Doctor Strange and The Black Panther are two heroes that have been talked about for some time now. Both heroes were said to be a part of Phase Two, but when the slate was revealed, neither one had a solo film scheduled. Then, Doc Strange was rumored to be played by Viggo Mortensen in ‘Thor: The Dark World’, but those rumors were quickly debunked. As for the ruler of Wakanda, nothing has really been hinted at since his film ended up not being the unannounced film in Phase Two (which was actually ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’), but some actors are throwing their names out there for the role.
Now, in an interview with District, Stan Lee revealed that these movies are indeed in the pipeline for sure. He said:
“Oh they are all being made into movies! I can tell you there will definitely be a Dr. Strange movie! They are working on Ant-Man, which requires really small cameras! Black Panther is being developed, one of my favorites…the Inhumans…All the heroes will eventually be made into movies.”
While it’s good to know that these movies are in development, it doesn’t really give us any concrete proof that we’ll see them in theaters any time soon. Kevin Feige seemingly says the same thing every time he’s in front of a camera, so who knows when we’ll actually see these characters in their own solo films. In my opinion, it’s more likely that we’ll see them cameo or guest star in someone else’s movie or in a Marvel One-Shot short film first and then see them get spun off into a solo feature in Phase Three or Four.
Also, while I’m sure Marvel Studios holds Stan and his opinions in the highest regard, he revealed that he really doesn’t do anything with the movies:
“I have very little control. I don’t see the script. Occasionally I will have lunch with the director or a star, like the guy making ‘Ant-Man’… I don’t remember his name- I don’t remember names, or Robert Downey Jr., for ‘Iron Man’ and we talk about the characters.”
Even though I love and respect Stan Lee with all my being, I’ll take this news with a grain of salt for now. I’m very confident that gears are turning to have these characters appear on the big screen in the future, but time will tell as to how we’ll see them.