When “Spider-Man: Far from Home”
by Marvel Studios premiered in cinemas early this July, it signaled the end of “Phase
3” for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film series. Said Phase also
concluded the long-running general myth arc that was first established in the
first “Avengers” film back in 2012. The over-a-decade-old franchise, which
encompasses movies and series on both broadcast and digital TV, has followed a
set of characters and a loose but defined storyline since 2008, but the
question now is: “What next”? This weekend, on the hallowed room of Hall H in
the 2019 San Diego Comic Con, Marvel Studios showed the immediate future: MCU
Phase 4.
In one of the most anticipated
panels for this year’s San Diego Comic Con, the Marvel event held July 20 at
the usual spot – Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center – revealed what fans
can expect for the next period in the franchise life of the Marvel Cinematic
Universe. The Hollywood Reporter has
it that no less than five MCU films
have been announced with release dates, along with five series debuting on the Disney+
streaming service. At least two years, 2020 and 2021 now have their minimal
coverage of Marvel related media releases.
First on the MCU Phase 4 movie
schedule is “Black Widow,” directed by Cate Shortland and starring Scarlett
Johansson, who has played the role since “Iron Man 2” in 2009. Despite the
character apparently perishing in “Avengers: Endgame” this year, the movie
would be possible if it were a sequel as hinted by the lead actress, though
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has neither confirmed nor denied that. It is
scheduled for May 2020. Next comes “The Eternals” in November with director
Chloe Zhao and an ensemble cast led by Richard Madden (from “Game of Thrones”) and
Angelina Jolie. Both these movies are currently filming.
The other three MCU-4 films are
currently in pre-production: “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Doctor
Strange and the Multiverse of Madness,” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.” The
latter two are sequels for MCU films from the “Infinity Saga” Phases 1-3, with
Benedict Cumberbatch and Chris Hemsworth reprising their titular roles. “Shang-Chi”
is a new hero production starring Simu Liu, Awkwafina and veteran Hong Kong actor
Tony Leung, under the direction of Destin Daniel Cretton. All three are
scheduled to premiere in February, May and November of 2021.
To further sweeten the deal of
subscribing to the exclusive-content Disney+ digital platform, five MCU series
have been announced for it, the earliest arriving in August 2020. That would be
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” followed by “WandaVision,” “Loki” and “Hawkeye.”
All feature characters from the films, to be reprised by their respective actors.
That means Anthony Mackie (Sam/Falcon), Sebastian Stan (Bucky/Winter Soldier), Elizabeth
Olsen (Wanda/Scarlet Witch), Paul Bettany (Vision), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), and Jeremy
Renner (Barton/Hawkeye). “Loki” takes off from the “Avengers: Endgame” scene of
Loki escaping with the Tesseract/Space Infinity Stone, while the events of “WandaVision”
will apparently lead into “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.”
But the reveals have only just
begun. Also included in the Phase 4 package is “What If…?” also on Disney+.
This one is an animated series based on Marvel Comics’ one-shot
alternate-history anthology series that explore divergences in existing
storylines and how they might play out. This show will also focus on alternate
narratives that spring from changed circumstances in the canon MCU films, with
all franchise actors and actresses cued to voice-reprise their characters.
Lastly, a MCU version of “Blade” the vampire hunter is being developed, with
Mahershala Ali proposing to take the role.
With all the announcements
finally out of the way, Kevin Feige then chimes in that there was still more to
come in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He teased some elements that he originally
did not want to involve the franchise in, but can now do so thanks to the
Disney acquisition of 20th Century Fox: integrating “Fantastic 4”
and “X-Men” into the MCU timeline. It will probably take another Phase to get
to that, but the wait will certainly be worth it for fans of the long-running franchise
who have allowed the MCU to become part of their movie-watching lifetime.
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