WandaVision has come to its end and there doesn’t seem to be a season 2 in the pipeline. But despair not, MCU buffs. The next two years are so jam-packed with Marvel movies and shows that you will have more than your fair share of superhero (and villain) madness to be excited about, fan theories to spin, and find out what possible narrative course the MCU is taking with its Phase 4 on a whole.
Though the MCU hadn’t planned for phase 4 to be launched with WandaVision, they were forced by the pandemic, as were we all, to alter their arrangements to fit in with what’s possible and what’s not. But in retrospect, through WandaVision, MCU gave us a peek at some of the weirder places and monstrosities that are going to be part of the broader narrative – perhaps the best possible way for them to kick the next phase into gear.
So take out your calendars and mark the dates, there’s a ton of stuff to talk about.
Related: The Scarlet Witch Myth: All You Need To Know
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Fans won’t have to wait long for the next Marvel awesomeness. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a little more than a week away from release, so it’s bound to be the one that fans are most excited about. This upcoming series, whose sneak peeks and trailers we’ve been getting as commercials, is going to take a slightly different route than WandaVision. Instead of delving into the magical realms of the MCU, this series will see the two Avengers – Sam and Buck – keeping intact Captain America’s legacy while dealing with the Sokovian Accords.
Black Widow
In May, we’ll be greeted with a Black Widow feature film, set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. As usual, it will be Scarlet Johansson reprising her role as Nat, uncovering a Russian conspiracy that is somehow connected to her past. As such, there’s a good chance that we’ll get to see characters that have been sidelined in the overcrowded Marvel universe, the likes of which could include Rick mason and the Red Guardian. But perhaps the most intriguing part of the movie would be other “Black Widows’, for just like the Scarlet Witch, there’s never just one.
Related: WandaVision Grief Quote “What is Grief But Love Persevering” Meaning Explained
Loki
The summers couldn’t get much better, for soon after Black Widow, we’ll get another Disney+ show – Loki. After his unexpectedly good fortune in Avengers: Endgame in which the Space Stone literally landed in his lap, the show will explore Loki’s adventures in a different timeline, which means that none of the events of the show will have any impact on the main MCU narrative, that is if there isn’t some form of crossover. We will also see the God of Mischief getting involved with the TVA – Time Variance Authority.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
The rest of the entries are all full-length feature films – some are sequels, while the others are brand-new Phase 4 franchise films. The first among these has an Asian superhero in the lead role as Shang-Chi, a martial artist forced into dealing with the Ten Rings – a secret organization that has turned up now and then in a few other movies including Iron Man and Ant-Man. We expect more martial arts than superhero force battles in this one, though one can never be too sure with Marvel. We’ll find out more as the release date, 9th July, closes in.
Eternals
After a brief autumn break, we’ll have a few more Marvel films for the fall, starting off with the November release of Eternals, another new franchise film. Although the movie is set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, it will largely follow the immortal race of Eternals and their fight against their sworn enemies, the Deviants.
This one will be one to watch out for. The audience will find a new superhero team whose every member has the potential to beat Thanos alone. When the MCU starts playing with such levels of power, you know that Phase 4 is in its full swing.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
This is perhaps the most awaited film of the year. Though technically a Sony Pictures Film, it will still be a part of the MCU. So far, we know that it is set during Christmas time and will have Spider-Man trying to stay anonymous after his identity was exposed in the prequel.
Doctor Strange is rumored to make an appearance in the movie as well, so it’s almost certain that there’s going to be a lot of multiverse entanglement in the movie, possibly giving us multiple Spideys.
That means we might get to see Spider-Men from the past as well as a few villains. All of this could be the perfect present for a (hopefully) coronavirus-free Christmas.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Undoubtedly, the movie that WandaVision fans would be most excited to see, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set for a March 2022 release.
If we see the multiverse opening up in Spider-Man: No Way Home it will naturally dovetail right into this one, with Wanda potentially being in the thick of things. We know the Scarlet Witch to be a part of the Doctor Strange sequel, but in what aspect or with what mission can only be guessed at.
Whatever the case may be, fans can expect to see their favorite witch light up the screen once again with her Chaos Magic and finally find out which monstrosity or devilry will be the Sorcerer Supreme’s nemesis this time.
Thor: Love & Thunder
In the middle of next year, the Asgardian Avenger returns on the big screen once again, joined by the superhero version of Jane Foster – Mighty Thor. As usual, it will be Natalie Portman who will reprise her role as Jane Foster, and wield the mighty Mjolnir to help Thor defeat Gorr, the God Butcher, set to be played by Christian Bale.
Given Gorr’s reputation in the comics, we might see him on the hunt for cosmic beings like Thor. And since the Guardians of the Galaxy stars are also involved with the project, we may very well see them join forces with Thor in his fight against the God Butcher.
Black Panther 2
A Black Panther sequel was always on the cards, especially after its runaway success of the first film at the box office. There was always a story thread to be explored with Black Panther, though the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman meant that for T’Challa’s character Marvel would either have to repurpose old footage or have the role recast.
Thankfully, Marvel is not going in either direction and the sequel will most probably explore Shuri or M’Baku take on the mantle of Black Panther. However, nothing is confirmed on that front yet. The movie is set for a release sometime in July 2022.
Captain Marvel 2
At the time of writing this article, Captain Marvel 2 is the last MCU project with a confirmed release date, which is 11th November 2022. The Captain Marvel sequel will be set in the present-day and fans will see Catherine Donovan meet with Monica Rambeau from WandaVision, along with all of her newfound abilities. Though nothing much else is revealed as of now, we do know that Zawe Ashton will be playing the baddie.
There are a few more MCU releases that extend right into 2023, the likes of which include Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Fantastic Four, and Blade, but none of them have a confirmed release date so far. Nevertheless, there’s a ton of Marvel goodness over the course of the next two years to be excited about. We’ll keep you updated as we get more details about any and all Marvel Phase 4 projects.
