Marvel Launches Phase IV With a Grab Bag of Surprising Announcements

After Disney threw a hail mary pass to break Avatar's box office record by re-releasing Avengers: Endgame in theaters a whole two months after it premiered, Marvel Studio's mastermind Kevin Feige returned to Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con a hero. He delivered Disney the $2.79 billion needed to make Endgame the highest-grossing film ever, and now, he gets to unload a spate of new movies to fill the Disney vault with more cash for Scrooge McDuck to swim around in.

But what does Marvel's Phase 4 look like without Thanos? Let's dive in.

Black Widow -- May 2020

It starts in May 2020 with the long-awaited Black Widow movie. Scarlett Johansen returns in what we're assuming is a prequel, but who knows. What we do know is that Rachel Weisz, David Harbour and Ray Winstone will be co-starring, which is about as good as any reason to go see it. Now, we just have to hope ScarJo doesn't give any interviews for the next year.

me locking scarlett in her room before she says any more dumb shit before black widow comes out pic.twitter.com/4UDuYHRQ9H

— reesh (@tonyendgame) July 22, 2019

The Eternals -- November 2020

Later that year, Marvel takes a Guardians of the Galaxy-sized risk with The Eternals. While general audiences probably aren't as familiar with them, The Eternals are a band of immortal cosmic beings--obviously--that protect Earth from their evil counterparts, The Deviants. Details on the film are sparse, but Marvel is packing the screen with star power. The cast includes Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Selma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani and Brian Tyree Henry. Eternals hits theaters November 2020.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings -- February 2021

Marvel wasn't done elevating C-list characters for Phase 4, announcing an adaptation of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which comes out February 2021. While the film is in deep development, they did announce, to the chagrin of Iron Man 3 detractors, that the real Mandarin would be in the film. Sorry, Sir Ben Kingsley.

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

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness -- May 2021

But what about the sequels? Where are the sequels? Relax. Director Scott Derickson appeared on stage, as well, to announced Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which should please Lovecraft fans and anyone that really wants the MCU to get even more confusing. The director also promised that the film would be "the first scary MCU film." Spooooky. You can enter the multiverse at your own risk on May 7th, 2021.

Thor: Love and Thunder -- November 2021

Marvel announced followups to Thor and Dr. Strange, both to a whirlwind of fanfare, particularly Thor. Director Taika Waiti, returning after Thor: Raganarok, will helm Thor: Love and Thunder, premiering in November 2021. In addition to Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman would be returning to the Thor franchise as Thor. Yup, you read that correctly. Natalie Portman is playing Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder. In Taika we trust.

The Rest

Feige wasn't done just yet. Like a mother bringing a warm glass of milk to a restless child, Feige calmed the crowd with a quick reminder that "Black Panther 2 is coming. Guardians 3 is coming. Captain Marvel 2 is coming. The Fantastic Four is coming." He then sent them into pandamonium again with the announcement that Mahershala Ali had been cast as the day-walking vampire hunter Blade in an upcoming reboot.

Disney+ Series

Marvel also announced a slew of original series for the Disney+ streaming, which many of us will never see and hopefully won't play too deeply into the films' continuity. These shows included The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which finally sees Anthony Mackie as the new Captain America, except he'll be called "The Falcon"; WandaVision, pairing Elizabeth Olson and Paul Betanny up as Scarlett Witch and Vision in a series that absolutely no one asked for; What If, an anthology series of different interpretations of Marvel characters and features Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher; Hawkeye, which sees Jeremy Renner reprising the role of Hawkeye in a show presumably about Hawkeye; and Loki, the only one anybody actually wants or cares about.

So there you have it, true believers. Your mission is clear: Make Disney more money and see these movies or Kevin Feige will be imprisoned in the Disney Vault along with The Black Cauldron and Return of Jafar.