Marvel Phase 4: What’s New and What To Expect

Both Marvel comics and the Marvel cinematic universe are significant aspects of pop culture now and historically. From the famous Captain America comics introduced in the 1940’s, to The Amazing Spiderman comics in the 1960’s, all the way to the first Iron Man trilogy in the early 2000’s and Black Panther in 2018. Now, the Marvel Cinematic universe takes center stage again with the breathtaking new projects of phase 4. For those who are not familiar with how Marvel breaks up their movies, I’ll provide a quick guide:

Marvel separates it’s movies into phases. At the end of each phase, a big Avengers movie is released. So phase 1 includes all of the movies from the first Ironman to the first Avengers. Phase 2 includes all of the movies from Ironman 3 to Avengers age of Ultron. Phase 3 is everything from Captain America: Civil War, to Avengers endgame. Now, we enter phase 4. Starting off with the smash hit, (and my personal favorite): Wandavision. A significant chunk of phase 4 has already been released, including Wandavision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Loki, Black Widow, Shang Chi, and most recently the Eternals and the first two episodes of Hawkeye.

While some did better in box offices and review websites than others, they are still all remarked as incredibly good. Each one helps to set up new characters that serve to expand the horizons of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And even expanding possibilities to new universes! The multiverse is rumored to open in Spiderman: No Way Home, and Dr. Strange Multiverse of madness. But what can we expect from future MCU projects?

New MCU projects:

Series without release date:

Mild spoilers ahead: (they’re all either rumours or confirmed)

Hawkeye (series)

The new Hawkeye series takes place following the events of Endgame. It shows Clint spending time with his family and dealing with Natashas death as well as facing his past alterego of Ronin, the crime fighting mass murderer who became infamous during the blip. It also introduces a new character known as Kate Bishop. Kate will become the new Hawkeye as the MCU progresses, and will be mentored by Clint. This show also introduces Echo, known as Maya Lopez, who is a deaf superhuman that has the ability to mimic anyone’s movements. She is part of the Cheyenne nation and is Latina. It is unclear whether or not she will be a villain or a hero, although, some have speculated that the introduction of the character will also introduce Daredevil, as he was a major part of her backstory. There is an upcoming Marvel show dedicated to Daredevil although he has yet to appear in the MCU. Hawkeye airs a new episode every Wednesday on Disney+. 

Spiderman: No Way Home

Spiderman No Way Home has stirred hundreds of rumours surrounding its cast and plot. It was first rumoured that the multiverse would crack open releasing the sinister six (all of the spiderman villians) this has now been confirmed in the trailers. There is still much mystery that shrouds this film. Many have speculated that both Tobey Miguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spiderman will team up with the MCU’s newest spidey Tom Holland. However, this rumour has been repeatedly denied by Garfield along with others. Conversely, It is confirmed that Dr Strange will play a role in the movie, although we do not know the size of his role. I truly believe that nothing is confirmed until the movie is released, as Marvel does love surprising and shocking it’s audiences, and I suspect this new Spiderman movie will shock and delight viewers.

Thor Love and Thunder

We know very little about Thor: Love and Thunder, and only that it will feature the Guardians of the Galaxy, along with Thor’s past love interest and renowned astrophysicist, Jane Foster. We also know that it will be based off of the Mighty Thor comic, in which Thor Odinson becomes unable to wield Mjolnir and Jane Foster takes his place as the God of thunder. 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Personally, I am most excited for Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This attributes to the fact that it will introduce many new characters, and dive deeper into the stories of some older characters as well. Much like Spiderman No Way Home, this movie is also shrouded in mystery. It is Dr. Strange’s 2nd movie, and will feature Wanda Maximoff who recently discovered her powers as the Scarlet Witch, one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. So far, there are only 6 confirmed cast members: Benedict cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, Benedict Wong as Wong, Chiwetel Ejifor as Karl Mordo, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, and one of the MCU’s newest cast members Xochitl Gomez, who will play America Chavez. Dr. Strange in the multiverse of madness will be Chavez’s debut movie, although she is expected to get her very own show sometime in 2022. It is also rumoured that Wanda will be the villain in this movie, although that is not confirmed, as her villiany was hinted at during wandavision. 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a sequel to the 2018 smash hit Black Panther. We do not have much information on it other than that Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira and Angela Bassett will all return to their respective roles as Shuri, Nakia, M’baku, Okoye, and Queen Mother Ramonda. There was a delay to start production due to actress Latitia Wright’s vaccination status, although production had commenced but had to be shut down again when Wright suffered a severe onset injury consisting of a “critical shoulder fracture, and a concussion with severe side effects.” Other than the production delay, we also know that Marvel has no plans to recast T’’challa or digitally recreate him after the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman in August of 2020.