While many fans are riding the wave of superhero films and enjoying every minute of it, others are wondering when the bubble will burst and comic book movies will be replaced by something else. Well, according to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, there’s really no end in sight for them as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow with their thirteenth feature film ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and beyond. But what can we expect from Phase Four after the fallout of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ tentatively unfolds in 2020? The executive has a few words about that.
Beginning with ‘Iron Man’ back in 2008, Marvel’s Phase One introduced the world to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Phase Two focused on the state of the MCU following the formation of the Avengers, while also expanding the world with even more heroes on Earth and beyond. Now, as Phase Three kicks off with ‘Civil War’ in about two weeks, Feige discussed the landscape of upcoming films from the House of Ideas with Entertainment Weekly. Specifically, he mentioned how the end of this phase will usher in an extremely different tale down the line:
“I think there will be a finality to moments of Phase Three, as well as new beginnings that will mark a different, a very different, a distinctively different chapter in what will someday be a complete first saga made up of three phases.”
‘Civil War’ and ‘Infinity War’ co-director Joe Russo also expanded on that notion by explaining that things need to change so that their films don’t get repetitive and that aforementioned bubble stays intact (even the universe they’ve created may not):
“Things always get deconstructed, right? You build things up and people enjoy the experiences you’ve built up. But then you kind of reach an apex or you reach a climax, a moment where you go, ‘This structure is really going to start to be repetitious if we do this again, so what do we do now?’ So now, you deconstruct it. We’re in the deconstruction phase with ‘Civil War’ and leading into ‘Infinity War’, which are the culmination films.”
If we were to speak in terms of Marvel Comics here, it sure sounds like Russo is talking about an ‘Avengers Disassembled’ scenario where the original team gets disbanded and new ones arise from the struggle. Feige also mentions that it’s intentional that the movies following ‘Civil War’ feature heroes that weren’t prominently featured in that film. Could Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Captain Marvel (or even Netflix’s Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist) be the ones to emerge from the rubble to form the New Avengers? Time will tell us for sure since the studio already has May 1, July 10, and November 6 reserved for Phase Four films in 2020, but it will definitely be fun to speculate until then.
What new and exciting things do you think Marvel Studios has in store for Phase Four? To what degree do you think the Russos will deconstruct the MCU in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’? And which heroes are you hoping make it out on the other side? Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below.
Despite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences and puns far too much. Also, he has two words for Marvel Studios and Marvel Television when it comes to Phase Four: Squirrel Girl. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.