Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 2 General Discussion (Spoilers discussed for All Films -- Please Read First Post) (1 Viewer)

[Joe Wong]

Another movie with relatively heavy MCU representation is Spotlight (2015).

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Marvel Studios has a 90-minute San Diego Comic-Con presentation in Hall H on July 20 from 5:15 PM to 6:45 PM.

So I'm guessing we'll get the initial Phase 4 announcements then. I can't imagine they'd want to wait until D23 at the end of August.

 

[Josh Dial]

Marvel Studios has a 90-minute San Diego Comic-Con presentation in Hall H on July 20 from 5:15 PM to 6:45 PM.

So I'm guessing we'll get the initial Phase 4 announcements then. I can't imagine they'd want to wait until D23 at the end of August.

D23 is only every two years and has become a pretty major thing for Disney. There's a chance they save something major for D23...

 

[Sean Bryan]

I wouldn’t be surprised if they save something significant for D23, but I expect they will have some good announcements at Comic Con. From what I’ve read, there is no significant presence from Warner, Sony or “Fox” this year. If Marvel doesn’t have much because they are holding back all the good stuff for D23 then this year’s Comic Con would seemingly be a complete bust.

But since they are doing a 90 minute panel I expect there will be some interesting announcements this month with maybe something else in August.

 

[Joe Wong]

With the confirmations of Rachel Weisz (in Black Widow) and Angelina Jolie (The Eternals), and the surprise announcement of Mahershala Ali (Blade), the MCU has added 3 more Oscar-winners to their list.

 

[Sean Bryan]

While Feige only announced the dates for stuff coming out in 2020 and 2021, he did also confirm that Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Guardians 3, Blade and FANTASTIC FOUR are on the way. Didn’t talk about mutants, but we all know they are coming as well. That is clearly going to require a bit more finesse to weave into the MCU.

 

[Lord Dalek]

While Feige only announced the dates for stuff coming out in 2020 and 2021, he did also confirm that Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Guardians 3, Blade and FANTASTIC FOUR are on the way. Didn’t talk about mutants, but we all know they are coming as well. That is clearly going to require a bit more finesse to weave into the MCU.

I think I know how they do it.

Spoiler

Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is actually an adaptation of House of M, but in reverse.

 

[Josh Dial]

Fear not! Joel's post #127 above does not contain any spoilers for the MCU or otherwise. But it does contain spoilers for the comics--specifically House of M issue #7 and really the entire runs of House of M and Avengers Disassembled.

He is guessing that the Doctor Strange sequel, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," may introduce mutants into the MCU by sort of a "reverse House of M."

I think that's a pretty cool idea!

Spoiler: Spoiler for the comics but not the movies

For those that may not be aware, in House of M, Scarlett Witch uses her powers to wipe out most of mutantkind. Perhaps either she or Doctor Strange will add mutants to the universe this time around.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I think The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are the two riskiest bets of the announced Phase 4 movies. The former has the possibility of being the "Inhumans" of the feature films. The latter will be helped by the fact that the MCU movies play huge in China, and it's telling a China-centric story. Destin Daniel Cretton's professional relationship with Brie Larson probably helped him get the gig. His film Short Term 12, starring Larson, was one of my favorite films of 2013. Hopefully they get a better fight coordinator than "Iron Fist" had.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I think The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are the two riskiest bets of the announced Phase 4 movies.

They are because they are new properties, but if anybody is in a position to introduce new things successfully, it's Marvel. Shang-Chi is sort of being positioned as a relative of the Iron Man films, because it has the real Mandelorian, which picks up that dangling thread from the fake one in Iron Man 3. And the Ten Rings was referenced in the first Iron Man film. So it will help if they play up those connections.

The Eternals is a big swing, and they've certainly got an impressive cast for it. We'll see how that goes.

Destin Daniel Cretton's professional relationship with Brie Larson probably helped him get the gig.

What's interesting about this is that Cretton has cast Larson multiple times -- in addition to Short Term 12 which you noted, they also worked together on The Glass Castle -- but he may not be able to use her in Shang-Chi. Because she's Captain Marvel, she obviously can't appear in the MCU as anyone other than Captain Marvel. There doesn't seem to be much reason for Captain Marvel, who sees herself as a cosmic hero, to appear in what looks like a very Earthbound, Chinese-specific story. Ryan Coogler is in a similar position with Michael B. Jordan, who has appeared in every movie Coogler has made. But -- unless there's a newly-created flashback or dream sequence or something -- he won't be able to put Jordan in Black Panther 2, because Kilmonger was killed so effectively at the end of the first film, and reversing that death would rob that ending of its power.

 

[Mike2001]

Mandelorian

Mandelorian.

Mandelorian

Jake, repeat after me: Mandarin, Mandarin, Mandarin.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Jake, repeat after me: Mandarin, Mandarin, Mandarin.

What are you talking about? Tony Leung is clearly playing Boba Fett in this movie!

 

[Joe Wong]

I think The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings are the two riskiest bets of the announced Phase 4 movies. The former has the possibility of being the "Inhumans" of the feature films. The latter will be helped by the fact that the MCU movies play huge in China, and it's telling a China-centric story. Destin Daniel Cretton's professional relationship with Brie Larson probably helped him get the gig. His film Short Term 12, starring Larson, was one of my favorite films of 2013. Hopefully they get a better fight coordinator than "Iron Fist" had.

I'm excited and looking forward to Shang-Chi as the first Chinese-origin solo superhero in the MCU. I'm guessing there will be plenty of martial arts, since he is the Master of Kung Fu, after all (unless the MCU adjusts his powers).

Now, having grown up on Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Jet Li, and Donnie Yen films, I often judge a film with martial arts on how the fights are choreographed. With due respect to the actors who train for many months, the duels in a film like The Matrix don't measure up to the fights in Hong Kong productions like Drunken Master 2 or Iron Monkey. For Shang-Chi, I think they need to at least match the martial arts choreography in those HK films, if martial arts is a focus of the character.

Based on what I read from the SDCC coverage, Simu Liu (cast as Shang-Chi) sounds like a charismatic and funny actor! I eagerly await this and the entire Phase 4!

 

[Joe Wong]

Based on fan reactions, it appears the diversity and caliber of casting for Phase 4 has been embraced quite enthusiastically. Tony Leung as the Mandarin, Mahershala Ali as Blade, etc.

 

[Wayne_j]

Blade is not in phase 4.

 

[Sean Bryan]

So thats’s interesting.

Feige did mention a while back that he didn’t know if there would be a “Phase 4”. Not that there wouldn’t be a continuation of the MCU, obviously, but that the concept of the MCU “Phases” may evolve into something other than multiple movies ending with a “culmination movie” (and maybe an epilogue movie) like “phases” 1-3 were structured.

The “Phase 4” that has been announced has many interesting things I’m looking forward to, but only 5 movies without a “culmination movie” in only two years seems very short. Of course the Disney+ miniseries adds more to this, but still this slate seemingly doesn’t have a “culmination” or many of the sequels we know are coming. So it seems like they may actually be reinterpreting what their “Phases” mean post Endgame.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I might be in the minority on this, but I never felt like the "phases" were really anything but a dividing line for selling Blu-ray box sets. (And since Phase 3 includes everything since Ant-Man, that's way too many movies to include in one box set anyway.)

The only dividing line that really seems to matter all that much is pre-Endgame and post-Endgame, because of the departures of so many significant characters in it.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Jake, repeat after me: Mandarin, Mandarin, Mandarin.

Yes, brain freeze. I was mixing up Disney's properties. They have so many to keep track of now.

 

[Hanson]

(Shang-Chi)will be helped by the fact that the MCU movies play huge in China, and it's telling a China-centric story.

I thought it was interesting that the Marvel casting for Shang Chi called specifically for an actor of Chinese descent, no exceptions. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend about Scarlett Johansson being cast in Ghost in the Shell. He was flat out against whitewashing. I think any actor should be able to play any part, as that is the nature of acting. I brought up the casting of Crazy Rich Asians, which had actors of Korean and Filipino descent all playing Singaporean Chinese, a casting move that he never expressed any objections to. I asked if he had an issue with that, but he didn't know how to answer that question. So did Marvel become more woke about casting or was it something else?

I think that Shang Chi needed to be of Chinese descent because China is a very important market for the MCU, and it would look insensitive to cast an actor of, say, Korean descent (it would be waaay worse if they cast an actor of Japanese descent). That might not matter in the US. If Crazy Rich Asians is any indication, it is clearly not an issue. But to walk into their second biggest global market with a Chinese character starring a Chinese Canadian actor with a Hawaiian Chinese director is going to be huge.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I also expect Spider-Man 3 to be announced at some point as part of “Phase 4” in maybe July of 2021, but that will likely have to be a joint Sony/MARVEL announcement and it doesn’t look like Sony is ready to announce that just yet.

It’s always possible, but I don’t see Sony wanting more than two years between Spidey movies.