What Marvel has planned for the next few years show that there are several storylines from the MCU's early days that are still being told.
The movies and shows that Marvel is planning for the next few years show that several stories from the early days of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are still playing out on both the big and small screens. Certain plotlines and themes are as crucial to their upcoming projects as they were to the movies released in Phase 1.
Marvel greatly expanded its Phase 4 slate with the official announcement of a Fantastic Four movie directed by Jon Watts and several new Disney+ projects. War Machine (Don Cheadle) will be getting his own show in the form of Armor Wars, and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) will be the central character in the MCU’s adaptation of Secret Invasion. There’s also Ironheart, which will center on a teenage girl who tries to carry on Iron Man’s legacy. In addition to these, Marvel will make a series of shorts for Baby Groot and a Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special. These announcements indicate that though 2020 will understandably have no new MCU installments, the next few years will be packed with MCU content, starting in January 2021 with WandaVision. This is just the beginning of a large lineup that includes eight films with set release dates and ten live-action shows for Disney’s streaming service.
Phase 4 will certainly be an all-new era for the MCU. But that being said, it will also serve as a continuation for a number of important stories from some of Marvel’s first films, which means that though even though Marvel is clearly interested in moving on from its older characters, it’s still maintaining its connections to the plotlines and events that started it all.
The debate over the role of Captain America was key to Captain America: The First Avenger, and the same will be true for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In The First Avenger, officials in the government felt that, as their super-soldier, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), should be used as a symbol of propaganda for the Allies' war effort. Unsatisfied with the direction his life was taking and the government’s insistence on keeping him out of harm’s way, Steve chose to follow his sense of duty and fight against HYDRA and the Nazis.
Captain America’s time in the MCU has ended, but this problem is far from over. In Phase 4, Falcon (Anthony Mackie) will be faced with a similar dilemma when it comes to the future of the shield and the mantle of Captain America. Though Sam Wilson was Steve’s chosen successor, the government will instead appoint U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) for the job. Footage for the series has revealed that he will be paraded around as a symbol of patriotism. In the comic books, U.S. Agent fails to properly live up to the name of Captain America and forces his predecessor to get back into action, and it would seem that in the show, this duty will fall on the shoulders of Falcon.
An issue that plagued Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) in the Iron Man trilogy was his technology falling into the wrong hands. Characters such as Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) had designs on Iron Man’s tech, and it was up to Stark to keep his inventions from being used for ill gains. With Iron Man dead, carrying on this fight will be up to War Machine in Phase 4. In Armor Wars, Rhodes will be on a mission to preserve Iron Man’s legacy by stopping people from using his suits for destructive purposes.
The biggest threat that the heroes of the MCU had to deal with in Phase 1 was Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor’s evil brother and the God of Mischief. At the time, Loki stood out as a character who was the main villain in not one, but two Marvel movies. After scheming against Asgard in Thor, Loki led an army of aliens in an invasion of Earth in The Avengers. Marvel left this version of the character behind by giving him a redemption arc that ended in his death. Since Loki’s Disney+ show will be focusing on an alternate timeline version of the character who escaped from SHIELD custody in 2012, Marvel will be revisiting his villainous side. The MCU’s Loki was able to die a hero, but the new 2012 Loki could go in a completely different direction.
A theme in Thor is that the gods have a natural responsibility to protect their worlds. Odin (Anthony Hopkins) held a lot of expectations for Thor, who he believed to be too egotistical and arrogant. What he wanted of Thor was for him to be a humble ruler, capable of making wise decisions so that he could look after both Asgard and Earth. As the son of Odin and the God of Thunder, Thor had a destiny that was already chosen for him, and an obligation to use his powers for the good of his people and the Nine Realms. Thor walked away from his destiny in Avengers: Endgame, but it appears that protecting the Earth and what’s left of Asgard will once again be a priority for him in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Other MCU Phase 4 characters to whom this theme applies to are the Eternals. In Marvel Comics, the Eternals aren’t unlike the Asgardians and the Olympians. They too are super-powered immortals who were worshipped as gods by the people of Earth, but what’s different about them is how they view their place in the universe. The Eternals have a different take on what their responsibilities are, and that’s an element that will surely be explored in the MCU as well. While the Asgardians believe it’s necessary to protect the Earth, the Eternals make it their policy not to interfere in human affairs. However, this commitment may be tested in Phase 4 by the presence of the Deviants.
The concept of an alien supervillain spreading death and destruction in the MCU is yet another classic idea that will be brought back in Thor: Love and Thunder. But instead of Thanos (Josh Brolin), the alien in question this time is Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a powerful being who travels around the universe looking for gods to murder. His bloodthirsty crusade will of course put him at odds with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor (Natalie Portman), and possibly Lady Sif (Jamie Alexander).
