I know I probably sound like a geek fanboy typing out of mom’s basement (wouldn’t be the first time that’s been said about me), but what Marvel Studios has done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the last 12 years is nothing short of incredible. You just don’t see that magnitude of storytelling in the movies anymore – the Infinity Saga spanned well over a decade, and yet, we never really grew tired of it. Sure, there were a couple of speed bumps along the way (looking at you, Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World). But, by and large, they’ve done quite the job in getting us through to Avengers: Endgame. So, as we approach Marvel Phase 4, the question becomes, “okay – what the hell do we do for an encore?”
Marvel Phase 4 Schedule
- WandaVision (Disney+) – late 2020
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+) – 2021
- Loki (Disney+) – early 2021
- Black Widow – 5/21
- Shang-Chi: And the Legend of the Ten Rings – 7/21
- What if…? (Disney+) – 2021
- Hawkeye (Disney+) – late 2021
- Eternals – 11/21
- Spider-Man 3 – 12/21 (?)
- Thor: Love and Thunder – 2/22(?)
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – 3/22(?)
New Characters
I see Phase 4 as a bit of a transition period for the MCU, and an opportunity for them to reset the Avengers team. If I’m running the show, I’m using this next stretch of shows and movies to retool the Avengers, and by the time we’re ready for Phase 5, we have our new group of heroes established and the next big villain teased. I know where you think I’m going with this, but let me stop you right there. Kevin Feige has said that it’ll be a while before we get the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters – actually, it’ll be Phase 5.
No, I’m talking about getting some fresh faces into the rotation altogether, even some characters that the diehards aren’t too familiar with.
We’re already seeing this with the introduction of The Eternals and Shang-Chi. We don’t know too much about either movie, but if Marvel hasn’t earned your trust with these lesser known properties already, I don’t know what will. The Eternals were basically ‘engineered’ by the Celestials to be the defenders of the Earth. So, maybe they’ll use this to set up an eventual conflict with said Celestials? There’s a stellar cast in this one, but Kit Harrington as Dane Whitman is what has me pumped for this one – Whitman is also known as the Black Knight. There’s a rich history there, but I have a feeling we’re talking about our next Avenger.
As for Shang-Chi, he made his debut in the Marvel universe back in the 1970s as the ‘Master of Kung Fu.’ At one point, I know he developed the power to create duplicate versions of his self, but I’m not sure we see that in the MCU. What gets me about his movie is the ‘Ten Rings’ part, as they’ve cast Tony Leung to play The Mandarin.
I’m also eyeing Thor: Love and Thunder for the introduction of Beta Ray Bill. *eyes emoji*
They’re going to be sprinkling these new characters in over the course of the next few years. With Guardians of the Galaxy 3 taking place as apart of Phase 5, I doubt we get Adam Warlock over the course of this next slate of programming, but he’s one of the last major chess pieces out there that has remained largely untouched.
Villains
So, we’re clearly going to get some new good guys to cheer on. But, who could possibly be big enough to warrant antagonizing our heroes for an entire phase of the MCU, but not so big that you don’t need 12 years worth of filmmaking to set up?
I’ve seen everyone from Norman Osborn to Doctor Doom, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up on any of them. Those are big, big villains despite essentially just being dudes. I could see them pulling Osborn into the Spider-Man movies as a sort of ‘Thanos’ figure for that franchise. And, I could see them saving Doom for the Fantastic Four movies.
My best guess is – and tell me how hot of a take this is – that there actually won’t be one big singular bad guy for the heroes to take down. I mean, do they really have to have one? Couldn’t that be seen as a tad formulaic? More on this idea later.
But, if they do go with one, I’d say a logical choice would be the Taskmaster. When he was announced as the villain in Black Widow, it raised a few eyebrows to say the least. I mean, this dude’s an Avengers-level villain. He’s just supposed to get his ass kicked by the Black Widow and then disappear into the same realm as Yellowjacket and Abomination?
Well, what if he’s not just one-and-done? What if he evades Black Widow, survives the movie, and we realize it was just a way to establish that character in the MCU? Perhaps he could be the Phase 4 marquee villain that forces our heroes to reunite and reignite the Avengers. I would be on board with that.
*Note: there are some pretty interesting Reddit threads out there about Taskmaster in the MCU, but I won’t share them here because I would hate for one of the ‘spoilers’ to actually be true and then I’ve ruined the next two years of Marvel movies for everyone.
The Red Skull is an interesting option here. He’s not a villain that would require a lot of time setting up and technically he’s free of the binding of the Soul Stone (that we know of). It’s possible he could make his way back to Earth.
Storylines
So, if there’s no big bad in Marvel Phase 4, what’s the point, right? Well, look at what’s being made….you don’t really need to read the tea leaves to see it. Whether WandaVision is a direct adaptation of House of M or not, it still certainly seems like we’re going to be seeing the Scarlet Witch creating some realities of her own. Eternals is likely to explore Celestial history. We last saw Loki hop out of Avengers custody into an alternate timeline. What If…? is also about getting all sorts of history jumbled up. And, ffs the next Doctor Strange movie is literally called ‘multiverse of madness.’
This next series of movies and shows is likely going to be about setting up the multi-verse. We’re probably going to learn a lot more about time travel, too. Sam’s going to become Captain America. Jane Foster’s going to become Thor. And, we’re going to plant the seeds for the Celestials eventually wreaking some havoc. That’s my guess, anyway.
The problem with comic book stories is that they can get repetitive. Marvel would be smart to realize that villains can’t simply just keep getting bigger, and we can’t simply keep going further out into space. They have to find new ways to tell stories, and that’s the challenging part.
Like I said, I don’t think we’re going to get a big overarching story in Phase 4. But, seeing that Jonathan Majors was cast in Ant-Man 3, and he’s rumored to play Kang the Conqueror makes me think that Kang just might be the big tease at the end of this phase, much like Thanos was after The Avengers. And, it makes sense, mind you – Kang is a credible Thanos-level opponent for what I presume will be a new-look Avengers.
Oh, and by the way, he’s an easy way to get the Fantastic Four into the MCU as well. Kang is a time traveler who just so happens to be a descendant of one Reed Richards. Just imagine – we’ve spent all of Phase 4 setting up the multi-verse just for Kang to break through into “our reality.” He starts causing some big time problems here, and just when we need heroes, who follows him through the multi-verse to save the day? The Fantastic freaking Four. Calling my shot now if you can’t tell.
This leaves Secret Invasion as the next logical slow burn storyline (which, hey – the seeds have kind of already been planted for that one anyway), but I’m not even going to begin to think about Phase 6 here today.
If you’re forcing me to look into my crystal ball and call the future, I’m predicting that we get Kang in Phase 5, and a new Avengers team consisting of Sam as Captain America, Jane Foster as Thor, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Kate Bishop as Hawkeye, Shang-Chi, and the Black Knight. As for Phase 4, it’s going to be about introducing new characters and exploring the multi-verse, time travel, and maybe even the Quantum Realm in a little more detail.
What do you think, SoBros Nation? What do you guys want to see in Marvel Phase 4? Hit them comments.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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