Another 5 MCU characters who definitely won't return in Phase Five

Nick Fury

Nick Fury's situation is pretty much the same as his old friend Carol Danvers. He just recently appeared in a Phase Five MCU title (two, actually), meaning that it will be a while before we see him again. The most significant of those two appearances took place in Secret Invasion to very mixed results, but it was nice to see him headline that long-awaited project. It was also nice to see him return in The Marvels, too.

However, like Carol, he is now more involved with space-centric adventures, which pretty much rules him out of all upcoming Phase Five titles. If this has been an earlier phase, he would have been almost certain to appear in titles like Captain America: Brave New World and / or Thunderbolts but since the character has been taken in a different direction, that seems unlikely now.

Samuel L. Jackson has appeared in more MCU titles than any other actor and we're sure that streak will continue in Phase Six, but it just doesn't seem like he'll be adding any more Phase Five titles to his résumé since Fury spends almost all of his time in Space these days.

Ant-Man

Scott Lang got a long overdue main event showcase in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. It was the first film in Phase Five and the first real introduction of Kang the Conqueror, the entity who at the time was considered to be the MCU's next big bad. Unfortunately, the film wasn't all that great and it underperformed at the box office.

That being said, Ant-Man will return. His experience with Kang in the Quantum Realm could be vital in stopping the character earlier than expected (if he does indeed return before he's phased out) and he's one of the longest-standing Avengers left. It's just that, like those we've discussed already, he won't be returning in Phase Five.

Not only was it pretty recently we caught up with Paul Rudd's hero, but the movie's mixed response might make Marvel Studios put a bit of distance between Ant-Man and the audience before his return. More than that though, any Phase Five return would face the same kind of issues as Captain Marvel's potential comeback: There are just no titles on the immediate horizon that he could feasibly take part in (save for Marvel Zombies which isn't canon).

He'll be back in Phase Six for sure, but don't be expecting to see the MCU's ant-sized hero anytime soon.