What is next in Phase Four MCU

Marvel Studios has become a household name ever since 2008’s Iron Man was released. 25 movies later, and over a decade of making movies, Marvel is beginning to ramp up production on movies and TV shows. For instance, on May 3rd, Marvel revealed 11 new movies. You can find this reveal under Marvel Studios Celebrates The Movies, on YouTube. On the other hand, Marvel Studios revealed 13 TV shows on Disney Plus day. So with that over, let’s discuss Marvel Phase Four and what is to come.

Before Avengers Endgame, many wouldn’t know what was to come for Phase Four. However, in December of 2020, during Disney Investor Day, Marvel Studios revealed many of the projects that were to come during Phase Four. Even though many titles were revealed during Investor’s day, not much was revealed about what was to happen during those movies.

The Future of Phase Four

Quite a few things have happened since December of 2020. We have seen at least 13 new projects that Marvel Studios have announced, we’ve also had some hints at what will happen during those movies and shows. Before we begin, we would like to remind you that  there will be spoilers for these upcoming projects.

We are in the middle of Phase Four of Marvel movies now, and Eternals proves how each movie seems to get more cosmic than the last one. Eternals ends with Arishem plucking Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo out of the sky. He tells them that their memories will prove if humans deserve to live. Based on the evidence, it makes sense that Arishem would return and that the Celestials are going to play a big part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The mid and post-credits scenes also set up some new heroes such as the Black Knight who wields the Ebony blade. The Ebony Blade is a sword that is enchanted to cut through anything however, over time it brings out the worst in people. The voice in the post-credits scene is Mahershala Ali who is cast as Blade. And to end off, we have Harry Styles who plays Eros [Thanos’s brother]. Eros is described as a jerk in the comic books. For Example, Eros gets in trouble after sleeping with a married woman, She-Hulk tries to help him but she soon realizes that he is not a good guy. After forcing witnesses to lie, he then forces She-Hulk to fall in love with him. However, how much of his comic-accurate personality is adapted remains unknown.

Theories about Phase 4

After Eternals, we have “Spiderman No Way Home”. Spiderman is one of the most anticipated movies this year. With the trailers revealing Jamie Foxx’s Electro, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, and Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock, this movie is hyped to be a multiversal fight fest. Due to Doctor Strange’s spell being ruined, we could see the multiverse come to fruition, starting with this movie. If you remember too, in the final episode of “Loki”, Kang states that the timelines are splitting. This could have been happening during Spiderman. It would make sense because the timelines are getting screwed up because of Doctor Strange’s botched spell.

Since most of the Sinister Six characters are revealed to be in this movie, we could see a multiversal version of the Sinister Six. However, to have a Sinister Six, we need to have 6 villains. So far, we have 5 villains revealed. Therefore, Spiderman No Way Home will reveal another villain we have not seen yet. We will find out if these hypotheses are correct on December 17th.

After “Spiderman No Way Home”, we have “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” It’s interesting to note that Wanda Maximoff will make an appearance in this show. According to Daniel Richtman, a marvel insider, Wanda and an unknown X men character will battle it out.

This movie could be a direct consequence of “Spiderman No Way Home.” Not much else is known about this movie except that it will be a horror-style type of movie. However, Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, has since walked back on that statement saying “I wouldn’t necessarily say that’s a horror film but… it’ll be a big MCU film with scary sequences in it.” That doesn’t mean however that this movie won’t be scary. It will still have horror film aspects. It’s also interesting to note that this movie is also undergoing 6 weeks of reshoots. And all of these upcoming projects can be the direct result of “Spiderman No Way Home.”

After “Doctor Strange,” we have “Thor: Love and Thunder.” This movie is special in its own way because Thor is the only character in the MCU to have a fourth solo movie. According to Taika Watiti, the director for this movie, this movie will be based on the “Mighty Thor “comic books by Jason Aaron, who is a comic book writer. In this series, Jane Foster gains the powers of Thor. Christian Bale, who played Batman in the Christopher Nolan movies, will also portray Gorr the God Butcher. Watiti also calls this film. “the craziest film he’s ever done,” he states.

What other films and shows are in production?

Other films slated to come out are “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which should introduce Ironheart, which is a teenage version of Iron Man. This movie has had its plot reshaped up to 5 times already and is currently on hold on filming after Letitia Wright, the actor for Shuri who is Black Panther’s sister, suffered injuries while filming. Filming should begin next year.

The next movie to come out after that is “The Marvels” which would have Monica Rambeau and Brie Larson reunite. We will also have Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel appear in her first live-action movie. However, she will appear in her own show first before this movie. Following “The Marvels,” we have “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” having Adam Warlock appear in his first live-action project. Will Poulter, a British actor who starred in the Maze Runner and Narnia movies, is set to play Adam Warlock. Adam Warlock is a character who defeats Thanos in the comics. This movie will close out the trilogy that James Gunn, the person that directed these movies, created in 2014.

After “Guardians of the Galaxy,” we will see “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” This movie will have Jonathan Major’s character Kang reappear. Kang is a time traveler from the future and one of the Avengers villains.

While these movies are released, we will have many shows premiere. We will see heroes such as Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, and Ironheart appear. We will also see other series such as Marvel Zombies, X-Men 97 [which is a continuation of the original X-men tv show from the ’90s]. Spiderman will get another series titled “Spiderman: Freshman Year”, and a Secret Invasion series.

We also have spin-offs of other shows like “Echo”, which is a spin-off of Hawkeye. And “Agatha: House of Harkness”, which is a spinoff of Wandavision.

She-Hulk could be setting up the Hulk’s retirement. In the comic books, Jennifer Walters gets blood from Bruce Banner. How much of that will be adapted is unknown. One thing that is being adapted is her being a Lawyer, the same way as how it is in the comics. Hulk and Abomination are set to return in this series. Not much is known about She-Hulk. Another show that is introducing a new hero is Hawkeye. Hawkeye is introducing Kate Bishop, who is a teenage version of Hawkeye. Based on the evidence, it can be assumed that the ending of Hawkeye will have Clint Barton retire and have Kate Bishop take over since Clint is already showing signs of wear and tear as we see with the hearing aids. It would make sense for Kate to take over as she is younger, in better shape, and getting trained by Hawkeye.

As we have seen, Marvel Studios is ramping up production with movies and shows. 5 years ago and we would’ve gotten three movies a year. Now, we’re getting 3 movies, and maybe 3 or 4 shows a year based on what we have seen this year alone. The Marvel Universe is expanding at an exponential rate. As the movies become more cosmic and we have more multiversal shenanigans, we are bound to see many more heroes and villains appear. Where the universe is heading, is unknown but, expect to see more movies and shows giving a glimpse as to what is ahead of us.