A photo of Marvel’s entire Phase 4 line-up. Photo courtesy of Marvel’s @AgentM.
Destiny has arrived. Or shall I say…Phase 4 has.
Marvel held their Hall H panel on Saturday (July 21st), and needless to say—it was one for the ages. Coming off of Endgame, the pressure for Marvel to deliver whatever’s next has been at an all time high. With the Infinity Saga complete, what is set to follow suit? Thankfully, Marvel was more than ready to answer that question.
Marvel Studios’ Black Widow. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
Black Widow – May 1st, 2020
This film was one of the last things revealed in the panel, yet it will be the first up for Phase 4. Having already filmed 30 days, Marvel finally officially confirmed the film’s existence today. With Scarlett Johansson (obviously) returning, she is joined by the likes of David Harbour (as Red Guardian), Florence Pugh (as Yelena Bolova), O-T Fagbenle, and Rachel Weisz.
This was the only project announced at the panel to actually have footage ready to show. Footage included what sounds like a tense and very well done brawl between Natasha and Yelena in Budapest, a motorcycle chase, and a final fight sequence officially showing off Taskmaster in all of his mimicking glory.
Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
The Falcon & The Winter Soldier – Fall 2020
This will be a Disney + Limited Event Series focuses on the titular characters. Anthony Mackie revealed that he has already tried on his Captain America uniform, and that it looks great. Zemo was confirmed to be the main villain, and a video shown to attendees revealed the iconic villain donning his purple mask.
Marvel Studios’ The Eternals. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
The Eternals – November 6th, 2020
The launch of a new franchise, the film focuses on a group of immortal beings called The Eternals sent to Earth by the Celestials to protect humankind from the Deviants. The cast includes names such as Richard Madden (as Ikarus), Angelina Jolie (as Thena), Kumail Nanjiai (as Kingo), Lauren Ridloff (as Makkari), Brian Tyree Henry (as Phastos), Don Lee (as Gilgamesh), and Lia McHugh (as Sprite). The film will be directed by Chloe Zhao.
Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – February 12th, 2021
A new solo film to introduce the hero of Shang Chi to audiences everywhere, with ACTOR in the leading role. As the subtitle suggests, the film revolve around The Ten Ring. Yes, that’s the same organization that went up against Iron Man in the very beginning. Even bigger than that though: we will finally be getting the real Mandarin. Played by ACTOR, The Mandarin will be the lead villain for Shang Chi’s introduction.
Marvel Studios’ WandaVision. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
WandaVision – Spring 2021
WandaVision will be a Disney + Limited Event Series focusing on Scarlet Witch dealing with the loss of Vision. Paul Bettany was on stage for the announcement, and confirmed Vision’s presence in the show—yet sadly he could not reveal how he shows up. It was also teased that the show will start to really show us Wanda as Scarlet Witch in ways we have never seen before. Another surprise element of the show was the announcement of Monica Rombeau, played by Teyonah Paris. Remember the child from Captain Marvel! Well, that’s her, and her character in the comics grows up to become the super hero Spectrum.
Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness – May 7th, 2021
Promised to be MCU’s first horror film, the sequel brings Scott Derrickson back to the director’s chair. The film will also feature Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in a major role, with Nightmare as the lead villain of the piece. It was also stated that WanadaVision will be highly connected to this adventure, as the show will spin out directly into this sequel.
Marvel Studios’ Loki. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
Loki – Spring 2021
Another Disney + Series that will be focused on the alternate timeline Loki that we saw escape with the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame. Not much else was revealed besides that and and Hiddleston’s involvement.
Marvel Studios’ “What If…?”. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
What If… – Summer 2021
Marvel Studio’s first step into animation, this series dives into “What If” scenarios involving all of the MCU characters we know and love. It was said that most of the key MCU actors will return to voice their characters. The biggest announcement however was that Jeffrey Wright will be voicing The Watcher in the series—a figure who seemingly would be narrating the proceedings. I guess this means The Watcher is officially cannon to the MCU, and it’s only a matter of time before we see them portrayed in love action.
Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
Hawkeye – Fall 2021
The last Disney + Series within Phase 4 (at least for now), this one focuses on Clint Barton post Endgame as he trains Kate Bishop to become the new Hawkeye. Jeremy Renner was on stage to confirm his return in the role.
Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
Thor: Love & Thunder – November 5th, 2021
The final film of Phase 4, Taika Waititi is back to bring his renowned energy and flavor to the Thor franchise. Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson are back, with the surprise announcement of Natalie Portman’s return to the franchise as The Mighty Thor. Not many other plot details were even hinted at, besides Tessa teasing that as Asgard’s King, she’s on the lookout for her Queen.
And that, ladies & gentlemen, is the official Phase 4 slate. This Phase will certainly be different than what we are used to. Not only does there not seem to be a culmination film like an Avengers outing, but Marvel is also clearly leaning heavily into Disney + for their original content. It seems that the interconnected TV Series we’ve always dreamed of is finally making its way here.
Even with all of those announcements however, Feige wasn’t done. Just as it seemed all was done, he casually told the audience that there films he didn’t have time to talk about. Films such as Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Guardians Of the Galaxy 3, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. Then, for this final announcement, he announced a Blade reboot within the MCU starring Mahershala Ali. No date or placement was given or hinted at, but could assume that we won’t see it until Phase 5 at the earliest. In fact all of the movies listed may be most of what Phase 5 encompasses.
That’s quite a way to end their panel if you ask me. With all of this information revealed at SDCC, one has to wonder—what could possibly be left to reveal to the world at D23 in a month’s time?
Marvel Studios’ Blade. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studio’s Official Twitter page.
From the looks of things, the MCU’s trying to get experimental from here on out. It makes sense since they just got done telling a decade long epic, and I’m hoping that the Disney+ series do better than what we got on Netflix. What worries me, though, is that without a solid goal or major story to work towards, the MCU will lose cohesion and start to fizzle out.
It looks like the MCU’s starting to get experimental going forward. This could be a good thing, but I’m worried that without an overarching story to work towards like we did with Thanos, it could lose cohesion and fall apart.