The culmination of Marvel Studios’ decade-long effort to unite all of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on the big screen, Avengers: Infinity War saw the titular supergroup battle their most formidable opponent yet, Thanos (Josh Brolin). As such, it’s no wonder the nineteenth MCU entry handily shattered a multitude of box office records, which we conveniently laid out for you earlier this week.
Although the decision may seem rash, if you recall, Rogue One isn’t the only occurrence in which Disney and their directors didn’t see eye to eye. Star Wars: Episode IX lost director Colin Trevorrow, after Lucasfilm and the California-born filmmaker “mutually chose to part ways" last year, and a similar story played out between Phil Lord and Christopher Miller on Solo.
However, for all of the box office glory bestowed upon the nineteenth MCU entry, which we conveniently laid out for you earlier this week, Avengers: Infinity War wasn’t able to best the domestic gross of Black Panther. The Ryan Coogler-directed blockbuster muscled its way to nearly $700 million stateside, and over $1.3 billion globally, not to mention the overwhelming pop culture success. Case in point: “Wakanda Forever!”
What with even the most obscure, microscopic installments of Stephen King’s oeuvre being sold off at an alarming rate, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to decipher which “Master of Horror” adaptation to keep tabs on. That said, there is one production you should shadow above all else, and that's IT: Chapter Two.
Sure enough, Roberts made good on his statement. In the wake of Judge Richard Leon clearing the $85 billion proffer - effectively allowing AT&T to absorb Time Warner - Comcast unveiled its proposal for the rights to intellectual properties owned by 21st Century Fox – including Deadpool, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men.
While Marvel Studios is busy putting a bow on Phase Three, what with Ant-Man and the Wasp now less than a month from release and Brie Larson gearing up for her MCU debut in Captain Marvel, we’re inching closer to, what's arguably, the pièce de résistance, Avengers 4.
It became pretty evident upon the conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War that the twentieth MCU entry, Ant-Man and the Wasp, would have a significant role to play in setting up Avengers 4, we just didn’t think it would be unveiled so soon.
Thankfully, with Patty Jenkins at the helm and Gal Gadot wielding the Sword of Athena, there is no reason to suspect Wonder Woman 1984 will be anything short of spectacular. What is more, last week, the Monster director confirmed that Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) would be returning for the Cold War-set sequel, despite, you know, being blown to smithereens.
Last month, Shazam himself, Zachery Levi, shared the first (unofficial) look at his titular superhero. The very next day, promo art on display at the Las Vegas Licensing Expo revealed a new look at Aquaman from his upcoming solo feature. Funnily enough, both pics were snagged from the same advertisement, as you can clearly make out part of the Aquatic Ace’s arm in the bottom righthand corner in Levi’s portion, but I digress.
With Ant-Man and the Wasp now less than a month removed from release, we’re inching closer and closer to putting a bow on Phase Three. I mean, what with Avengers 4 preparing for "pick-ups" and Brie Larson’s MCU debut, Captain Marvel, roughly halfway through production, at some point in the near future, the Powers That Be will have to fill us in on their plans for Phase Four, right?
