Marvel Studios has announced what's on their plate through 2021, giving us plenty to speculate
about when it comes to just what "Phase 4" will entail.
From plot details to casting rumors to surprising character connections, here's everything we've
heard so far.
On the heels of her tragic death in Avengers: Endgame, Scarlett Johannson's character Natasha
Romanoff will be kicking off Phase Four of the MCU with her long anticipated Black Widow
movie.
This film will be set earlier in the MCU timeline, between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers:
Infinity War, back when Natasha was still alive and kicking butt.
In the film, Natasha's Russian spy past seems to be catching up with her as she contends
with fellow Red Room graduate Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh.
Rachel Weisz will also be part of the film, but all we know about her character so far
is that she's named Melina.
However, fans have speculated that she could be Melina Vostokoff, who's known as Iron maiden
in the comics.
David Harbour is also on board as Alexei Shostakov, otherwise known as the Red Guardian, a sort
of Russian version of Captain America.
The film's main villain will be the copycat Taskmaster, but there's no word yet on who
will be behind the character's skull mask.
We'll see how Natasha fares against him on May 1st, 2020.
The stage was star-studded at 2019's San Diego Comic Con with the brilliant ensemble cast
of The Eternals, set to release November 6th, 2020.
The film will follow a group of ancient, godlike aliens, many of whom have ties to Greek mythology.
Angelina Jolie will play Thena, whose character is a reference to the Olympian goddess Athena.
Richard Madden, of Game of Thrones fame, is playing Ikaris, one of the mightiest Eternals,
named for the Greek myth of the boy who flew too close to the sun.
The Eternal Phastos, played by Brian Tyree Henry, is a pseudo-Hephaestus due to his weapon-smithing
skills, while Sprite, played by Lia McHugh, is a young Loki-like trickster.
Kumail Nanjiani will play Kingo, an Eternal who's been living in Japan for millennia following
the way of the samurai, and Don Lee will be playing Gilgamesh.
And although the characters of Ajak and the deaf, Hermes-inspired Makkari are both male
in the comics, they'll be portrayed on-screen by Salma Hayek and deaf actress Lauren Ridloff.
Then, during the 2019 D23 expo in Anaheim, a few more exciting names were added to the
already-impressive Eternals cast.
Gemma Chan, who played the ill-fated Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel, will be rejoining the MCU
in The Eternals as Sersi.
In the comics, Sersi lives among humans in New York, throwing lavish parties where she
entertains her guests by passing her superpowers off as magic tricks.
Also joining the cast are Barry Keoghan as the vicious ex-KGB agent Druig, and Game of
Thrones actor Kit Harington as the non-Eternal superhero Dane Whitman, also known as Black
Knight.
Harington's role will reunite him with his Game of Thrones brother, Richard Madden, and
may seem like familiar territory for viewers, since Black Knight is also the recipient of
a weighty family legacy and a thematically significant sword.
Canadian actor Simu Liu will be portraying the hero Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend
of the Ten Rings, and Kevin Feige has promised that he will soon be a household name everywhere.
Liu is probably best known for his role in the sitcom Kim's Convenience, but his action
experience comes from his role on the TV series Taken and his stunt work on the sets of Designated
Survivor and Heroes Reborn.
Liu had actually tweeted about his interest in the role back in December of 2018.
Using the Shang-Chi hashtag, the actor wrote,
"OK Marvel, are we gonna talk or what?"
Apparently Marvel and Liu did talk, and he thanked the studio on Twitter for getting
back to him when his role was officially announced.
Starring alongside Liu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be Awkwafina
of Crazy Rich Asians fame.
We'll also finally meet the real Mandarin, as opposed to the fake version played by Ben
Kingsley in Iron Man 3.
The Mandarin is the leader of the Ten Rings terrorist organization and will be played
by award-winning actor Tony Leung.
We'll see what kind of villain the real Mandarin is on February 12th, 2021.
Rather than focusing solely on big blockbuster films, the MCU is expanding into the world
of television for Phase Four.
The next few years will see a group of new Marvel shows releasing on the streaming platform
Disney Plus, which will all tie directly into the established world of the MCU.
Releasing in the summer of 2021, the animated series What If...? promises to be an especially
intriguing look at the world of Marvel.
Based on the comic series of the same name, What If...? will explore alternate versions
of the events in the MCU.
The show's voice cast boasts a staggering number of MCU movie stars, from Michael B.
Jordan to Michael Rooker.
The series' first episode will focus on what would have happened if Hayley Atwell's character
Peggy Carter took the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers in Captain America:
The First Avenger.
We'll watch these alternate timelines unfold through the eyes of the Watcher, voiced by
Westworld's Jeffrey Wright.
Steve Rogers' two best friends, Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, will team up against Captain
America: Civil War villain Zemo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, coming to Disney+
in the fall of 2020.
The series will star Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan as the Falcon and the Winter Soldier,
and will feature the return of Daniel Brühl as Zemo, Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter, and
Wyatt Russell as new character John Walker.
But wait, isn't Sam Wilson supposed to be Captain America now?
At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an aged Steve Rogers handed his red, white, and blue shield
over to Sam as Bucky looked on approvingly.
Never fear; in an interview with MTV News, Mackie promised that the new Captain America
will make his debut at some point during The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
He's already been fitted for his new star-spangled suit, and according to Mackie,
"It looks really good."
Where did Loki go when he snatched up the Tesseract and disappeared from 2012 during
Avengers: Endgame's Time Heist?
Apparently we'll get the chance to find out in the upcoming Disney+ series Loki.
Tom Hiddleston will be reprising his role as the God of Mischief, and its been confirmed
that the series picks up right after Loki winked out of existence.
The actor told San Diego Comic Con that the Loki series is one of the most exciting creative
opportunities he's ever encountered, saying that he couldn't wait to get started.
In addition to a new world, Loki may also take us to a whole new time period.
A preview image for the series shows Thor's younger brother in front of a promotional
sign for the film Jaws, which was released in 1975.
Without the Time Stone, we have no idea how Loki's managing his time hopping, but we'll
have to wait until the show releases in the spring of 2021 to find out.
Marvel has been pretty mysterious when it comes to WandaVision, the third of its new
Disney+ shows, especially when it comes to how the series fits into the current MCU timeline.
Vision, played by Paul Bettany, was killed by Thanos at the end of Avengers: Infinity
War.
So how is he supposed to star alongside his girlfriend Wanda in a show that takes place
after the events of Avengers: Endgame?
In the words of Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Wanda Maximoff, "It's gonna get weird."
Also unclear is how Monica Rambeau will factor into the storyline of WandaVision.
The young Monica first charmed audiences with her mischief in Captain Marvel, and WandaVision
will feature the character all grown up.
The adult Monica will be played by Teyonah Parris, who might even get in on the superhero
action herself.
She'll be joined by Kat Dennings, reprising her role as Darcy Lewis from the first two
Thor movies, Randall Park as Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and the Wasp, and newcomer Kathryn
Hahn as Wanda and Vision's nosy neighbor.
We'll find out how they all come together when WandaVision arrives on Disney+ in the
spring of 2021.
Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange is getting his own sequel in Phase Four, ominously titled
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff will be co-starring in the film, which will tie directly into
the events of WandaVision, and we wouldn't be surprised if Multiverse of Madness also
crossed over with the alternate universes of Marvel's animated What If...? series.
The title for the Strange sequel leads us to suspect that some Lovecraftian adventures
are in store for the Sorcerer Supreme, and director Scott Derrickson seemed to confirm
our suspicions.
Speaking to the audience at San Diego Comic Con about what drew him to the Doctor Strange
comics and what his plans were for the film's sequel, Derrickson said,
"They dipped into the gothic, and the horror and the horrific, and we're going to make
the first scary MCU film."
We'll discover the mysteries of the multiverse when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
is unveiled on May 7th, 2021.
It's been a rocky relationship, but after a brief trial separation, Sony and Marvel
have officially gotten back together for one more film.
Spider-Man 3 will release on July 16th, 2021, making it a belated addition to the MCU's
Phase Four.
No casting has been confirmed yet, but it's safe to assume that in addition to Tom Holland,
we'll also be seeing the return of Jacob Batalon as Ned and Zendaya as MJ, as well as Marissa
Tomei as Aunt May and Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan.
And given the cliffhanger at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, we'd be surprised if J.K. Simmons
doesn't make an appearance as J. Jonah Jameson as well.
Like the first two films, the MCU's Spider-Man 3 will be helmed by director Jon Watts.
No plot details have been released for the third Spider-Man outing yet, including whether
or not it will cross over with Venom or any other part of Sony's own Spider-Verse.
However, since the MCU only has Peter Parker confirmed for one more movie, we're prepared
for Spider-Man 3 to pave the way for Spidey to exit the Marvel Cinematic Universe for
good.
Sony has been pretty eager to get notorious Spider-Man villains the Sinister Six on screen
for a long time, and has in fact already introduced several of the group's members, such as the
Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Spider-Man 3 would be an excellent opportunity to round out the lineup by bringing in another
member of the group, and the most likely candidate to battle Spidey in his third Marvel outing
is Kraven the Hunter.
Before he'd officially been tapped to direct Spider-Man 3, Jon Watts mentioned that if
the villain of the third movie was up to him, it would be Kraven.
What's more, Far From Home scribes Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers have mentioned Kraven as
the next villain they'd like to see Spidey fight.
Additionally, Sony is already working on developing a Kraven solo film, which means the hunter
is already on his way to the big screen.
We'll just have to wait to find out whether he makes a stop in the MCU first.
Set to release in the fall of 2021, the series logo for Hawkeye is almost an exact replica
of the one used for the much-loved comic run by Matt Fraction and David Aja.
Fraction and Aja's stylish series, which focused on Clint Barton's everyday non-superhero life,
placed particular emphasis on the archer's various relationships, especially between
Barton and his protege, Kate Bishop.
A master strategist and fighter with deadly aim, the Kate Bishop of the comics is also
the leader of the Young Avengers, but is otherwise a down-to-earth human like Barton.
Bishop is confirmed to have a spot in the Hawkeye series, and will presumably take over
the Hawkeye mantle from Clint at some point, like she does in the comics.
We can't wait to see the dynamic between Jeremy Renner's laid back Hawkeye as he mentors the
sharply witty Kate.
After the massive success of Thor: Ragnarok, director Taika Waititi is returning to helm
the fourth installment in the Thor series, Thor: Love and Thunder.
But when the film rumbles into theaters on November 5th, 2021, it'll be bringing a new
god of thunder with it.
While Chris Hemsworth will be returning as Thor, Waititi announced that Natalie Portman's
Jane Foster will take on Mjolnir in Love and Thunder to become Mighty Thor.
In the comics, Jane became Thor when Thor was no longer worthy of Mjolnir, while Thor
renamed himself Odinson and went off to travel the universe.
Tessa Thompson will also return as Valkyrie, decreed the "King of New Asgard" at the end
of Endgame.
Thompson already has her own ideas about what Valkyrie's first order of business will be
in Love and Thunder, telling the audience at San Diego Comic Con, quote, "She needs
to find her queen."
Many will remember Wesley Snipes' iconic performance as the sharp-fanged, sharp-witted title character
in the original Blade trilogy of films.
Now, Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali will be stepping into the role of the half-vampiric
vampire hunter for a new Marvel solo film.
Calling the MCU's new Blade one of our time's greatest working actors, Kevin Feige revealed
that Ali was already a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as the character
of Blade himself, long before he was cast in the role.
Feige went on to say,
"He's going to destroy the part.
It's a dream.
It's the kind of dream casting that you almost don't dare to dream that you can actually
do it."
The mysterious Twitter user who correctly predicted a number of key plot points in Avengers
Endgame months before the movie came out is back with a possible Phase Four scoop.
According to that account, which goes by the handle Roger Wardell,
"Marvel Studios are a big fan of David Morrissey and are considering multiple roles for him
for Phase 4."
Morrissey gained fame among comic book fans when he embodied one of The Walking Dead's
biggest and baddest villains, the Governor.
He's been proving his versatility ever since, playing more than just megalomaniacs, but
we wouldn't mind if he brought another bad guy to life.
We could see Morrissey taking on the role of Spider-Man villain Norman Osborn, or iconic
Fantastic Four antagonist, Doctor Doom.
On the other hand, just because Morrissey has played villains in the past doesn't mean
he can't play a good guy now.
After all, Marvel still has plenty of heroic roles left to fill.
Whether he comes aboard as a hero or a villain, we're sure Morrissey will make a fantastic
addition to the MCU.
Just when we thought we knew everything to expect in Phase 4 of the MCU, Marvel threw
us for a loop by announcing a trio of additional new MCU shows at the 2019 D23 Expo.
Ms. Marvel will follow Pakistani American teen hero Kamala Khan.
In the comics, Kamala is an Inhuman who idolizes Carol Danvers and takes up her pre-Captain
Marvel mantle after discovering that she too has superpowers.
Showrunner Bisha K. Ali hasn't yet revealed whether the series will show Kamala's first
days as Ms. Marvel, or whether it will pick up with the character after she's already
been established, similar to Peter Parker's introduction in Captain America: Civil War.
Kamala blazed new territory in the comics as the first Muslim character to headline
her own Marvel book, and to see her on screen in the MCU will be a significant step forward
in the battle for more diverse representation in Hollywood, especially if the character
eventually crosses over to the films.
We don't have any idea yet when Ms. Marvel will hit Disney+, or where it will fit into
Marvel's increasingly crowded schedule.
However, since the series was announced as part of Marvel's Phase 4 timeline, we can
safely assume it'll be before the end of 2021.
The second of the new Disney+ shows announced at D23 2019, Moon Knight follows former mercenary
Marc Spector who gains superpowers from the god Khonshu during a mission that goes sideways
in Egypt.
In many ways, Moon Knight has functioned in the comics as Marvel's version of Batman,
since Spector acts as a vigilante who uses his substantial fortune to outfit himself
with advanced gadgetry that helps him hunt down bad guys.
However, Spector comes with a unique twist that's bound to make his transition to screen
both interesting, and potentially tricky.
In the comics, Spector struggles with dissociative identity disorder or D.I.D., which gives him
three distinct personalities: in addition to Spector, there's also wealthy businessman
Steven Grant and street-smart cab driver Jake Lockley.
These three personalities all work together to help Moon Knight to battle evil, and Moon
Knight's creative team will have their work cut out for them when it comes to avoiding
the problematic tropes that often accompany fictional portrayals of characters with D.I.D.
Moon Knight will be helmed by lead writer Jeremy Slater, who previously developed the
Umbrella Academy comics into a successful series for Netflix.
Tweeting about his involvement on Moon Knight, Slater wrote,
"We’ve assembled a room full of brilliant writers who truly love this character, and
we’re all hard at work crafting something special for you."
The last of the Disney+ shows announced at D23 was She-Hulk, which will center around
Bruce Banner's cousin, Jennifer Walters.
In the comics, Jennifer is an attorney who receives her Hulk powers from an emergency
blood transfusion from Bruce.
Most likely, Jennifer will gain her powers sometime after the "blip" in the Disney+ series,
which will hopefully mean we'll get at least a Mark Ruffalo cameo in She-Hulk, if not a
more extensive role.
The She-Hulk series will be helmed by showrunner Jessica Gao, who won an Emmy for her writing
on the Rick and Morty episode “Pickle Rick."
As for who will play Jennifer herself, no casting has been announced yet, although fans
have proposed a variety of talented actresses for the part including Jameela Jamil, Constance
Wu, Stephanie Beatriz, and Blake Lively.
Thanks to motion capture technology, whoever Marvel casts in the role will probably not
have to physically portray Jennifer in her Hulked-out state, but will need to embody
her wit, intelligence, strong moral compass, and ability to snarkily break the fourth wall.
As with Ms. Marvel and Moon Knight, we don't know exactly when She-Hulk will slot into
Marvel's Phase Four schedule, but expect it to be before the end of 2021.
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