Marvel’s Phase Four

The newest title in Marvel’s lineup, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, drops today, March 19th, on Disney+. The miniseries is filling up the slot left behind by WandaVision, the first of thirteen confirmed miniseries set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and leading towards the setup of Marvel’s Phase Four. 

Phase Four also includes an array of thirteen superhero films, some featuring superheroes that have already been introduced (such as the Black Widow origin movie premiering May 7, 2021) and others who are just coming into play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One of these new heroes is Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi: and the Legend of the Ten Rings (coming out July 9, 2021). We’ll also be seeing a Fantastic Four film set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as the Eternals (and the Deviants) coming into play in the eponymous Eternals film.

Shang-Chi, for one, has been in development as early as 2001. Still, it wasn’t until 2019 that the project was put on the fast-track. Covid-19 did delay the project, as well as the rest of the titles in Phase Four, but production was able to be rescheduled and put back on track for 2021 and 2022 confirmed premieres. 

There are titles confirmed for 2023 (such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), but there are also titles with unconfirmed release dates and even one established untitled series. The latter is guaranteed to be a drama series set in Wakanda, no doubt tying into the sequel to Black Panther that is scheduled to be released on July 8, 2022. 

No doubt these thirteen films and eleven shows will be invariably tied into each other, leading towards a much more diverse Marvel Cinematic Universe in the not-so-distant future. The leading cast has already changed dramatically, opening new doors and storylines that are more representative of Marvel’s fans.