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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
For a while now, the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe had not been revealed. The reason behind this is because the people up at Marvel wanted to remain quiet about the future of the franchise until sometime after the end of the Infinity Saga aka the first three Phases. Now that Spider-Man: Far From Home is out in theaters, Marvel Studios president/producer Kevin Feige and others from the Marvel company went to San Diego Comic-Con to make several mind-blowing announcements regarding their near-future slate of films. We went to SDCC to get all the exclusive news. Here’s an overview of what went down:
- Black Widow (dir. Cate Shortland) – May 1, 2020
Just announced in Hall H at #SDCC, Marvel Studios’ BLACK WIDOW with Scarlett Johansson, David Harbour, Florence Pugh, O-T Fagbenle, and Rachel Weisz. Directed by Cate Shortland. In theaters May 1, 2020. pic.twitter.com/7WGECDIw3t
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 21, 2019
The film will take place right after the events of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and will reportedly include a cast of the following: David Harbour as Alexi Shostakov/ Red Guardian; Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova; O-T Fagbenle; Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff/ Iron Maiden; and Ray Winstone.
Taskmaster is confirmed to be the villain of the movie.
Taskmaster has been confirmed as the villain for ‘BLACK WIDOW’ #MarvelSDCC #SDCC2019 #SDCC pic.twitter.com/WKblgAsDtQ
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 21, 2019
- Eternals (dir. Chloe Zhao) – November 6, 2020
The cast of Marvel's ETERNALS, releasing November 2020.
Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani. Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Don Lee and Angelina Jolie pic.twitter.com/QIXa5Ck4oZ
— The Cinema Spot (@TheCinemaSpot) July 21, 2019
The film will feature Angelina Jolie in a lead role as Thena. Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) will play Ikaris and Lauren Ridloff will be the MCU’s first deaf hero, Makkari.
Richard Madden is confirmed to play IKARIS in ETERNALS! pic.twitter.com/YkuBz5Uyfx
— The Cinema Spot (@TheCinemaSpot) July 21, 2019
The cast will also include Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Silicon Valley) as Kingo, Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta, Child’s Play, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) as Phastos, Salma Hayek (From Dusk Till Dawn) as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, and Ma Dong-seok (Train to Busan) as Gilgamesh.
https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/1152742417168076801
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (dir. Destin Daniel Cretton) – February 12, 2021
Just announced in Hall H at #SDCC, Marvel Studios’ SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS, with Simu Liu, Awkwafina and Tony Leung, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. In theaters February 12, 2021. pic.twitter.com/VXaqJ5uN6B
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) July 21, 2019
The MCU’s first Asian-led film will include Simu Liu in the titular role with Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians) in an undisclosed role and Tony Leung Chiu-wai as the real Mandarin, not to be confused with the fake villain with the same name from Iron Man 3.
https://twitter.com/UberKryptonian/status/1152745174029742082
BREAKING: Actor Tony Leung has been officially cast as the (real) Mandarin in @MarvelStudios SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS! #SDCC https://t.co/enShKd9T6q pic.twitter.com/BMJTq7O9qT
— MCU – The Direct (@MCU_Direct) July 21, 2019
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (dir. Scott Derrickson) – May 7, 2021
Scott Derrickson has teased that ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ will be the first scary MCU film. #MarvelSDCC #SDCC #SDCC2019 pic.twitter.com/Uk0reXOZuc
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 21, 2019
Reportedly the MCU’s first scary film (as per Scott Derrickson, this sequel to the 2016 film will tie in with the Disney+ series WandaVision as it will feature Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/ Scarlet Witch.
Scarlet Witch will appear in ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ with ‘WANDAVISION’ set to tie in directly with the Doctor Strange sequel. #MarvelSDCC #SDCC #SDCC2019 pic.twitter.com/C8hYn6JvHY
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 21, 2019
Although the character Quentin Beck/ Mysterio lied to Peter Parker about the multiverse in this summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, it still exists. This has been teased in the first Doctor Strange film.
“Just becaust Quentin Beck lied about the multiverse doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.” – Feige
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS releases May 2021! pic.twitter.com/xznkCiiclV
— The Cinema Spot (@TheCinemaSpot) July 21, 2019
Nightmare is confirmed to be a villain in the film.
Nightmare will be the villain in 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' #SDCC pic.twitter.com/KWUWmtnqyp
— Fandom (@getFANDOM) July 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/UberKryptonian/status/1152777653306429440
- Thor: Love and Thunder (dir. Taika Waititi) – November 5, 2021
Just announced at #SDCC, @MarvelStudios’ #ThorLoveAndThunder with Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and Natalie Portman. Taika Waititi returns as director. In theaters November 5, 2021. #MarvelSDCC pic.twitter.com/CDTa0NT3JF
— Disney (@Disney) July 21, 2019
Natalie Portman will reprise her role as Jane Foster, becoming the female Thor this time around.
‘THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER’ will be based on ‘The Mighty Thor’ by Jason Aaron with Natalie Portman set to reprise her role as Jane Foster and become FEMALE THOR! #MarvelSDCC #SDCC #SDCC2019 pic.twitter.com/f4PCWkc8A6
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 21, 2019
Thor is a mantle… https://t.co/rGebazUT5e
— Plathanos 🐝🇩🇴 #HIVESZN (@SavinTheBees) July 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/marvelslarson/status/1152840919038734336
In addition, Tessa Thompson will return as Valkyrie, the new King of Asgard. At SDCC, the actress said the character’s bisexuality will be explored in the film.
Tessa Thompson says Valkyrie needs to find her QUEEN! #SDCC pic.twitter.com/o2y4hJUf4A
— The Cinema Spot (@TheCinemaSpot) July 21, 2019
Happy fans are in for a treat. This SDCC 2019 panel for Marvel revealed the birth of new stories moving forward, and this will surely be a day to remember.
While the five aforementioned films have been confirmed, Feige said that plans for other future projects are in the works but cannot be announced just yet because they apparently didn’t have enough time to talk about them. Here are films that are confirmed to be in development:
There’s just one more thing… #SDCC pic.twitter.com/0Q3F4AZJLg
— Dustin Sandoval (@DustinMSandoval) July 21, 2019
- Black Panther sequel
- Guardians of the Galaxy 3
- Captain Marvel 2
- The Fantastic Four
- “Mutants”
Sorry to disappoint. Guardians Vol. 3 IS happening, but I am finishing The Suicide Squad first. ❤️ https://t.co/gFodDqiDvl
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 21, 2019
Kevin Feige finally saying "Fantastic Four" gives me CHILLS! pic.twitter.com/jW1bKgIi80
— the man formerly known as prestoncmoore (@epcotballer) July 21, 2019
Feige confirmed that Marvel has plans to include the Fantastic Four and X-Men-related characters in the near future, however…
The hugest news that Feige ended with was that Eric Brooks/ Blade the half-vampire vampire hunter will be a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and that Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage, Moonlight, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Alita: Battle Angel, True Detective) would play him.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0KSnsClEys/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Right after Mahershala Ali won the Oscar for ‘Green Book,’ he called Marvel Studios to meet with Kevin Feige. In the meeting he came right out and said he wanted to do Blade
(via @THR) pic.twitter.com/cK8Blkbtyn
— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) July 21, 2019
WHAT DID I SAY https://t.co/jJLat965p6
— britt hayes (@MissBrittHayes) July 21, 2019
If vampires exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then perhaps that would mean that zombies may exist, but only time will tell.
https://twitter.com/Quilesillo/status/1152757938169233409
2014 / 2019 🤴🏽 @Kevfeige pic.twitter.com/94HaBTUb1n
— Marvel Perfect Shots✨ (@marvel_shots) July 21, 2019
Marvel's Phase 4 CONFIRMED lineup:
– BLACK WIDOW
– ETERNALS
– SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS
– DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS
– THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER
– BLACK PANTHER 2
– CAPTAIN MARVEL 2
– GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 3
– BLADE
– FANTASTIC FOUR
– X-MEN pic.twitter.com/QlPVROpftA— The Cinema Spot (@TheCinemaSpot) July 21, 2019
What are your thoughts? Are you excited? Let us know! As for now, Spider-Man: Far From Home is in theaters today. For more Marvel Cinematic Universe-related news and reviews, follow The Cinema Spot on Twitter (@TheCinemaSpot) and Instagram (@thecinemaspot_).
Sources: Marvel (Instagram and Twitter), Disney, DiscussingFilm, and The Cinema Spot
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
