If anything, two of the things Marvel Studios have long excelled at have been plotting out their film slate far in advance and introducing a wide array of characters to moviegoers, effectively making their pantheon of superheroes household names – even those who were previously B-listers. Granted, everyone knows the names of Captain America and the Hulk, but the average man on the street probably would’ve thought you were referring to a certain Black Sabbath song if you said the words “Iron Man” before 2008.
Since then, the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange have proven to be surprise hits, with Black Panther starting to build a considerable amount of hype now as well ahead of its release next year. While we wait for the film’s first teaser trailer heralding T’Challa’s solo debut on the silver screen to arrive, we now have a few nuggets from executive producer Nate Moore to pass along.
While speaking with Complex, he had this to say when asked about the possibility of seeing more diverse Marvel properties on film in the future:
“Yes. So we’re finishing up what we call Phase 3, which will sort of end with the fourth Avengers film in 2019. And then I think for us, we continue that conversation of, what’s next? Who will be the new heroes who can tell great new stories and bring us to new worlds that we haven’t even had a chance to visit yet, while still expanding on the slate of heroes we have and finding the next step for characters people have come to love? We’re looking for the next best story. And then we let the story tell us what we should be making as part of that one united narrative in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
Seeing as how the studio hasn’t formally announced anything beyond 2019, we fully expect some confirmation regarding what 2020 has in store for us before this calendar year expires, but which characters will be the focus remain a mystery. Could we see Namor The Sub-Mariner? Or someone as obscure as Squirrel Girl? Or maybe more spacefaring heroes knowing that Marvel may be willing to go a little more cosmic in the advent of GotG?
What Moore had to say next may offer more hints:
“It’s all driven by storytelling and that tends to mean you get to intersect characters in a fun way. Black Widow’s an interesting example. She was introduced in Iron Man 2, then she was in The Avengers, and the next time you see her is Captain America: Winter Soldier, so it’s almost impartial and more ends up being, where is her story best served? Having that kind of flexibility with the characters is fun because then it’s not about having to bring everyone back because contractually it needs to happen. Instead it’s saying, wouldn’t it be cool if this story collided with that story and gave us this whole new angle?”
While I’m not holding my breath for a Black Widow movie, I’m sticking to my guns in saying that either Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson will succeed Steve Rogers as Captain America within the next few years. Both have done so in the comics and, with Chris Evans’ contract almost up, a passing of the torch will feel organic as the groundwork has already been laid.
Black Panther arrives in theaters on February 16, 2018.
