mr Knight (Oscar Isaac), Layla El-Faouly/Scarlet Scarab (May Calamawy), Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke)
When will they return?
Your guess is as good as ours for now. It's likely that Moon Knight and Scarlet Scarab could cross over into other MCU projects. But if we're going to see Arthur again, we reckon there would need to be a second season of the show, which has yet to be confirmed.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Characters introduced
America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), Clea (Charlize Theron)
When will they return?
Given that America was training to be a sorcerer at the end of the movie and Clea popped up in the credits scene to team up with Doctor Strange, we imagine that the most likely place they'll return is in Doctor Strange 3.
A threequel has yet to be confirmed though, and if either of them will cross into other projects, we imagine it's more likely that it'll be America.
Ms Marvel
Characters introduced
Kamala Khan/Ms Marvel (Iman Vellani), Kamran (Rish Shah), Kareem (Aramis Knight)
When will they return?
Kamala has an extended group of family and friends who we obviously hope have future MCU appearances ahead, but we figured we'd focus on the potential superheroes here.
We already know that Kamala will appear in The Marvels, which was set up by the finale's credits scene. As for Kamran and Kareem, it's possible that we'd need a second season of Ms Marvel to see them again, but maybe they'll have a role to play in The Marvels too.
Thor: Love and Thunder
Characters introduced
Love (India Rose Hemsworth), Zeus (Russell Crowe), Hercules (Brett Goldstein)
When will they return?
Even Brett Goldstein doesn't know when he'll be back as Hercules, so we might be waiting a while to see him, his scorned father Zeus and Thor's new adopted daughter Love in the MCU. It'll potentially be in a fifth Thor movie, if one gets confirmed.
Every MCU movie and TV show (minus The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Thor: Love and Thunder) is available to watch on Disney+.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
