Brace yourselves, Marvel Phase Four is upon us! With MCU instalments on their way, many with confirmed release dates and more that are yet to be announced, Phase Four is shaping up to be quite an interesting follow up to the climactic End Game. The question racing through everybody’s minds now, however, is what new threat will Marvel’s best fight next and how will Phase Four tie into the future of the MCU? In the mean time, here are a few thoughts on the upcoming titles with some exciting new reveals, from thunderous changes to Thor’s status quo, to the more Loki experiences offered by Disney+.
Blade
Besides Mutants, what has the Marvel Cinematic Universe been missing? Vampires. What hasn’t it been missing? Mahershala Ali appearances! Mahershala Ali has appeared as Cotton Mouth in the Netflix Luke Cage series and has leant his voice to portray the Prowler in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. However, during the SDCC Marvel Phase Four announcement, it was revealed that the Marvel veteran will be replacing Wesley Snipes as our favourite vampire slayer, Blade. And frankly, this couldn’t have been a more perfect casting!
Let’s hope that we get a cameo from Morbius the Living Vampire at the very least. There’s a lot of potential for the supernatural and mystic arts in the MCU, and with Multiverse of Madness supposedly offering horror themes to the MCU, there’s a chance to offer a unique alternative to the spandex clad Avengers – since Blade has an affinity for leather – if they are written well.
Thor: Love and Thunder
Since Jane Foster was revealed to be under the helmet in Jason Aaron’s Thor: Goddess of Thunder in 2014 (previously also in What If #10, 1978), fans – including myself – have wanted to see her take on the role in a live-action adaptation. Though it was hard to imagine Natalie Portman actually taking on the role, confirmation that she will in fact become the fan favourite Goddess of Thunder in Thor 4 is tremendously exciting, not only for unworthy Mjolnir acolytes, but for the fact that the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be getting a popular, immeasurably powerful female superhero, showing how the Cinematic landscape is pulling more inspiration from popular current comics. Will a vicious storm brew between the two Gods of Thunder, or will Odinson accept that his ex now controls the thunder? As Freddy Mercury sang, thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening…!
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki… demoted to Disney+?
Relegated to Disney+? Really!? This has so much potential to show the Falcon’s worthiness of Cap’s mantel, and really one that should be shown on the big screen. Since taking up the shield in the comics, Sam Wilson has proved to be a great modern embodiment of the values we hold true to the Captain America moniker. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, while somewhat bland and wordy as a title, should have been an emotional film depicting the two dealing with the outcome of End Game, supporting one another as Winter Soldier persuades Wilson to take up the shield as a new Captain America for the new, post-Blip generation. As a cinematic feature film, this would have introduced the already massive MCU fanbase – which includes comic book newbies – to a modern Captain America, with plenty of opportunities to set-up future Avengers scenarios and a new team roster, with a more wider-reaching platform.
What if…?
So much potential from this simple little title. Admittedly it’s a little disappointing the What if…? title won’t be attached to a series of stand-alone alternate universe films, but the concept is exciting regardless, whether it’s an alternative animated version of Infinity War, a “What if Aunt May became Spider-Woman,” or even “What if Age of Ultron was actually a good movie?” The possibilities are literally endless, with the members of the MCU cast lending their voices to reprise their roles.
If you are unfamiliar with the Marvel What If comics, some to look out for include: Marvel: The Next Generation, which sees the daughter of Parker and MJ become Spider-Girl, “What if Gwen Stacy had Lived?” which seems pretty self-explanatory, and “What If Scarlet Witch Ended the House of M event by saying No More Powers?” in which the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe lose their superhuman abilities. This included a relieved Peter Parker, free from the burden of his responsibilities as Spider-Man, a Wolverine who can no longer hold the weight of his adamantium skeleton, and legions of ‘humanised’ Mutants, leaving a window of opportunity for the Red Skull to embark on plans to take over New York and the rest of the world, with a little help from a cosmic cube…
You can bet that whenever there’s a big Marvel comics event, a What if…? scenario is sure to follow.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
This is somewhat of a given, considering Doctor Strange is not only one of my favourite Marvel characters of all-time, but easily among my favourite comic book characters overall. Doctor Strange (2016) also happens to rank up there as one of my favourite MCU entries, though this may be somewhat biased on my part… as such, my dear Watson, you can probably deduce that I am very much looking forward to the new Multiverse of Madness, which not only has one of the best film titles ever, but promises to bring more horror themes to the MCU.
In addition, as you can probably guess from the title, it will delve more into the MCU’s version of the multiverse, popular in the comics, featuring Scarlet Witch prior to the events of the WandaVision Disney+ show. Will Dormamu and Baron Mordo reappear, or will we see another comic book favourite introduced? Characters such as Lady Death, Enchantress, and Mephisto would be popular picks to play antagonist – sharing links to other Marvel characters, with Lady Death having been the love interest of Thanos and Deadpool, and Enchantress having crossed paths with the likes of Thor and Jane Foster, as well as Doctor Doom and the Fantastic Four. Though perhaps more interesting would be for the story to lead towards the introduction of the Empirikul…
Speaking of Doom, fans of the mystic arts have been clamouring for a Doctor Doom/ Doctor Strange cinematic crossover, which looks increasingly possible since it was confirmed at SDCC that they are working on something Fantastic Four related. With the multiverse and Scarlet Witch set to feature prominently, and as the first film ended without a Sorcerer Supreme, there is a great opportunity to borrow elements from the popular Mike Mignola Triumph & Torment story, introducing a cast of other Sorcerer Supremes to the MCU…
Hawkeye
Perhaps one of the most under utilised characters on the Avengers team, Hawkeye is finally getting his own outing, albeit on the small screen. Or an even smaller screen, if you view the new Disney+ streaming service from your phone…
From the look of the logo, Hawkeye may very well draw from the popular Matt Fraction series, which was more grounded and realistic in approach and dived into his personal life, showing how Hawkeye has to push himself to extreme limits in order to keep up with his super powered compatriots. With more drama, broken ribs, concussions, and bandages, let’s hope we finally get to see Kate Bishop introduced to steal the Hawkeye name. A little Young Avengers nod would be nice, too…
Black Widow
Personally, I always found the inclusion of Black Widow to be massively underwhelming and have found her character to be somewhat boring. But now Falcon and Winter Soldier are being relegated to the small screen, while Black Widow gets to enjoy the full cinematic treatment? Surely this should be the other way round? A Black Widow episodic series would work decently well as a spy-thriller, though admittedly the prospect of Taskmaster and David Harbour (Stranger Thing, Hellboy) appearing in the film is enough to get me into the cinema regardless.
However, with the Skrulls now a part of the MCU, surely building towards a Secret Invasion story later in Phase 4 and 5, it always struck me as a shame that Jessica Drew – who happens to be one of my favourite Marvel characters – was never made a live-action Avenger and would have been my pick to replace Black Widow on the team. Let’s hope that after Black Widow, with the presence of S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra, and the Skrulls, our favourite incarnation of Spider-Woman, besides Spider-Gwen, gets the time in the limelight she deserves.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and The Eternals
Both The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings present a unique chance to introduce cinema-goers to a more obscure side of Marvel comics.
If the “Ten Rings” sounds in any way familiar, you’ll likely remember them as the terrorist group responsible for kidnapping Tony Stark way back in Iron Man (2008). More curious is that joining actor Simu Liu as the titular martial-artist is Tony Leung Chiu-wai… as the Mandarin! If you saw Iron Man 3, no doubt you were left disappointed by the confused story arc revolving around the true identity of the Mandarin – regarded as one of Iron Man’s most dangerous comic book foes. Now we may finally get to see a true representation of the villain, hopefully with choreographed martial arts displays that will make Iron Fist jealous.
The Eternals, meanwhile, are obscure as they are part of Marvel’s cosmic narrative. They’re godlike beings, sent by the Celestials – who were referenced in Guardians of the Galaxy – to defend the Earth from the devious humanoid villains, the Deviants. With Angelina Jolie joining the cast, this will be an interesting one to see come to the big screen, if only to see how well it does in the box-office due to its obscure nature. What’s more, the inclusion of the Eternals and the more direct involvement of the Celestials sparks some interesting potential for the wider MCU. Could this be the possible introduction of our favourite planet-eating, purple tyrant and his glitzy herald? And will this tie into the introduction of the Fab Four?
Introduction of the Fantastic Four and the Mutants…!
It’s fair to say the Fantastic Four haven’t had the best of luck when it comes to their cinematic appearances recently. The 2015 Fantastic Four wasn’t exactly well received by critics – nor by comic book fans either. With the Fantastic Four coming to the MCU at some point in the future, hopefully this is their chance to finally receive the onscreen treatment they deserve. With the likes of Doctor Doom and their ties to Marvel’s cosmic mythology, their inclusion presents some interesting avenues to follow up the Mad Titans beatdown during the climax of End Game.
The Mutants, meanwhile, feature literally hundreds of possible characters, besides the X-Men themselves. The prospect of an Avengers vs. X-Men adaptation looks more plausible, which would be the perfect way to introduce the X-Men without having to reintroduce them to audiences who are already familiar with them from Sony’s past franchises. The inclusion of both the Fantastic Four and Mutants in the MCU is something fans have been waiting to see for a long time, if only to see them receive the adaptation they deserve.
WandaVision: no Scarlet Witch or Vision movie…?
While I’m looking forward to seeing WandaVision and the potential story arcs that may unfold, it seems a crying shame that neither of them will be receiving their own feature films, at least as far as the current Phase 4 plans are concerned. Given how powerful the characters are, it seems a shame to keep them tied to the small screen.
Two characters with heaps of potential, who never quite get the chance to meet it, will be receiving a Disney+ show, set after the events of End Game and will tie in with Multiverse of Madness. But didn’t Vision meet his demise at the hands of the purple, intergalactic tyrant Thanos? Well, given Scarlet Witch will join the good Doctor in his next outing, which promises to be directly linked to her new series, I’m sure we’ll find out how he will be able to come back.
For those less familiar with their comic book counterparts, Scarlet Witch’s reality-changing powers were responsible for the events in House of M, proving her to be amoung the most powerful members of both the X-Men and the Avengers. It was a shame Elizabeth Olsen never got to demonstrate even a fraction of her true strength during her cinematic appearances, which is why it was admittedly empowering to see her lay the smack down on Thanos in End Game, before being rudely interrupted by ballistic missiles…
Vision’s recent Vision Family series was well received and showed a more grounded, developed version of the character, which could offer some interesting material to pull from in the future. Like Wanda, he is also counted as one of the more powerful members of the Avengers, not that we’ve seen a true representation of this. In a way, his comic book treatment is reminiscent of the way Martian Manhunter has been treated over at DC: more or less forgotten about, misrepresented, or written by people who can’t decide how to write him properly resulting in short runs that are few and far between.
