Spider-Man: Far From Home marks the end of what Marvel now refers to as The Infinity Saga. The Infinity Saga is all the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies from Phase 1 – 3. And at San Diego Comic-Con last week, Marvel unveiled the line-up for Phase 4 which kicks off a new series of storylines. Phase 4 consists not only of new movies but also a new series of shows that will be part of the new Disney+ streaming service that tie-in directly to the movies. Here is the outline of Phase 4:
Black Widow (May 1st, 2020):
The first new movie of Phase 4 kicks off with Scarlett Johansson reprising her role of Natasha Romanoff AKA The Black Widow. Joining here is David Harbour as Alexei AKA The Red Guardian, Florence Pugh as Yelena, O-T Fagbenle as Mason, and Rachel Weisz as Melina. Not much is known about the plot but the movie is thought to be a prequel and takes place immediately following Captain America: Civil War which saw Natasha on the run.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Fall 2020):
This is the first Marvel Studios show developed for Disney’s new streaming service called Disney+. It picks up after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and follows Sam Wilson AKA The Falcon and Bucky Barnes AKA The Winter Soldier—in a series of action-filled adventures. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprise their roles and Daniel Brühl will return as the villain Baron Zemo last seen in Captain America: Civil War. Rumor has it that during this series, we will see Sam Wilson officially take over as the new Captain America.
The Eternals (November 6th, 2020):
This movie will introduce a new team of heroes in the MCU not unlike what Guardians of the Galaxy did. The movie stars 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.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (February 12th, 2021):
This movie will introduce another new hero to the MCU which will bring together several pieces hinted at in previous MCU movies going all the way back to Iron Man in 2008. The movie stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Awkwafina in a yet-to-be-disclosed role, and Chinese actor Tony Leung as the REAL Mandarin. If you recall in Iron Man 3, a fake version of the Mandarin was hired by Aldrich Killian and played by Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley). In the Marvel One Shot “All Hail the King”, the real Mandarin sends one of his followers to visit Trevor Slattery in jail. I imagine we’ll see these elements play a part in this movie.
WandaVision (Spring 2021):
This will be another Disney+ series and see Paul Bettany reprising the role of Vision and Elizabeth Olsen returning to the role of Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. Additionally, it was revealed that Teyonah Parris will be playing the grown-up version of Monica Rambeau, who was introduced in Captain Marvel as a kid.
Loki (Spring 2021):
This will also be a Disney+ series that stars Tom Hiddleston as Loki. It will answer the question of “Where did Loki go when he took the Space Stone (the Tesseract)?” in Avengers: Endgame.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 7th, 2021):
In the sequel to Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch returns as Doctor Stephen Strange and Elizabeth Olsen joins him as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. The events of the Disney+ series WandaVision will tie-in directly to the movie’s plot.
What If…? (Summer 2021):
This show will be on Disney+ and will be the first animated series in the MCU. The show will tell stories that present alternate realities in the Marvel Universe. Many of the actors from across the MCU will reprise their roles as voice talent in the series however Jeffrey Wright will be the voice of the popular character The Watcher in the series.
Hawkeye (Fall 2021):
Another Disney+ show which has Jeremy Renner returning to the role of Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye. The show will introduce Kate Bishop, a character well-known in Marvel Comics. It is believed that in the show, Clint Barton will hand over the role of Hawkeye to Kate Bishop.
Thor: Love and Thunder (November 5th, 2021):
In the 4th Thor movie, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson return to their roles. And Natalie Portman returns as Jane Foster who will become the Mighty Thor just like in the comics. Thor was last seen heading off with the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end of Avengers: Endgame.
Phase 5 + Beyond:
Marvel Studios has their Phase 5 plans nearly locked but I don’t imagine we’ll hear much on this for another year or two. However Marvel Studios Chief Kevin Feige has confirmed that Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the next Spider-Man are in active development and likely part of Phase 5. For Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Director and Writer James Gunn returns and will be focusing on this once he completes his next movie which is The Suicide Squad for DC/Warner Bros.
Marvel Studios also announced at SDCC that actor Mahershala Ali will be Blade in the MCU with a new Blade movie coming! You may recongnize the actor – Mahershala played the villain Cornell Stokes AKA Cottonmouth in the first season of the Marvel/Netflix show Luke Cage.
As a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I plan to continue to blog about the developments from Marvel Studios to help other fans stay on top of what’s going on with these movies and now TV shows.