Marvel‘s Phase 4 is, without question, a riddle wrapped in an enigma nestled in some far-flung corner of the MCU.
Beyond the launch of Avengers 4 and Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, Marvel’s slate is a total mystery, though it’s understood the latter sequel will help launch Phase 4 in two years’ time. But it seems those comic book fans on the lookout for answers needn’t bother, as Kevin Feige has once again reiterated the studio’s plan to keep things under lock and key until the release of Avengers 4 in 2019, lest they spoil any major story arcs ahead of time.
Uproxx recently sat down with the Marvel boss to talk Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther and the future of the MCU. This isn’t the first time that Feige has addressed the fabled Phase 4, nor is it likely to be the last, but the studio exec did note that Joe and Anthony Russo’s fourth Avengers movie will deliver a satisfying conclusion.
Well, all I’ll say is the films we are working on now – which take us through to the Avengers Untitled in May of 19 – that’s really all we are focusing on. And we are focusing on bringing, by that point, an unprecedented, 22-movie, continuous shared fictional narrative to a conclusion in a satisfying way.
As for what’s next, Kevin Feige was understandably coy, but did go on to tease that things will come to a head in a “satisfying and unexpected way.”
And where we go beyond that? Of course we will go places beyond that. And, of course, we have ideas of where we go beyond that. But, really, it is all good stories. And as the series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation said, ‘All good things must come to an end.’ And part of what makes them special, there is a finite quality to the best of fictional stories through history. And we wanted to do that at the end of our first three phases and 22 movies. How we start anew and wherever we go beyond that is a story for another time. This is really about 10 years on, bringing something to a head in a satisfying and unexpected way.
Last but not least, here’s what Marvel’s head honcho said on the topic of Phase 4, which may well retire some of the more iconic Phase One Avengers, such as Iron Man and Cap.
I think it is. I also think that was a particular event to really announce and showcase Phase Three and I guess set up the expectation of doing something like that every few years. But the notion we are sitting here talking and we have, what, six films yet to be released? That’s more than almost any other single production entity in town has on the docket. That should be enough.
Thor: Ragnarok is the latest addition to the MCU (November 3rd), and it’ll be the first of four “very unique and very different” films from Marvel Studios, including Black Panther, Infinity War, and Ant-Man and the Wasp.