With Spider-Man: Far From Home as the finale of Marvel Phase Three, Marvel Studios has announced their plan for Phase Four at San Diego Comic Con and it seems like they have greater, bolder and bigger plans to entertain the fans! Two years, five movies, five TV shows and let me tell you this, those two years are going to be super exciting.
1. Black Widow
Image via Marvel Studios official Twitter
Since this movie has started filming not long ago, Black Widow will mark as the opening of phase four and will be released on May 1st, 2020. The exact plot of this movie is still unknown but according to Marvel Cinematic Universe wikia page, this movie will be set in the events between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. Scarlett Johansson will return as Black Widow, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexi Shostakov, Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff/Iron Maiden and O-T Fagbenle as Mason. This movie will be directed by Cate Shortland. The Australian director is known as the director of Lore, Somersoult and Berlin Syndrome.
2. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV show has been announced a few months ago alongside with other Marvel’s Disney+ TV shows. Filming will start around this October and will be released in Fall 2020 with no specific date yet, like the other Disney+ TV shows. The confirmed cast includes Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson or the Falcon who is now the new Captain America, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes or the Winter Soldier and returning to join the boys: Daniel Brühl who is back as the super-villain Helmut Zemo from Captain America: Civil War. Rumor has it, super-villain Helmut Zemo would get a wardrobe make-over in this series to be more comic accurate.
3. The Eternals
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For Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)’s fans, like myself, this might be unfamiliar to us but it’s great news for fans of the comic. Marvel is taking a bold move on making this movie since again, MCU fans are not so familiar. Personally, I think the casting was done really well. The confirmed cast of this movie is Angelina Jolie as Thena, 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 and Don Lee as Gilgamesh. Chloé Zhao will be the director and this movie is set to air on November 6th, 2020.
4. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
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This movie will be Marvel’s first ever movie that centers around an Asian character. Simu Liu will be playing as Shang-Chi himself and Tony Chiu-Wai Leung will be playing as the Mandarin, the actual Mandarin and not the fake Mandarin that Aldrich Killian created in Iron Man 3. Awkafina is also confirmed to play a part in this movie but her role is still to be announced. This movie will be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and is set to be released on February 12th, 2021, marking as the first MCU movie in 2021. With this being MCU’s first movie that focuses on an Asian character, this movie is highly anticipated.
5. WandaVision
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According to Marvel Cinematic Universe wikia page, this Disney+ TV show will be set after Avengers: Endgame and will tie to Doctor Strange’s second movie. This TV show is set to air in Spring 2021. I personally can’t really predict what will be the story of this TV show since Paul Bettany will be back as Vision even though Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War clearly destroyed him. Elizabeth Olsen is reprising her role as Wanda Maximoff a.k.a Scarlet Witch and Teyonah Parris joins the cast as the older version of Monica Rambeau. This is also confusing; what is Monica Rambeau doing in this TV show since we’ve only seen her once in Captain Marvel and as a child?
6. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
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From what I can tell from the title of this movie, this second Doctor Strange movie will be massive and epic. Much like the Ancient One said in the first Doctor Strange movie, the Multiverse is vast and what exactly Strange is doing in this movie is still unknown. Benedict Cumberbatch is surely returning as Doctor Strange and in this movie, Strange is joining forces with the Scarlet Witch herself as Elizabeth Olson is confirmed to join the cast! I, personally, can’t wait for this movie since this is Marvel’s first horror movie and Scott Derrickson is returning as director. Derrickson also has experience in directing and writing horror movies since he directed Sinister so we can expect a lot from him. This movie is set to be released on May 7th, 2021 after the WandaVison TV show.
7. Loki
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Much like The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and WandaVision TV show, Loki has been announced by Marvel a few months ago. We have also gotten a first look of the TV show that shows a Jaws billboard behind Loki, hinting that he might be in the 70s. There’s still no exact storyline for this TV show, but fans have been told that Loki will be involved in important moments in history. Yet some also speculated that this Loki will take place after Avengers: Endgame and the Loki in this series is the Loki that escaped in 2012 with the Tessaract in Endgame. Tom Hiddleston is confirmed to return in this TV show as Loki but unfortunately, no other cast has been announced. This TV show is also set in Spring 2021, after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
8. What If…?
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This Marvel’s Disney+ TV show will be MCU’s first ever animated series that is set to air on Summer 2021. This show includes actors and actresses from previous MCU movies who will be voice actors as they reprise their roles in this animated series. This show has the same title as the comics series where they make different outcomes of the original stories, but of course, this show will explore different outcomes of the previous MCU movies.
9. Hawkeye
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Hawkeye finally got the recognition he deserves. This Hawkeye standalone Disney+ TV show is set to air Fall 2021 and Jeremey Renner will return as Hawkeye. This series also has a good nod to the comics. The series’ logo, as seen above, is similar to the 2012 Hawkeye comic. Marvel also has confirmed that in this TV show, Kate Bishop, a.k.a the all new Hawkeye according to the comics, will be introduced but the actress has not yet been announced by Marvel. Some fans also theorize that Hawkeye might be the one that can potentially introduce the Young Avengers to MCU since Kate Bishop is a part of that team.
10. Thor: Love and Thunder
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A few days ago, the fourth Thor movie was confirmed but today the title has been officially announced. At first, I wasn’t too keen on the title but since Taika Waititi is confirmed to return as the director, I’m pretty sure this movie will be on the more comedic side of the MCU. Chris Hemsworth will return as Thor and Tessa Thompson will also return as Valkyrie in this movie. Another great news to both of MCU fans and comic fans, Natalie Portman will return as Jane Foster who became Thor, Goddess of Thunder like in the 2015 comic, The Mighty Thor. I am absolutely thrilled to see Natalie back in a Thor movie, especially playing such a great role! There’s even more fantastic news as Tessa Thompson and Kevin Feige confirmed that Valkyrie will be MCU’S first ever LGBTQ hero! Unfortunately, we have to wait for two years for this movie since this movie will be released on November 5th, 2021, marking it as the last Marvel movie for the year.
Aside from all this lineup, Marvel Studios also announced that Mahershala Ali will join the MCU family, playing the role as Blade. Unfortunately, the release date and whether this will be a movie or series is still unknown. Additionally, even though it’s not officially announced, rumor has it the sequels for Captain Marvel and Black Panther are in development stage. Marvel Studios’ president, Kevin Feige, teases the fans about MCU’s version of Fantastic Four and fans are incredibly excited for this remake.
From all the movies and TV shows lineup to the great casting choices, Marvel Phase Four will definitely be bigger and bolder. Fans’ expectations, especially those who are also a fan of the comics, are high and hopefully Marvel will deliver. So go ahead and follow Marvel’s official Instagram and Twitter so you won’t miss a thing about Marvel Phase Four and go ahead and read the comics so you’ll have some insight about these upcoming movies.
Featured image via Marvel Studios official Twitter
