Marvel‘s big Comic-Con panel on Saturday finally revealed the full line-up of Phase 4, which comprises five movies and five TV shows. The exciting revelations never stopped, with the studio confirming Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi, Doctor Strange 2 and Thor: Love and Thunder all to come over the next couple of years.
The panel also dropped the bombshell that Mahershala Ali has signed up to play Blade in a reboot that’s on its way, too. Then, right at the end of their presentation, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige teased that he hadn’t even got time to mention Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Fantastic Four and “the Mutants.”
So, what are we to make of this list of upcoming projects? Well, ComicBook.com has suggested that perhaps these weren’t just a random selection of what Marvel’s working on but a breakdown of the movies that will form Phase 5. Blade‘s definitely part of it, as this was confirmed at the panel. And as for BL2, CM2 and GotG Vol. 3, all the signs are pointing to them being on the horizon, too.
Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men were recently acquired from Fox, with Feige previously warning that they wouldn’t be folded into the franchise for a long while yet. To bring them into the MCU as soon as, say, 2023 would be a bit of a surprise, then. But it could be done, especially as Feige referenced them with these other movies.
The only thing with this hypothesis is the absence of Spider-Man 3. Tom Holland’s wall-crawler has been a major presence in the MCU since 2016, so we shouldn’t think it would be too long before we get another solo film for him. Especially after Far From Home‘s shocking cliffhanger. It would be very surprising if SM3 didn’t arrive in either 2022 or 2023. So, maybe the FF or the X-Men will be held back, and Feige’s mention of them here was just to remind fans they’re coming.
In any case, more on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be revealed at D23 next month, so stay tuned.
