What We Were Promised and What We Got: Phase 4 Marvel didn’t deliver on all of its promises

Remember when Marvel gave us an impressive presentation of Phase 4 of its Connected Universe! It was June 21, 2019. Producer Kevin Feige took the stage at San Diego Comic Con to announce the next movies in the Avengers saga and what awaits fans after Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home. And here’s what he showed us:

What they sold us

The phase was supposed to begin with two storylines left over from previous story arcs, namely Black Widow’s past and her post-Captain America: Civil War action and the fate of the Captain America position left vacant by Steve Rogers (Falcon). A soldier of Amtria). This diptych was supposed to be an introduction to the character of Valentina de Fontaine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The Eternals and Shang-Chi were a new diptych, two films destined to be released very soon apart and designed, among other things, to perform at the Chinese box office. They were also the only Phase 4 movies that risked introducing us to new superheroes in cinema.

The WandaVision series was envisioned as a theatrical release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with the two projects focusing on the tragic fate of the Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Olsen, following the death of her companion Vision in Avengers: Infinity War.

Loki was supposed to follow – the project Avengers: Endgame, as well as the recreational series What If?, which in principle explores a parallel universe by offering entertainment by abducting famous superheroes.

Eventually, Hawkeye was supposed to have his own movie like Black Widow, but the project ended up being a TV series featuring the new heroine of Hawkeye’s baton, Kate Bishop. Finally, with Thor: Love and Thunder, Marvel planned to bring back the Guardians of the Galaxy alongside the god of Asgard, played by Chris Hemsworth, with Natalie Portman returning as Jane Foster.

A month later, at D23, Kevin Feige announced Black Panther: Wakanda Forever for May 6, 2022. In short, Phase IV was supposed to continue the intrigue of the game.

which we got

COVID-19 has shut down Hollywood since March 2020, even before the release of Black Widow. All filming has been stopped. Panic seems to have set in with the studio, which is seeing theaters close and platforms growing, still trying to release projects for Disney+.

Therefore, the studio prioritizes the series, which breaks the dynamic of the previously presented diptych:

January 15, 2021 – WandaVision (D+)

March 19, 2021 – Falcon and the Winter Soldier (D+)

June 9, 2021 – Loki (D+)

July 7, 2021 – Black Widow

August 11, 2021 – What If?… Season 1 (D+)

September 1, 2021 – Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

November 3, 2021 – Eternity

November 24, 2021 – Hawkeye (D+)

December 15, 2021 – Spider-Man: Homeless (with Sony, excluding the Marvel calendar)

March 30, 2022 – Moon Knight (D+)

May 4, 2022 – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

June 8, 2022 – Miss Marvel (D+)

July 13, 2022 – Thor: Love and Thunder

August 10, 2022 – My name is Groot

August 18, 2022 – She-Hulk: The Lawyer

November 9, 2022 – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

As the weeks go by, many films will be postponed, with filming during COVID making things very difficult – and expensive. This disorganization led to the deconstruction of the world as originally envisioned, disrupting the game’s post-game dynamics.

Hence also the progressive disinterest on the part of the fans who feel it in the box office of the films without comparison to the pre-Covid scores. Since then, Kevin Feige is rumored to be preparing a big return to the universe, notably Fantastic Four, Deadpool 3 and Captain America: Brave New World, among others. As always the MCU…to be continued!