Marvel Studios held it’s Comic-Con Hall H panel last night. And in typical fashion, studio head Kevin Feige revealed a ton of exciting information regarding their upcoming projects. Let’s go through it all. It’s safe to say I’m beyond excited for everything to come, so rather than offer my opinion on the news, this will be more of just a recap of what was announced. But on the movie side of the things, Marvel looks to be getting weird with it, and I could not be more in for that.
Movies
Black Widow – May 1, 2020
Scarlett Johansson returns as Natasha Romanov, in a role that tracks her activities post Captain America: Civil War. Other cast members include Stranger Things’ David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Florence Pugh, and O-T Fagbenle. While she will be up against the enhanced villain Taskmaster, this sounds like it could be more of a spy/action thriller rather than a more traditional superhero movie.
The Eternals – November 6, 2020
Not much is known about the plot at this point, but there is a basic premise listed on its Wikipedia page:
Set millions of years ago against the backdrop of the war of superiority between the Eternals—super-powered, genetically engineered creations of the Celestials—and their evil counterparts the Deviants, the film follows the relationship between the Eternals Sersi and Ikaris.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Eternals – as I’m sure any non-comic fan would be – here’s a brief primer from IGN:
The Eternals are a powerful race of cosmic beings who have existed in our solar system for millions of years. While most Eternals look perfectly human on the outside, their advanced biology gives them incredible strength, long lives and powers that set them far above mortal men.
Both the Eternals and their genetic cousins, the Deviants, were created by the cosmic gods known as the Celestials through experiments on early proto-humans. And where most Eternals have chosen to follow the path of peace, the Deviants are hateful and warlike, with their hideous outer appearance reflecting their twisted inner nature. The two races have been locked in a never-ending war since those early days, with humanity sometimes paying the price.
The Eternals has a loaded cast, with Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – February 12, 2021
The Ten Rings were actually first mentioned way back in the movie that started it all, 2008’s Iron Man. The villain The Mandarin was later involved in Iron Man 3, and will be again here. But you don’t have to worry, this time it will be the real Mandarin, not the terrible iteration of that forgettable movie.
Casting includes Simu Liu will as the titular character, Tony Leung as the Mandarin, and Awkwafina in a still-unknown role.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – May 7, 2021
Elizabeth’s Olsen Scarlet Witch will be joining Doctor Strange in his next adventure, with the movie tying into the Scarlet Witch Disney+ show, WandaVision. The sequel will also take the MCU in a new thematic direction, as director Scott Derrickson told the Hall H crowd that “We’re going to make the first scary MCU film.”
Thor: Love and Thunder – November 5, 2021
Perhaps no main MCU character has had a better glow up than Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. The first two movies are largely thought of average at best, terrible at worst. Then he started to become more of a fan favorite in the first two Avengers movies. And then came Thor: Ragnarok. Director Taika Waititi took the character in a new direction and was a smash hit. Thor continued his run of popularity with Infinity War and Endgame.
With Waititi returning to direct, we can expect another wild, boundary-pushing entry. Returning with Hemsworth will be Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster. And in one of the bigger surprises of the panel, we learned that not only will Jane Foster be returning, but she will be Female Thor.
Blade – No release date announced
In another unexpected reveal, a new Blade movie is in the works, with Oscar winner Mahershala Ali set to star in the lead role.
Other movies
At the end of the panel, Feige also mentioned that sequels to Black Panther and Captain Marvel are in development, as well as a third entry in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. In addition, he confirmed Marvel is also working on new Fantastic 4 and X-Men movies. No further information was given; as plans stand now it is likely none of these will come out before 2022. It appears all of these projects will be post-Phase 4. Fans will be eagerly watching August’s D23 expo to see if any more details are released then.
Disney+ Series
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – Fall 2020
Fans will get their first look at Anthony Mackie as the shield-wielding hero, as he teams up with Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier. Daniel Brühl is set to reprise his Captain America: Civil War role as villain Baron Zemo.
WandaVision (still just a horrendous name) takes place post-Endgame but will feature Paul Bettany as Vision. Also featuring in the show will be a grown up Monica Rambeau, to be played by Teyonah Parris.
Loki – Spring 2021
Fan favorite Tom Hiddleston returns as the mischievous Loki, to show us what kind of adventures he went on after stealing the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame.
What If…? – Summer 2021
What If…? is animated series that explores alternate realities of familiar MCU stories. Jeffrey Wright will narrate the show as The Watcher.
Hawkeye – Fall 2021
Jeremy Renner returns to the role of Clint Barton, but this time as more of a teacher. The series plans to focus on Barton training a new arrow sharpshooter, Kate Bishop, a role still to be cast.
