Marvel Studios held a 90-minute panel at Comic-Con on Saturday night and they certainly didn't shy away from dropping some massive reveals about what comes next for the MCU. Now, the entire Phase 4 slate has been revealed, and it will play out on both the big screen and the Disney+ platform.
We covered most of that this weekend, but there was a lot we didn't get to and you'll find that here along with some of the other bombshells dropped by the studio on Saturday.
From casting announcements to the creative directions of upcoming movies and TV shows, Marvel Studios has something very different in mind for this next wave of movies and it's going to be very exciting seeing how things come together over the next two years. Here, though, you'll get an idea of where things are heading, and there are some genuine shockers.
So, to check out this article in its entirety, simply click on the "View List" button down below!
The Eternals Are...Aliens?!
In the comics, the Eternals were created when the Celestials visited Earth over five million years ago and performed genetic experiments on early humans. As well as these immortal beings, the Celestials also created the monstrous Deviants. However, it sounds like the characters could undergo some major changes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
"The Eternals are arranged of immortal aliens," Richard Madden told the Hall H crowd.
"[They're] sent here by the Celestials to protect mankind from the Deviants." In other words, it sounds like the MCU version of the Eternals will be created to counter the Deviants, and could hail from outer space rather than right here on Earth. That's a pretty major change.
"It’s about this group of incredible immortals but through their journey we really get to explore what it means to be human and humanity on our time on this planet," director Chloe Zhao added.
Baron Zemo Is Back...And He's Bringing His Mask!
We heard a while ago that Daniel Bruhl was in talks to return to the MCU as Zemo in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but that was confirmed at Comic-Con in a pre-taped message from the villain.
After acknowledging that brainwashing Bucky will no longer work, Zemo made it clear that he wasn't out to inflict violence on the panel and instead has something else in mind.
"Gentleman, I'll be seeing you very soon," he says before donning his purple mask from the comic books.
With Sam Wilson expected to suit up as Captain America, this one is going to be very interesting...
Loki Is Back...In 2012
The God of Mischief may have died at the hands of Thanos in
Avengers: Infinity War, but he's not done yet. Kevin Feige confirmed that the version of Loki we follow in his Disney+ series will be the one who escaped from custody back in 2012 when Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Captain America travelled back in time.
"The question I get asked more than any other question in Endgame was, where did Loki go, and what happened to Loki?" Feige said. "This series will answer where he went."
Tom Hiddleston then explained that this version of the character hasn't undergone the redemption arc the previous version did in Thor: The Dark World. "He's still that guy. Just about the last thing that happened to him is he got Hulk-smashed...There's a lot of psychological evolution yet to happen...I can't tell you any of [the plans] but it is one of the most exciting creative opportunities I've ever come across. A new world. New challenges. And I cannot wait to get started."
WandaVision Leads Into Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
WandaVision will feature an adult Monica Rambeau, and Elizabeth Olsen promises that
"we’re going to finally understand Wanda Maximoff as the Scarlet Witch." Paul Bettany, meanwhile, was saying nothing about how The Vision rises from the dead.
"Last thing I knew, I died in Infinity War, so I literally have never been this confused in front of this many people in my whole life."
Proving that these Disney+ TV shows will be unmissable, Olsen will be back as Wanda in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the events of the series will be pivotal to this sequel.
"He’ll be facing unexpected things," Cumberbatch said of his character in the movie. "I think he’ll be in a position rather like the audience of not knowing what’s coming at him. There was a lot of authority I thought in the Avengers iterations [of Strange], so we’re going back to kind of destroy him, I think." Oh, and while it's set to be a horror film, it will retain its PG-13 rating.
Blade Is BACK!
The panel ended with those in attendance being given
Black Widow caps, but it was then that Kevin Feige brought out Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali. The actor had a cap of his own...emblazoned with a new
Blade logo! The vampire hunter is returning to the big screen and while the movie doesn't have a release date, the Marvel Studios boss later confirmed that it will be part of Phase 5!
Valkyrie Is The MCU's First Openly Gay Superhero
Kevin Feige has promised that we'll see more diversity in the MCU moving forward, and that was confirmed when Tessa Thompson revealed that a big part of
Thor: Love and Thunder will be Valkyrie's quest to
"find her new Queen." That is, of course, a reference to the fact that she's currently ruling over New Asgard and Thompson has alluded to the hero being gay for quite some time now.
Some fans will inevitably hate this, but it follows the comic books and there's already speculation that the "new queen" could be Jane Foster. That seems unlikely, but we'll soon find out!
The Real Mandarin Is Finally Coming
It's no secret that a new
Shang-Chi movie is on the way, but it being called
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was definitely a shocker and confirms rumours that The Mandarin is coming to the MCU. Moments later, Tony Leung was brought out on stage and announced as the villain, and while fans will be disappointed about not seeing him battle Iron Man, this promises to be a lot of fun.
After all, there are bound to be references to movies like
Iron Man and
Iron Man 3, and seeing Shang-Chi in action against this villain (and his sinister organisation) should be downright epic.
Some Phase 5 Hints
Marvel Studios only revealed its Phase 4 slate at Comic-Con, but Kevin Feige still dropped some huge reveals at the end of the night about what comes next. We've mentioned
Blade, but he also named
Captain Marvel 2,
Black Panther 2, and
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as being in development.
Here's where things got really exciting, however; Feige confirmed that a new version of
Fantastic Four is on the way and teased fans by pointing out that they didn't even have time to talk "mutants."
That's not 100% confirmation, but it definitely sounds like we can expect to see both Marvel's First Family and the X-Men arrive during Phase 5 which should make that the biggest Phase yet.
Kate Bishop Will Star In A Hawkeye TV Series
There have been rumblings about a
Hawkeye series on Disney+ for a while now and that was confirmed on Saturday with a promo revealing that the show will revolve around both Clint Barton and Kate Bishop. The series is set to deal with the aftermath of
Avengers: Endgame and Barton's time as Ronin, and the title treatment was clearly inspired by Matt Fraction and David Aja's comic run.
According to Jeremy Renner, we'll also see the archer
"shepherd an amazing character to hopefully be a better version of [Hawkeye]." This definitely feels like it will be the actor's final appearance as Hawkeye, and while there was no mention of who will be playing Kate, we'll probably hear about that early next year as a premiere date of Fall 2021 has been set which is quite a wait.
The MCU's New Thor
Last week, we learned that Taika Waititi is returning to direct a fourth
Thor movie. Little did we know what he had planned, though. During his appearance at the panel, the filmmaker talked about how he would read Jason Aaron's
The Mighty Thor comic book series while shooting
Thor: Ragnarok and told fans that there's only one woman he could see playing the female God of Thunder.
That is Natalie Portman, and despite not being seen in the MCU since 2013's
Thor: The Dark World, she's coming back for
Thor: Love and Thunder to reprise the role of Jane Foster and become Thor.
The actress was presented with Thor's hammer by Waititi and held it high above her head. Big changes are coming to the MCU, and while Chris Hemsworth will be making an appearance, it definitely feels like this could be a passing of the torch for the Thor mantle in this shared world.
Hit the "View List" button for a reminder of Marvel's Phase 4 slate!
The Disney+ TV shows are also included on the Phase 4 slate and Falcon & The Winter Soldier is up next for Fall 2020. Footage shown revealed that Baron Zemo will don his comic book mask and it looks like he's out for revenge against these two. Sadly, the new Captain America suit wasn't revealed but Anthony Mackie did come out on stage with the shield.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was next to be confirmed and we now know who will be playing both Shang-Chi and The Mandarin. We'll have more on that on the site for you soon.
As expected, WandaVision is coming to Disney+ but here's a surprise: Teyonah Parris is playing an adult version of Monica Rambeau from Captain Marvel. It remains to be seen whether she'll adopt her superhero persona from the comic books but it certainly sounds like that will be the case.
Also coming to Disney+ is Loki and the series will follow the version of the character from 2012 who managed to escape with the Tesseract when The Avengers travelled back in time in Endgame!
Exciting news for Doctor Strange fans as the Sorcerer Supreme will return to the big screen in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness where he will go to war with Nightmare in the MCU's first horror movie! And yes, Elizabeth Olsen will appear as the Scarlet Witch as WandaVision leads directly into the 2021 release...
A huge number of MCU actors will reprise their roles in this animated series and The Watcher has finally been cast! We'll have to wait and see whether he makes the leap from What If? to a live-action setting, though. Check back here later for a full list of actors set to lend their voices to the show.
It had been rumoured but Hawkeye is indeed coming to Disney+ and he'll be joined by Kate Bishop. If that logo is anything to go by, it will be based on Matt Fraction's critically acclaimed comic book run.
Thor: Love and Thunder will feature an openly gay Valkyrie and the big screen debut of a female Thor...played by Natalie Portman! The cast hasn't seen the script yet but Portman came out on stage holding Mjolnir so it's pretty obvious where things are going. Don't fret, though, as Chris Hemsworth will still factor into proceedings!
As expected, Black Widow has also been confirmed. It will be set after the events of Captain America: Civil War and Taskmaster is going to be the villain. Yelena Belova is also going to appear.
How do you guys feel about these announcements? Are you psyched for Phase 4 or are some of the movies you were excited about missing? Let us know in the comments section below.