Tag Archives: Avengers: Secret Wars

Feb 11 2023

The Eve Of Marvel’s Phase Five

Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) launches this week with the wide release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The film is supposed to help pave a firm direction for the MCU with the introduction of the next big bad of the MCU, Kang the Conqueror, and will culminate with the next Avengers films, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. What should be noted is that the next Avengers films will be part of Phase Six, so Phase Five will serve to set up the grand finale of the so-named Multiverse Saga.

Many MCU fans are hoping that after the mixed results of Phase Four that Phase Five will course correct for the MCU and keep the cinematic universe on top. There were many issues with Phase Four such as a lack of focus, films and TV shows that were not as high in quality as the previous MCU offerings, and so on. There were also many successes and material that Phase Five and Six will build upon, especially with the introduction of the Multiverse concept. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is rumored to dwell on this with the inclusion of Kang, who is a time-traveling villain.

There are many reasons why Phase Four of the MCU was not as revered as previous phases. Given the success of the MCU, there has been increased pressure by Disney to Marvel Studios to create more films and TV shows (the TV shows were a new feature for the MCU beginning with Phase Four) at a faster rate. This overstretched the capability of Marvel Studios to maintain the level of quality with previous MCU projects. Adding to the release pressure was the COVID-19 pandemic which severely affected productions and created delays, which we’re are still grappling with today. Then there were the expectations of fans and the fact that many of the MCU products simply were not as appealing since popular characgters like Iron Man and Captain America were absent. Many of these issues still remain as Marvel Studios plows ahead with Phase Five of the MCU, but hopefully they are better prepared to meet the challenges.

When being critical of Phase Four it is important to realize that it did a lot more to help set up the Multiverse Saga. Films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness were important to the Saga, as well as TV shows like Loki and What If…? Phase Four also set up plot lines and characters that will be further explored in Phase Five and beyond. Both TV shows will have second seasons as part of Phase Five, which will dive even deeper into the concept of time travel and alternate realities. The second Doctor Strange film also introduced the plot line of Incursions, where traveling to different realties will ultimately cause them to collide and destroy one another. This was a major plot line in Marvel Comics that culminated with the second Secret Wars mini-series event. With a title like Avengers: Secret Wars it is certain that the upcoming film will be a loose adaptation of the comic book mini-series. By now, given how well received Marvel Comics storylines were adapted in MCU films, even if they were adaptations in name only, the Secret Wars film will also be acclaimed.

Aside from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania the only Marvel film that directly deals with the Multiverse will be Deadpool 3, which is due next year. This film is technically not part of the MCU or Phase Five, but it reportedly will deal with Deadpool and Wolverine traveling through alternate realities and it’s fairly certain that the two will visit the MCU. There are also rumors that a third Doctor Strange film is in the works, which will deal with Incursions as seen in the post-credits scene of the last Doctor Strange film. But if this film is made it most likely will be a part of Phase Six as the Multiverse storyline starts to ramp up.

The remaining Phase Five films and TV shows will either be about new characters (Blade, Daredevil: Born Again and Thunderbolts) or continue individual stories that, as far as we know, doesn’t involve the Multiverse (Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, The Marvels, Captain America: New World Order, Echo, Secret Invasion, Ironheart and Agatha: Coven of Chaos). However given the subtitle of Coven of Chaos, it is possible the Agatha Harkness TV show might have something to do with the Incursions or the Multiverse.

There is also the wildcard to consider for Phase Five: another MCU Spider-Man film. In the past, Spider-Man films have never been part of official MCU film announcements. That is because the film rights to the superhero are held by Sony Pictures, who is off trying to launch their own cinematic universe based on Spider-Man characters. But given the huge success of Spider-Man: No Way Home and that many consider it to be the best Phase Four film, it is obvious that Sony is planning a fourth MCU Spider-Man film. Will it be produced in time to make it part of the Phase Five slate? That is unknown at this time. If filming starts later this year, it is possible the film will be completed in time to be scheduled for a 2024 release and be part of Phase Five. Otherwise, the fourth MCU Spider-Man film will be part of Phase Six.

Given that Phase Four of the MCU was not as well received as previous MCU films, Phase Five of the MCU will be subjected to greater scrutiny by fans. In other words, Phase Five of the MCU has to deliver much more than Phase Four. The people behind the films and TV shows are aware of this and will do their best to deliver the same quality product that were so revered by fans in the past. While some expectations have been lowered for the MCU and superhero films and TV shows it is unwise to count out Marvel Studios and the MCU at this point.

José Soto

Jul 29 2022

Questions About The Future Of The MCU

The aftermath of Marvel Studios’ announcement of their upcoming films and TV shows at last weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con is still ongoing. All the complaints about Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) have been vanquished as fans now contemplate Phase Five and Six,which will start early next year.

Although the reaction to the new MCU projects has been positive, many questions did come up about the films and TV shows or rather what was not announced. Observers pointed out there were gaps in the official release schedule for the upcoming phases, especially with Phase Six. In that phase only three films were announced (Fantastic Four, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars), but there were slots for eight more releases. So, what could they be? Let’s examine further…

Where are the Mutants?

The mutant characters in the X-Men and other assorted X-teams were particularly absent during the Comic-Con announcement. Ever since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and its film properties in 2019, which included the film rights to X-Men, fans have been anxious to see Marvel Studios’ take on the mutants. And some are becoming impatient. But given the many mutant-related films and TV shows over the last few years, it is for the best that the mutants be given a rest to build up demand and recharge the creative energy of those who would bring about more live-action mutant films and TV shows. Marvel Studios played it smart with drip, drip, drip Easter eggs and references to the mutants in the MCU. In last year’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, part of the action took place in the fictional country of Madripoor, a location well known as Wolverine’s incognito stomping grounds. It has been heavily implied in WandaVision, that Wanda Maximoff was a mutant. Professor Xavier, founder of the X-Men, turned up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, albeit this was an alternate variant. In the most recent MCU TV show, Ms. Marvel, it was revealed at the end that the title character was a mutant, though that word was not actually used.

It has been reported that Ryan Reynolds, who plays Deadpool, will reprise the role in a Deadpool 3 film for Marvel Studios, and it has been rumored the film will be part of Phase Five. Whenever the film comes out, it is bound to be a hit and increase demand for more X-Men-related films.

Secret Wars and Followups

Perhaps the mutant superhero team will be one of those unannounced films in Phase Six. One possible clue was the recent announcement that the director of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty would not be Joe and Anthony Russo but instead the director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Destin Daniel Cretton. It was expected that the Russo Brothers, who directed the last two Avengers films to great success, were the go-to guys for future Avengers films. But in the past, they’ve expressed a desire to do their own take of the X-Men. Perhaps, they were offered their dream assignment and this will be announced at the D23 Expo in September. Or the X-Men won’t turn up until Phase Seven. It was reported earlier this week that Disney cannot recast the X-Men until 2025 and Marvel Studios will probably want to run out the clock until then before even starting work on the MCU version of the mutant superheroes. At this point it’s anyone’s guess.

Once Cretton was announced as the director of the next Avengers film, people began wondering who would helm Avengers: Secret Wars. It could go to the Russo Brothers, but that seems unlikely, given the possibility they could be busy with the mutants. Then again they could be tapped to direct Avengers: Secret Wars if it turns out the film will actually be a two-part saga. The original Secret Wars mini-series in 2015 was a sprawling epic that will be difficult to pull off with just one film. It could turn out that the story of Avengers: Secret Wars will have to be continued into Phase Seven, which could be called the Battleworld Saga. During Secret Wars, various patches of reality were merged into a world created by Doctor Doom. The Phase Seven films could explore these separate realities before coming to a concluding epic film.

Getting back to the director of the sixth Avengers film, if the Russos don’t direct it then another possibilty is Jon Watts, the director of the MCU Spider-Man trilogy of films. The concludng film of the trilogy, Spider-Man: No Way Home, was one of the most succesful films of all time and its head-spinning plotline about multiversal variants and characters from different film franchises meeting each other was well directed by Watts. This makes him an obvious contender for an Avengers film dealing with characters from alternate universes meeting and battling each other. This could be the reason why Watts left the Fantastic Four reboot he was supposed to direct. His success with Spider-Man: No Way Home demonstrated he had the skills to take on an even more epic film.

Putting aside speculating about directors and mutants, let’s ponder what other MCU offerings are coming up. It was a surprise that the previously announced Armor Wars TV mini-series was not part of the announcements at Comic-Con, yet Marvel Studios insist that mini-series will still be made. It is possible Armor Wars will be part of Phase Six.

It has also been reported that a TV series based upon Wonder Man will be produced and if so Wonder Man can be part of Phase Six. Other live-action TV series could include second seasons for Hawkeye, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and maybe a third season of Loki that could coincide with the upcoming Avengers films.

As for other films, a no-brainer would be a second Shang-Chi film, as well as a third Doctor Strange film. After all the last Doctor Strange film ended on a bit of a cliffhanger and was strongly tied to the Multiverse Saga. There are rumors that Marvel Studios is considering a followup to Eternals, but since that film had a mixed reaction what is more likely is that some of its characters will be important players in other films, perhaps one about the cosmic superhero Nova. Supposedly, Marvel Studios is developing a Nova film, which could not only feature the Eternals, but tie-in with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Of course, this depends on how the third and final Guardians of the Galaxy film concludes.

The Spider-Man Wild Card

Given the humongous success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, a new trilogy about the MCU Spider-Man should be a given. Yet, nothing has been announced. As many know, Marvel Studios does not have the film rights to Spider-Man and Spider-Man films were never made part of Marvel Studios’ big announcements. They just pop up and a spot on the crowded MCU schedule is found for them. Expect the same thing to happen with Phase Five and Six.

The big question with future MCU Spider-Man films is will Jon Watts return to direct them? If not him then who else can direct a Spider-Man film? Marvel Studios cannot make that decision because that will be up to Sony Pictures, which holds the film rights to Marvel’s most popular character. Unfortunately, instead of focusing on more Spider-Man films, Sony is obsessed with mining other Spider-Man-related properties. The problem is that what they have planned does not sound promising aside from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. So, fans will have to wait and see what Sony decides.

No matter how this all ends up with Phase Five and Six of the MCU, fans will end up happy, upset or somewhere in between. Either way, there will be something for everyone.

José Soto