All You Need To Know About MCU's Phase 4 and Beyond

Dec 14, 20206 min read

|By- Parshva Shah|

On Disney's Investor's Day, Marvel Studios' President Kevin Feige announced a slew of new Marvel content. We have gathered all the information on the exclusive series and movies that are in production for the Marvel Cinematic Universe along with breaking down the narrative MCU will take forward. Here is the full slate of Marvel's upcoming projects (Phase 4 and Phase 5):

Movies:-

1) Black Widow (May 7, 2021) The first movie of Phase 4, Black Widow follows Natasha Romanoff’s story during the events that place between Civil War and Infinity War. It delves into Natasha’s past as she gets reunited with her family and learns a lot of secrets. Likely to tie into the Falcon And The Winter Soldier series.

2) Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (July 9, 2021) A brand new character, actor Simu Liu plays the character of Shang-Chi, the master of martial arts. The movie introduces the original Mandarin that was mentioned in Iron Man 3 and also retcons the Ten Rings Organization.

3) Eternals (Nov 5, 2021) An ensemble cast will light up the silver screen in The Eternals. These characters have been in the MCU since millennia, they are just yet to make their on-screen debuts. These are god-like creatures, and will span over thousands of years.

4) Untitled Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel (Dec 17, 2021) The biggest live action Spider-Man movie yet, this movie ties directly with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. The return of previous Spider-Men Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield is all but confirmed. It’s a live-action Spiderverse so brace yourselves for one of the biggest MCU movies of Phase 4.

5) Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (Mar 25, 2022) As the title suggests, the movie will explore the Multiverse in the MCU. The movie is set up by the events of Disney+ series WandaVision. Loki and the third Spider-Man installment also tie into it. Sam Raimi will be at the helm of this movie.

6) Thor: Love And Thunder (May 6, 2022) The first character to get a fourth standalone movie, the movie sees the return of actress Natalie Portman as Jane Foster. Jane Foster will become The Mighty Thor in the movie, which also has Academy Award winning actor Christian Bale playing Gorr The God Butcher as the film’s primary antagonist.

7) Black Panther II (July 8, 2020) Kevin Feige confirmed that the character of T’Challa will not be recasted in honour of Chadwick Boseman. However, the film explores the rich characters of Wakanda. Shuri will be the new Black Panther in the movie.

8) Captain Marvel 2 (Nov 11, 2022) Carol Danvers is a character expected to lead the charge in the upcoming phases. Not much is known about the plot of the movie but Iman Vellani will reprise her role as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in the movie after featuring in a Ms. Marvel Disney+ series. Teyonah Parris will portray the character of Monica Rambeau. She will have already appeared in WandaVision.

9) Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) James Gunn has been re-hired to write and direct the third Guardians movie. It has been rumoured that the movie will show the Guardians of the Galaxy search Gamora throughout the universe, while Rocket will ‘complete his arc’ in the MCU. Adam Warlock could make an appearance.

10) Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) The third Ant-Man movie, the movie will likely explore the Quantum Realm and how it ties into multiple realities. Kang The Conqueror is confirmed to be the villain of the movie. Kang is a time-travelling merchant, and one of the biggest Marvel villains.

11) Blade (TBA) The vampire-killing character Eric Brooks a.k.a Blade was announced in 2019 as a movie. Mahershala Ali will play the titular role and the movie will explore the darker cores of the MCU. More announcements to follow soon!

12) Fantastic Four (TBA) Marvel’s First Family makes their way into the MCU, finally! The movie is officially in the works and will be directed by Jon Watts, who has directed the two Spider-Man MCU films and is directing the third one too. More announcements expected in the coming weeks/months.

13) Untitled third Deadpool film (TBA) Ryan Reynolds, the actor who has played Deadpool in the Fox universe, has essentially confirmed and teased that the third Deadpool movie is in the works. It has been reported that the events of the film take place between the events of Infinity War and Endgame. It is going to be an R-rated entry.

Disney+ Series:-

1) WandaVision (Jan 15, 2021) The first Disney+ series in the MCU, WandaVision explores alternate realities. The show will see the return of Paul Bettany’s Vision. We will have the first look at Scarlet Witch when she loses it all and is given a ‘reality check.’ The show ties into Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. It is going to be like a sitcom.

2) Falcon And The Winter Soldier (Mar 19, 2021) After an old Steve Rogers passes on his shield to Sam Wilson at the end of Avengers: Endgame, the series shows Bucky and Sam fight against the government. Baron Zemo returns as an antagonist, possibly hinting at the formation of the Thunderbolts, a group of villains who fight for the good.

3) Loki (May 2021) Loki is a very interesting character, indeed, and the series takes a look into Loki’s journey after he escapes with the Tesseract (Space Stone) in Avengers: Endgame. A Lady Loki will likely make an appearance and the inclusion of TVA (Time Variance Authority) hints at multiple timelines and alternate realities. The show is going to tie into Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.

4) What If…? (Mid 2021) An animated series that takes a look into how would the MCU look like if some events took place differently than they did in the MCU. Peggy Carter, for example, is shown to be Captain America and T’Challa is shown to be Star-Lord in this series that focuses on alternate realities. May or may not be canon to the MCU, but still an interesting watch.

5) Ms. Marvel (Late 2021) One of the newer characters in the Marvel Comics, Ms. Marvel will star newbie Iman Vellani in the titular role. Not much is known about the plot of the series. More announcements and details will be shared by Kevin Feige in the coming weeks/months.

6) Hawkeye (Late 2021) The series will take a look at Clint Barton a.k.a Hawkeye train Kate Bishop, a young girl, to be the next Hawkeye in the MCU. This series will probably start the Young Avengers journey.

7) Moon Knight (2022) Diving deep into Egyptology, the series will address Dissociative Identity Disorder of its protagonist, Marc Spector. Oscar Isaac was rumoured to play the character although there hasn’t been official confirmation yet.

8) She-Hulk (2022) As the name suggests, this is the female version of the Hulk. Tatiana Maslany will star in the role of Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk). She is a lawyer. Tim Roth, who made his first and only appearance as Abomination in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, and the beloved Mark Ruffalo, will return to the series.

9) The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special (2022/2023) Only an announcement regarding this show was made. Will release during the Holiday (American calendar) before Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 and will be shot during the production of GOTG Vol. 3.

10) I Am Groot (TBA) A series of shorts based on Baby Groot and his adventures, while also exploring a rich bucket of new characters.

11) Armor Wars (TBA) A classic Marvel story about Tony Stark’s worst fear coming true. It will focus on what happens when his technology falls into the wrong hands. With Tony Stark dead in the MCU, the responsibility will fall on James Rhodes. Don Cheadle will return as the lead character. This will tie into the feature films.

12) Ironheart (TBA) This series will follow the life of the genius inventor Riri Williams, who will create the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. Ironheart will be a new iteration of Iron Man, to be played by Dominique Thorne.

13) Secret Invasion (TBA) Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn will return as Skrull Talos in Secret Invasion. The series is likely based on the biggest event in Marvel Comics in the last 20 years. The series will show how the Skrulls successfully infiltrate Earth. We might come to know if an Avenger was a Skrull playing pretend all this time!