Though it’s remained under lock and key ever since it was tentatively announced as Infinity War – Part II all those years ago, for Marvel Studios, Avengers 4 signals the end of one era and the beginning of the next.
And that’s not just some off-the-cuff guess. All one needs to do is look at the MCU slate to see that Joe and Anthony Russo’s conclusive blockbuster exists on the precipice between Phase 3 and the super-secret Phase 4, which is due to kick off with the release of Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel next summer. Or should we call it Spider-Man: Far From Home?
Couple this with the devastating finale of Infinity War and it’s fair to say that the Russo Brothers definitely have their work cut out if they’re to lay the seeds for the next era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But when can we, the fans, expect to learn about what the studio’s got planned for the fourth Phase of their beloved franchise? Well, according to Kevin Feige, they’ll begin to spill the beans after Avengers 4.
Speaking with ComicBook.com today while promoting Ant-Man and the Wasp, the super producer said that after next May’s sequel arrives, Marvel will be “less cagey” with their plans for Phase 4.
“Marketing’s coming up with all sorts of things,” Feige revealed. “How to debut [those plans], how to debut Captain Marvel, lots of opportunities for fun, exciting stuff coming up. And after Avengers 4, being less cagey about it.”
For now, though, the focus is very much on Phase 3, with the studio simply taking things one movie at a time, as the producer explained.
“It’s one film at a time. Between Captain Marvel finishing in two weeks, Spider-Man starting in two weeks, Avengers 4 post getting underway right now, releasing this movie… That’s keeping us busy over the next year.”
Finally, Feige stated that their plan right now is to just make great films – which sounds fine to us.
“The plan going forward is gonna be about making great films, as good a film as we can, one after another. How they connect, how they build up, it all goes back to the comics. Comics has done a good job. Infinity War was just one mega event in the comics in the history of mega events. So, who knows.”
Kevin puts forth some good points here. Between Captain Marvel, Far From Home and Avengers 4, the studio certainly has their hands more than full right now and though they’re no doubt planning ahead, it makes sense to keep the focus on closing out Phase 3 first before jumping ahead any further.
Besides, we already have more than enough to look forward to and with tons coming down the pipeline to keep us occupied, it’s not like fans are exactly starved for Marvel content at the moment, right?