Marvel Studios dropped some huge news on Saturday during their Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con. Kevin Feige finally unveiled the phase four plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the future looks bright!
Phase four will span two years starting in May of 2020 and ending in November of 2021. So, what are the Phase Four Plans? The titles that were announced are:
Black Widow (May 1st, 2020)
WHAT WE KNOW – Filming is already underway for this film. It stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, Rachel Weisz as Malena, David Harbour as Alexi, O-T Fagbenle as Mason, and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova.
The film will be set in Budapest and will feature Taskmaster as the villain.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Fall 2020)
WHAT WE KNOW – This will be the first of 5 planned MCU cannon shows slated for the Disney+ streaming service. It will star Anthony Mackie as the Falcon, Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier. Daniel Brühl is set to return as Baron Zemo as the big bad of the show. Finally, Emily VanCamp will return as Sharon Carter.
The show is being helmed by Kari Skogland and written by Malcolm Spellman. A total of 6 episodes have been ordered for the series. Don’t think this will be a cheaply made show. Expect the same quality you have come to expect from the MCU.
The Eternals (November 6th, 2020)
WHAT WE KNOW – The cast will consist of Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, and Don Lee. Matthew and Ryan Firpo wrote the script for The Eternals. Feige is producing. The film is currently shooting in London.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (February 12, 2021)
WHAT WE KNOW – Chinese actor Simu Liu has been cast as the titular character. Fans will finally get what they were promised in Ironman 3, the MCU version of the Mandarin. He will be portrayed by Tony Leung. Awkwafina has also been cast for the film.
WandaVision (Spring 2021)
WHAT WE KNOW – The next Disney+ show will reunite Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlett Witch and Paul Bettany’s Vision. The show will take place post Avengers: Endgame and will feature cameos from other Marvel characters, the first being Monica Rambeau played by Teyonah Parris. This show will tie directly into the next project slated…
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (May 7th, 2021)
WHAT WE KNOW – The multiverse was not just a throwaway line in Spider-Man: Far From Home. It’s real and Doctor Strange will be heading there in his second film.
Benedict Cumberbatch will return as Doctor Stephen Strange to a film that will take place years after Avengers: Endgame and the aforementioned Spider-Man: Far From Home. Director Scott Derrickson returns for the sequel and describes states that he is striving for a “horror” tone. He states that this will be the MCU’s first scary film. Elizabeth Olsen joins the cast at Scarlett Witch.
Loki (Spring 2021)
WHAT WE KNOW – Kevin Feige stated that this Disney+ series will explain what happened to Loki after taken the Tesseract and disappearing during the events of Avengers: Endgame’s “Time Heist.”
Tom Hiddleston returns to the character of Loki of old meaning this ain’t no reformed Loki, this is the God of Mischief!
What If (Summer 2021)
WHAT WE KNOW – Jeffery Wright has been cast as The Watcher who will narrate the events of this animated show for Disney+. What If… will feature stories set in the Marvel Universe but with a twist, like What If Peggy Carter became Captain America?
Kevin Feige has confirmed that actors from across all the films will voice their characters as they come up on the show.
Hawkeye (Fall 2021)
WHAT WE KNOW – Jeremy Renner will return as Clint Barton as a mentor to his protege, Kate Bishop. We will get to explore his time as Ronin as seen in Avengers: Endgame, but ultimately, this will be a passing of the torch to the new namesake of the character.
Thor: Love and Thunder (November 5th, 2021)
WHAT WE KNOW – Thor will be getting a fourth film and Natalie Portman is returning! Portman will return as Jane Foster, with Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson returning as Thor and Valkyrie. During the Hall H presentation, Portman lifted Mjolnir high into the sky. Is this an indication that we might be getting a new version of the God of Thunder?
That’s not all!
After the presentation, Kevin Feige made mention of other films in early stages of development like Captain Marvel 2, Black Panther 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. He also named dropped Fantastic Four and Mutants (not X-Men specifically). Finally, he made one more announcement that was not expected.
Mahershala Ali was brought to the stage and introduces as Marvel’s new Blade! Feige did not say if Blade was part of the Phase Four Plans, but it was awesome to see this fantastic actor join the MCU proper.
But What Do You Think?
Marvel knocked it out of the park at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. A total of 11 projects were just announced with many more in the back burner. Honestly, it was not expected that Marvel would drop so many details on their Phase Four plans at this convention knowing that Disney’s D23 is just around the corner.
Which of these projects are you most excited about? Were you in shock by all these announcements? Will any of our predictions about the future of Marvel ring true? What other surprises are in store for us at D23? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
