Marvel Launches Phase IV With a Grab Bag of Surprising Announcements
After Disney threw a hail mary pass to break Avatar's box office record by re-releasing Avengers: Endgame in theaters a whole two months after it premiered, Marvel Studio's mastermind Kevin Feige returned to Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con a hero. He delivered Disney the $2.79 billion needed to make Endgame the highest-grossing film ever, and now, he gets to unload a spate of new movies to fill the Disney vault with more cash for Scrooge McDuck to swim around in.
But what does Marvel's Phase 4 look like without Thanos? Let's dive in.
Black Widow -- May 2020
It starts in May 2020 with the long-awaited Black Widow movie. Scarlett Johansen returns in what we're assuming is a prequel, but who knows. What we do know is that Rachel Weisz, David Harbour and Ray Winstone will be co-starring, which is about as good as any reason to go see it. Now, we just have to hope ScarJo doesn't give any interviews for the next year.
The Eternals -- November 2020
Later that year, Marvel takes a Guardians of the Galaxy-sized risk with The Eternals. While general audiences probably aren't as familiar with them, The Eternals are a band of immortal cosmic beings--obviously--that protect Earth from their evil counterparts, The Deviants. Details on the film are sparse, but Marvel is packing the screen with star power. The cast includes Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Selma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani and Brian Tyree Henry. Eternals hits theaters November 2020.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings -- February 2021
Marvel wasn't done elevating C-list characters for Phase 4, announcing an adaptation of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which comes out February 2021. While the film is in deep development, they did announce, to the chagrin of Iron Man 3 detractors, that the real Mandarin would be in the film. Sorry, Sir Ben Kingsley.
Just announced in Hall H at #SDCC, Marvel Studios’ SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS, with Simu Liu, Awkwafina and Tony Leung, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. In theaters February 12, 2021. pic.twitter.com/VXaqJ5uN6B
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 21, 2019
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness -- May 2021
But what about the sequels? Where are the sequels? Relax. Director Scott Derickson appeared on stage, as well, to announced Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which should please Lovecraft fans and anyone that really wants the MCU to get even more confusing. The director also promised that the film would be "the first scary MCU film." Spooooky. You can enter the multiverse at your own risk on May 7th, 2021.
Thor: Love and Thunder -- November 2021
Marvel announced followups to Thor and Dr. Strange, both to a whirlwind of fanfare, particularly Thor. Director Taika Waiti, returning after Thor: Raganarok, will helm Thor: Love and Thunder, premiering in November 2021. In addition to Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman would be returning to the Thor franchise as Thor. Yup, you read that correctly. Natalie Portman is playing Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder. In Taika we trust.
(Source: Reddit)
The Rest
Feige wasn't done just yet. Like a mother bringing a warm glass of milk to a restless child, Feige calmed the crowd with a quick reminder that "Black Panther 2 is coming. Guardians 3 is coming. Captain Marvel 2 is coming. The Fantastic Four is coming." He then sent them into pandamonium again with the announcement that Mahershala Ali had been cast as the day-walking vampire hunter Blade in an upcoming reboot.
Disney+ Series
Marvel also announced a slew of original series for the Disney+ streaming, which many of us will never see and hopefully won't play too deeply into the films' continuity. These shows included The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which finally sees Anthony Mackie as the new Captain America, except he'll be called "The Falcon"; WandaVision, pairing Elizabeth Olson and Paul Betanny up as Scarlett Witch and Vision in a series that absolutely no one asked for; What If, an anthology series of different interpretations of Marvel characters and features Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher; Hawkeye, which sees Jeremy Renner reprising the role of Hawkeye in a show presumably about Hawkeye; and Loki, the only one anybody actually wants or cares about.
So there you have it, true believers. Your mission is clear: Make Disney more money and see these movies or Kevin Feige will be imprisoned in the Disney Vault along with The Black Cauldron and Return of Jafar.
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rysziz
I don't get the mixing with editorial and opinion of this, as WandaVision sounds like it could be a great show, especially if they can give it the same emotional impact of the Tom King series, and Falcon/Winter Soldier could be a home run of they make it a compelling thriller. As for the films, none of these are really surprising outside of Blade, though I'm hesitant for Portman's Thor as they are either going to have another actress play the Thor version of Jane Foster or heavily CGI her because Portman looks like she could get knocked over by a feather. I wish Taskmaster wasn't the big bad for Black Widow as I feel he could have been used better in either a Deadpool film or at least a MCU film in the current year where he would have dozens of superheroes to pull his moves from, rather than just Captain America due to when this movie will be set. I'm guessing next year's Comic Con will be introducing the Shang-Chi cast and possibly who they have for Fantastic Four, which I hope will finally get a proper film adaptation.
ElPysCongroo
I really hope they do Dr DOOM justice for once. He could be a really good ultimate phase 4 villain.
Neo Daedulus
Yeah. It's funny going on Twitter and seeing everyone sharing the sentiment of "YES Dr Doom is coming finally, I can't wait, this is going to be the pinnacle of the mcu.
Please for the love of GOD dont put him in their first movie."
Most people jokingly namedrop Moleman for first villain
Neo Daedulus
I'm conflicted on Th4r. The Foster Thor in the comics is a terrible character with bad stories and awful writing, and part of me is upset she's getting rewarded with silver screen. That said, its probably because Taika saw interesting story potential since he's also writing it, and I more than trust him to make a great film. So in the end I'll likely be fine with the end product. At least it wasn't America Chavez.
I like no direct X-Men news yet. Part of the central metaphor would be lost without the longstanding existence of mutants, so I like that they'll likely be setting groundwork for a while and getting the universe properly ready. But there's no such caveat for the 4 really, so I'm ready to see them.
Endgame was smart with Carol, leaving her in space and not giving a shit about earth is a smart way to make her absurd power level not a problem. I hope marvel listens to the criticisms of CapM 1 (that were actually about the movie) and makes something with more characterization, a more likeable character, and better direction for Larson. I'm personally hoping for something a lot more character oriented than action oriented. I remember when they said they wanted to add Kamala and being sceptical despite liking her a lot, but introducing her here, maybe before her powers, would be a great way to both incorporate her and give Carol an anchor for an arc. There's potential, if they change the MO of the first one.
1/2 or 3
Neo Daedulus
Strange 2 sounds cool. I want more incomprehensible bullshit. I like Wanda being a big part of it and actually having screentime/something to do. I like the TV integration but I hope it's not %100 required watching to get what she's about. Otherwise people will just pirate it. Most of the series are frankly at high risk of that.
I'm ecstatic they finally got off their ass and made a Widow movie. If only they didn't wait until her death… Taskmaster will probably be neat, the costume will probably be better in person. Hawkeye fucking better show up in Budapest.
Barely know anything about the Eternals. They'll probably be neat. Blade will probably be good.
I'm curious what Zemo looks like in the mask. And I only hope Kate Bishop shares some of the back and forth with Clint as the comics. I really liked their dynamic and it might help him heal from losing Natasha. She's a cool character most of the time.
And those are most of my thoughts. Thank you for tuning in to Irrelevantloservomitscomictakescast.
Neo Daedulus
Oh and I'm reasonably excited for Shang Chi. Dont know the actor but getting an Asian superhero is cool and I like more out there characters getting incorporated. Speaking of, I'm super excited for Guardians 3 probably introducing Adam Warlock.
rysziz
I'm kind of bummed that Taskmaster is being used as a villain for BW as he would have been much better suited for Deadpool, which could have led to his own Disney+ show given he actually has a great backstory as a SHIELD deep cover agent who informs on the evil organizations that he actually trains, if he can remember to do so given that his muscle memory power actually causes him to lose memories from his life. Foster Thor is interesting given how critical Portman has been of the role and the MCU in general, I'd have loved to see someone like Sif or Valkyrie wield the hammer as they can actually do proper fighting scenes.
WarLordM
> which many of us will never see and hopefully won't play too deeply into the films' continuity
I'm sure the series will be required viewing the same way each Avengers movie explained the next few movies which in turn explained the next Avengers movie. You'll have to pay for or account share the streaming service or pirate the shows to get the full experience. But nothing is ever essential viewing to anything in the MCU except Infinity War and Endgame
xTommyChief343x
Well, I had this feeling for a few months, but now this lineup confirms it. The MCU peaked with Endgame, and it's only going to get worse from here.
Glazed1221
Am I the only one who wished that they made Valkyrie the new God of Thunder?
WarLordM
She might be the new God of War since she took Odin's old job from Thor. Truth is the movies make very little of these titles
rysziz
Same here or Sif who we haven't seen since Dark World.
Mega_Dork
Looks like the golden age of Marvel Movies is over. If this really is the actual lineup, I just don't see myself being as hyped for this cinematic universe as I was before. Seriously, what is this lineup?
Also screw Reesh for pushing the "Scarjo said a dumb thing" narrative. She said a true fact that is reflective of literally all Hollywood actors and identitarian douchebags are getting bent out of shape because of it.
Crystal Geyser
Christ, not a one of these movies look remotely entertaining apart from Dr Strange, Loki could be decent though.
What the fuck were they thinking with Endgame?
"Let's shoot ourselves in the foot, not once, but twice! People love the B-Team!"
Rynjin
Don't shit talk Shang-Chi, I'm quite interested to see Disney's take on a schlocky kung fu flick myself.
Plus it might be an in for an actual GOOD version of iron Fist to appear at some point.
samzilla567
Shang-Chi is bottom of the barrel Marvel. Dude hasn't had a solo series in years. And he's never showed up in any of the major Marvel Crossover events. The fact they're reaching into the Z-list tier of characters is starting to scare me for future phases.
Rynjin
Why would it scare you? Most characters are only "Z list" because they haven't had a push in marketing in forever. It doesn't mean they're bad characters or can't carry a movie.
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Black Knight
I'm a bit worried worried about doing a fem!Thor movie, but I if it's Taiki Watiti directing, I'll approach it with cautious optimism.
And Mahershala Ali as Blade? Fuck yes! I loved Ali as Cottonmouth in Luke Cage, he's a great actor.
JungleEvil
TaskMaster will be B.Widows movie villain, apparently
Rynjin
My interest in the Black Widow movie rises by about 50 points.