After the Avengers finally assembled in Endgame, after 10 years of painstaking build-up, the question on everyone’s mind has been: where do they go from here? Kevin Fiege, the man behind Marvel Studios, insisted that this month’s Spider-man: Far From Home wrapped up what they call Marvel’s Phase Three, which leaves the future without a road map.
Until now. And boy is it some road.
Over the weekend, in Hall H at Comic-Con, the forthcoming plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe were unveiled, with some movies we knew were coming (Black Widow, Doctor Strange 2, a fourth Thor), some TV shows for Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+ (“WandaVision,” “Loki”), and a few exciting curveballs.
Let’s break it down!
The Sequels and a Prequel:
Thor 4 was actually announced a few days ago, with the director of Ragnarok, Taiki Watiti, confirmed to return for Thor: Love and Thunder, which will include Tessa Thompson, as well as Natalie Portman returning, only to become the female Thor. (November 5, 2021)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, billed as Marvel’s first scary movie, will co-star Elizabeth Olsen, aka Wanda, the Scarlet Witch. (May 7, 2021)
Scarlet Johansson’s Black Widow will be Marvel’s second female-headlined flick, will cover the Russian spy’s origin story, and will include Rachel Weisz and Stranger Things’ beloved Chief Hopper, David Harbour. (May 1, 2021)
Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 were also confirmed for eventual release.
Newbies:
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be Marvel’s first Asian-fronted superhero story, with Simu Liu cast in the title role, and The Farewell’s Awkwafina starring as a yet-to-be-disclosed character. (February 12, 2021)
Director Chloe Zhao’s The Eternals actually kicked off the entire Marvel presentation, with a star-studded cast that includes Chloé Zhao, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh and Angelina Jolie as Thena. The movie arrives November 6, 2020.
In perhaps the most surprising announcement, Feige unveiled a new version of Blade, to star two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali.
Marvel also announced their plans to finally, presumably, give the Fantastic Four the cinematic treatment they deserve, as that movie was confirmed for the tail-end of Phase 4. Perhaps Galactus will end up being this new cycle’s Big Bad? Also mentioned but given no real details, an X-Men movie, now that Disney owns the rights. Exciting times!
Disney+:
Finally, the MCU is expanding beyond cinemas and onto its own streaming service, Disney+, which launches November 12.
It will air a variety of new titles covering existing characters from the movies, including Hawkeye, which will star Jeremy Renner and included the Kate Bishop character; WandaVision, focused on the “weird” adventures of the aforementioned Scarlet Witch and her boyfriend, Vision; The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, featuring Captain America’s two best buds (Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan) and their hi-jinx as they battle Daniel Bruhl’s returning Baron Zemo.
The streaming service will also include the fun What If… series, based on Marvel Comics collection of alternative realities for different characters. It will be the service’s first animated series, and Geoffrey Wright will voice The Watcher.
Last but not least is Loki, showcasing everyone’s favorite ne’er-do-well (Tom Hiddleston), during which we’ll learn exactly what Thor’s half-brother was up to after he made off with the Space Stone.
Whew. I think that covers everything. Including all of our entertainment-based plans for the next three years – especially considering Marvel Land is also under construction!