Here’s what you can expect from phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
SUMMARY
There's every sign that Marvel isn't resting on its laurels after the global domination of "Avengers: Endgame," but that doesn't mean that the fifth Avengers movie is coming any time soon.
In Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige laid out the films and TV series that will make up phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first, "Black Widow," will hit theaters on May 1, 2020 while the last, "Thor 4: Love and Thunder" has a release date of Nov. 5, 2021. An Avengers movie was not among the titles announced.
And that honestly makes a lot of sense. The MCU is all about using films to build stories and flesh out characters. With the destruction of Thanos and the end of the Infinity Saga, Marvel is starting with the closest thing to a blank slate its had in a while, and it looks like the studio is taking its time to build up to an "Endgame" level of sprawling spectacle.
So what do Marvel fans have to look forward to? Plenty, starting with the big names. There's Natalie Portman taking the hammer as Lady Thor, Angelie Jolie joining the MCU in "The Eternals," and a surprise Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali.
There's also "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," which director Scott Derrickson called Marvel's "first horror movie" and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," which will star Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu and Awkwafina.
As for the next Avengers omnibus? Assuming that this is the final phase 4 lineup, it should be part of phase 5, which barring a bizarre hiatus will begin in 2022. It's more likely, however, that it's released in 2023.
Marvel has never released an Avengers movie in the first year of a phase, preferring to, again, let those earlier films build into the big one. If that pattern, which has been quite successful holds, we have a while to wait before another Avengers movie but a ton of movies to watch so that we understand the stakes when it does finally hit theaters.
This article originally appeared on Fatherly. Follow @FatherlyHQ on Twitter.
