MARVEL completely shocked Comic-Con this past weekend with their Phase 4 announcements, and there’s a lot to unpack! Not only do I go into detail on what we can expect from MARVEL over the next two years, but also share with you my rankings for the properties I’m MOST excited about!
Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige not only announced the lineup of feature films for the next two years, but also shared exciting new information on the brand-new Marvel Studios’ series created exclusively for Disney+. So starting off, which project am I most excited for?!
1. THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER
Now, admittedly I’ve never been a huge fan of Thor until after Thor: Ragnarok; but WOW! Am I excited for Thor: Love and Thunder. Taika Waititi will return to not only direct this time, but also write; I have a feeling will be seeing a lot more Korg. Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) will also return, as it was officially confirmed that she is the new king of Asgard, LGBT, and looking for her queen! And if that wasn’t enough, it was revealed that Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) make her way back into the MCU becoming the Mighty Thor – the goddess of Thunder!
Thor: Love and Thunder will debut in theaters on November 5, 2021.
2. DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS
Next, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Now again, I’ve never been a huge fan of Doctor Strange until the past two Avengers films, but man has he recently grown on me. I can already tell this will be an extremely important film in the MCU storyline, and it has a lot of factors going for it. One, Marvel is billing it as they’re first MCU horror film! Two, Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) will play as the leading lady (…or villain? Brush up on your Scarlet Witch comic history) in the film. Three, WandaVision—the Disney+ series that Olsen will also star in—connects directly to the feature-film storyline!
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 7, 2021.
3. WANDAVISION
Third, WandaVision. The first of many Disney+ Marvel streaming series to debut. While not much information is known as of yet, we do know that Paul Bettany will reprise his role as Vision, and Elizabeth Olsen will return to her role of Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. Also as I mentioned above, the series will lead directly up to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If you’re truly up to date with the Marvel comics, this series might be just as important as any MCU film. Again, brush up on the history of Scarlett Witch… it’s not a pretty as it seems.
“WandaVision” premieres on Disney+ in the spring of 2021.
4. SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
Next, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Finally some Asian representation in the MCU! I’m very excited for not only the introduction of a brand new character, but also a relatively unknown actor; as Kevin Feige confirmed casting of Simu Liu in the title role of Shang-Chi. Feige has also hinted at the possibility of each of the ten rings hidden in past Marvel films, so be sure keep an eye out for those!
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” will be in theaters on February 12, 2021.
5. BLACK WIDOW
Then, Black Widow. I’m stoked that Black Window is finally get her own solo film after being an original member of the Avengers team. Not only will this be an origin story for the character, but it will also flesh out some of the characters arch after Civil War. Plus the cast is fantastic! Scarlett Johansson will reprise her role as Natasha Romanoff, as well as newcomers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe David Harbour as Alexei aka The Red Guardian, Florence Pugh as Yelena, and Rachel Weisz as Melina.
“Black Widow,” is slated for a May 1, 2020 release.
6. Loki
Even though I hate the logo, I’m still very excited for another Disney+ series bases on our favorite god of mischief Loki. Tom Hiddleston will be back in the title role of the mercurial Loki, and will answer the the biggest question from “Avengers: Endgame”: “Where did Loki go when he took the Space Stone?”
Loki will debut on Disney+ in the spring of 2021.
7. Eternals
Next, The Eternals. Now the reason why this film is so slow down the list is truly because I have no clue what it’s about. I’m not familiar at all with any of the characters, other than the fact that they’re basically another team of superheroes who are not from earth. However, the cast is super promising and I’m interested to see how it will connect to the current MCU. 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 Eternals will make their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in theaters on November 6, 2020.
8. THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER
Let me be honest for a second, I’ve never truly been a huge fan of The Falcon and/or The Winter Soldier as characters. I love Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, but I never really saw them as main characters. So hopefully this series will change my perspective. I do love what the Russo’s did with the characters at the end of Avengers Endgame, and I hope that will propel them to become more fleshed within this series.
“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” is set to debut on Disney+ in the fall of 2020.
9. HAWKEYE
Again, another character I never really cared too much about, Hawkeye. However, Feige promises the introduction of Kate Bishop, who will be an integral part of the series. So, that in itself warrants a viewing. Jeremy Renner will return in the title role.
Hawkeye launches on Disney+ in the fall of 2021.
10. WHAT IF…?
And finally, What if…? While I’m still very excited about a good animated Marvel series to come to Disney+, it won’t have any real correlation to the current MCU storyline. These will obviously all be, “what if” scenarios from the past, and a fun look at what could’ve been.
What If…? joins the Disney+ lineup in the summer of 2021.
By now you might be wondering… where’s Blade? True, at the end of Marvel’s Comic-Con panel, Feige was joined on stage by actor Mahershala Ali and it was announced that he will star in Marvel Studios feature film Blade. However, while announced, Blade will not be an official part of Marvel’s Phase 4 slate, but will mostly likely debut in Phase 5.
So there it is! Marvel’s Phase 4! What an exciting time to be alive!
