At last Avengers: Infinity War is upon us, bringing 10 years of world-building to a suitably orgasmic crescendo. While many series might sit on their laurels, Marvel Studios already has plans for another crop of films set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
So what’s next? Here we take a look at the films that are already on the slate for Phase 3, what we know lies beyond so far, and the potential films that will pad out the rest of Phase 4.
READ MORE: Reviewing the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe
While much of this article is based on educated guesses, compiling information from a variety of confirmed reports around the web, there will nevertheless be some assumed ***SPOILERS*** if you’ve not seen Avengers: Infinity War yet. So proceed at your own risk.
Finishing Phase 3 (2018 – 2019)
Before we get into the next wave of films, we’re going to have to deal with the giant purple elephant in the room: the end of Avengers: Infinity War. So rather that just throw the spoilers at you, we’ve cleverly hidden them in this toggle box. Isn’t the future great?
There is, as expected, a lot of death in Avengers: Infinity War. Before the opening credits drop, Loki, Heimdall and most of the Asgardians lie dead at the feet of Thanos and his minions.
Yet the carnage doesn’t stop there. Thanos obtains the Stone in The Collector’s possession, killing the character in the process. In the middle of the film, Thanos can only gain the Soul Gem by sacrificing something or someone he loves. Cue the death of Gamora after falling from a great height. We don’t actually believe this is the last we’ll see of her, but it’s a potentially permanent death as well.
In the climax to the film, Thanos succeeds in getting his hands on all six of the Infinity Stones, killing Vision in the process. Then with the snap of his fingers, he undoes reality and rids existence of half of its population. Heroes and citizens disappear in a cloud of dust, including Bucky Barnes, Drax, Groot, Mantis, Maximoff, Parker, Quill, Strange, T’Challa, and Wilson. In a post-credits sequence, Nick Fury and Maria Hill are also dusted in a scene straight out of The Leftovers. At the last minute, Fury manages to send a signal to Captain Marvel.
READ MORE: Review – Avengers: Infinity War
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (5 July 2018) – The first confirmed follow-up to Avengers: Infinity War is actually a prequel of sorts. Set shortly after the events of Captain America: Civil War, it will probably go a long way towards explaining where Scott Lang was during the epic event. (In fact, sharp-eared fans will notice a throwaway reference to “Clint”and “Scott” in Infinity War). In the film, as Scott struggles to rebalance his home life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside the Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past.
CAPTAIN MARVEL (8 May 2019) – Just because it’s set in the 1990s, don’t think that it won’t impact on the Avengers Untitled film below. We know it’s going to involve Skrulls, and see the return of Clark Gregg (Coulson), Djimon Hounsou (Korath), and Lee Pace (Ronan) to the MCU. It’s also hard to believe that it took Marvel 21 films to have a female-led superhero film. Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, it will be the first time we see Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, but not the first time we see evidence of her. Handy hint: stay until the very end credits of Avengers: Infinity War.
AVENGERS UNTITLED (3 May 2019) – This doesn’t even have a name yet, but this looks set to be the culmination of everything. Set photos have indicated that there is potentially some kind of time travel element. Joe Russo said we won’t know the title of the fourth Avengers film until sometime after Avengers: Infinity War. “We need people to see this movie, digest this movie, and then we can tell them what the next story is they’re going to see.” We suspect the title is a spoiler. Following the events of Infinity War, holy hell does this film have some rebuilding to do (See the spoiler section above). Speculation has been around Secret War, Secret Invasion, or even the time-travel story that Age of Ultron (the comic book) was based on.
Post-Phase 3: Known Unknowns
(2019 – 2020)
SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING SEQUEL (5 July 2019) – This is the only film we actually have completely confirmed beyond the Untitled Avengers film, thanks to Sony doing the distribution, and it is said to pick up minutes after that event. Speaking with Gizmodo, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige said the film will start shooting in London in July with a globe-trotting Peter Parker: “Spidey, of course, will spend some time in New York, but he’ll spend some time in other parts of the globe.” Feige adds that “the two Avengers films that precede [the sequel] will greatly inform, probably even more so, the next movie.”
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 (TBA/31 July 2020) – While the date is yet to be confirmed, we know this one has already been greenlit. In many ways, Avengers: Infinity War acts as a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.5. Still, the third Guardians film is likely to have a very different line-up of characters and, judging from at least one of the post-credits sequences in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the introduction of Adam Warlock as a major villain and/or eventual ally. It could follow the path of the comic books and introduce a team of cosmic heavy-hitters in the aftermath of a disastrous line-up change, or incorporate the likes of Tony Stark or Captain Marvel into the team as they have done more recently in print.
Phase 4: “It’s gonna be very, very different.”
(2020 – 2022)
Marvel isn’t ready to confirm what lies beyond just yet. Speaking to Den of Geek, Feige has stated that they won’t be appearing in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con this year, taking a much-needed publicity break after Avengers: Infinity War. Saying that they’ll wait until after Avengers: Untitled in 2019 to make the next wave of announcements, he compared the break to the massive slate Marvel Studios announced back in 2014. However, Disney have already indicated that they are holding places for 7 Marvel films between 2020 and 2023. Those 7 unnamed dates are as follows:
- 31 July 2020 – Untitled Marvel
- 7 May 2021 – Untitled Marvel
- 30 July 2021 – Untitled Marvel
- 5 November 2021 – Untitled Marvel
- 18 February 2022 – Untitled Marvel
- 6 May 2022 – Untitled Marvel
- 29 July 2022 – Untitled Marvel
At least one of those (potentially 31 July 2020) can be assumed to be GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3. It is, after all the first date for 2020, and the year James Gunn indicated the sequel would probably drop. We fully expect this to be more solo adventures or the introduction of new IPs. There’s some presumed sequels, but what could the others be? Thankfully, Feige has given us a few indications on the massive press junket on the road to Avengers: Infinity War. Here’s some more guesswork:
BLACK PANTHER 2 (18 February 2022?) – The biggest original character debut in the MCU to date, with a global total of $1.3 billion and counting, you better believe that this film will be getting a sequel. Feige told Collider: “We definitely want Ryan to come back and that’s actively being worked out right now. When will it be? A lot of it will be when Ryan wants to and not rushing anything, but I think we have an idea of when it will be.”
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING “3” – This is another no-brainer, and would round out the planned films that we know about in the agreement between Sony and Marvel. If the plan sketched out above holds, it will see Peter dealing with the aftermath of another event while going back to school for his senior year. Calling it now: Spider-Man: Graduation.
ETERNALS – “One of many many many things that we are actively beginning to have creative discussions about to see if we believe in them enough to put them on a slate,” Kevin Feige has recently said in an interview, carefully choosing his words. In the comics, the groups are an advanced offshoot of humanity as part of a process begun by the Celestials. If you recall, the Celestials were mentioned in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Created by Jack Kirby as a Marvel analogue for the mythological/sci-fi work he was doing with New Gods, writer Neil Gaiman later wrote a run on the series with artist John Romita Jr. This has serious potential if they can avoid associations with the disastrous Inhumans.
BLACK WIDOW – There’s been so much talk about this film, it already feels like it’s a done deal. In fact, there was a positive chatter by Feige back in 2012. Why have they not announced anything yet? Well, the Avengers/Infinity saga is far from over, and the announcement of any film would be the biggest spoiler of them all. Red Sparrow showed us the possibilities of a Soviet spy saga with an ex-ballet dancer. Black Widow could show us how to do it right. However, in 2016 Feige commented “I would say certainly the one creatively and emotionally that we are most committing to doing is Black Widow…We think she’s an amazing character. We think Scarlett Johansson’s portrayal of her is amazing.” THR has also recently reported that Marvel is looking for female directors to helm the film, with Deniz Gamze Erguven (Mustang), Chloe Zhao (The Rider), Amma Asante (A United Kingdom), Maggie Betts (Novitiate) and Angela Robinson (Professor Marston and the Wonder Women) names bandied about.
NOVA – “Immediate potential,” is the phrase Feige used in conversation with Comic Book. Keeping things cosmic, the characters have already been introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy, with the events of Avengers: Infinity War offering a few hints as to their fate. The Nova Corps of the comics are a bit more like DC’s Green Lantern, with Richard Rider being a swashbuckling Hal Jordan figure prime for the screen. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s version of the character was closely tied to the modern Guardians of the Galaxy, and the aftermath of the war with Thanos. It would be a heck of a way to end a saga.
Hopeless Speculation and Wishful Drinking: To Infinity and beyond beyond
There’s a lot happening between now and 2023, and a lot more could happen. The Disney purchase of Fox is far from a done deal, so we have to cool our jets a little on any hope for the X-Men or Fantastic Four characters turning up in the MCU any time soon. We can still cross our fingers and toes, can’t we?
MOON KNIGHT has long been mentioned as a film or Netflix series in the works. It’s a no-brainer in some ways, functioning as the Marvel equivalent of a Batman character. Indeed, this kind of character has recently been the playground of the Netflix limited series. Feige has stated that there are active plans for the film, but don’t expect it to be right around the corner. Feige has said it could be “five years from now, 10 years from now, 15 years from now.” So Phase 6 then?
FANTASTIC FOUR is a bit more of a long-shot, but there’s a little bit of weight behind the speculation. Disney is in the process of buying Fox film assets, although this is by no means a done deal. What we would love to see is the Silver Surfer and Galactus take on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – or at the very least Reed Richards, Dr. Strange, Tony Stark, Black Bolt, and T’Challa in a room together. You know: the Illuminati. Especially if they are joined by Professor X. Which brings us to…
AVENGERS V X-MEN is the longest shot of them all. Feige has indicated that Marvel haven’t even started thinking about films involving Fox licenced characters because so much has to happen. Marvel Studios are just getting on with the job of telling the best story they can.
Still, we can dream, can’t we?
