“Phase 2” of the Marvel Universe movies kicks off at the end of April, beginning with Iron Man 3 and leading up to the release of Avengers 2 in May of 2015. In a recent promotional call, the president of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige discussed what moviegoers can expect from this growing cinematic universe and what aspects of “Phase 2” are paving the way for the post-Avengers 2 “Phase 3.”
The biggest aspect of “Phase 3” so far? Make a workable Doctor Strange movie.
2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy seems to be something of a testing ground for what the Avengers movie universe will look like past Avengers 2. Feige on the new movie:
“[For a] long time that we wanted to bring in a movie and adventure set entirely in space. We immediately liked the idea of making a movie based on a comic mostly unknown by people […] that present[ed] various superheroes in one movie.
Guardians represents the only unproven Marvel Comics property to debut in “Phase 2,” which otherwise consists of sequels in the separate Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America franchises. Marvel’s original gamble in introducing these characters to the moviegoing public paid off handsomely, but the company hedged its bets by only dealing with its most high profile characters. (And when you consider the two Hulk movies, sometimes that didn’t even work.)
Guardians has a tougher battle ahead of it, being a book with characters that the majority of comic book fans themselves are unfamiliar with. And while the concept of a superhero ensemble bouncing around the cosmos isn’t entirely unworkable, there’s not a lot of wiggle room in regards to creating a movie to which folks both familiar and unfamiliar with the comic can relate.
But if Marvel can pull off a successful Guardians of the Galaxy movie, it looks like that will pave the way for more movies from the more esoteric wings of the Marvel universe. The studio is clearly banking on Guardians succeeding, since Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man, debuting November 6, 2015, kicks off “Phase 3.” Although Feige admits there’s only a rough outline of that phase of movies:
“Currently, the third phase is still developing. 99.9% of our time is used for Phase 2, the development of The Avengers 2 and the Guardians of the Galaxy keeps us very busy. Definitely we’re not leaving aside the old glories and we can also see familiar faces such as Iron Man, Thor and Captain America.”
Going ahead into “Phase 3,” however, Feige knows exactly who he wants to add to the universe:
“Dr. Strange! I love the aura of mystery that surrounds this superhero and the magical world that surrounds him. We’ve never faced anything like this and there is a lot of material that we could exploit. I would love to also see a new superhero in the ranks of the Avengers. We shall see!”
Considering that Robert Downey, Jr. isn’t sure he’ll be Iron Man in standalone movies past Avengers 2, what does that mean for “Phase 3”? Would it essentially be the following films?
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Thor 3 (2016)
- Doctor Strange (2016)
- Captain America 3 (2017)
- Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017)
- Avengers 3 (2018)
What other heroes might they pile in after Avengers 2? Will Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk eventually get his own film? And what would the Marvel movie landscape look like once we’ve had three films from the Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America each? Are Avengers movies essentially done by that point?
No one knows! (Except Kevin Feige.) But it’s fun to speculate.
Chris Lough is the production manager of Tor.com and would like to suggest that a Runaways movie happen now, please.
if they want a movie with an unknown team They should do the ‘Micronauts’.
Awell done Dr. Strange would be fantastic in many senses of the word.
The Marvel phases would seem to be leading up to either the Infinity Gauntlet, or if you’re a classicist like me, the two-part Avengers Annual #7/Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2. The latter, if sticking closely to the story, requires a Spider-Man and Fantastic Four (minimally, the Thing) crossover, which is unlikely without a task that would make the entire entertainment law industry rich. I do like that story, though, and some of the minor characters — even Spidey and the ever-lovin’ Thing — can be changed around, but what you really need is Warlock, and probably Captain Marvel (Marr-Vell, that is, not Shazam).
Of Avengers regulars (and part of those stories), adding the Vision and Scarlet Witch would be very nice, but they’re both tough characters to deal with, story-wise.
I don’t think we’ll be seeing a Guardians of the Galaxy 2 in Phase 3. I think that movie will end with all of it’s protaginists being killed by Thanos, setting him up as a threat for the Avengers in The Avengers 2. Marvel will either fork up enough money to Downey, Jr. for an Iron Man 4 or try out a standalone Hulk film or maybe even give Black Widow a movie.
Just to geek out for a moment on fantasy phase 3’s…
Antman
Indestructible Hulk / World War Hulk (end with Bruce seeking help from a s(S)trange mystic)
Heroes For Hire
Captain America 3 (Introduce Namor via flashback, and closing scene)
Doctor Strange
Marvels Defenders (Strange, Hulk, Namor, Luke Cage, Iron Fist)
Avengers 3
How about a Black Panther movie at some point? The BET/Marvel collab. on an animated version was awesome, so just use that as a template and you’ll have a winning movie.
BLACK WIDOW MOVIE.
Ahem. Sorry for shouting. But seriously.
@7 I KNOW RIGHT? I wll even settle for a BW/Hawkeye teamup . I mean, good heavens, could we at least let Jeremy Renner do something? all that talent, and so far he’s been pretty wasted in two films.
I doubt there’ll be a Guardians 2, unless it’s hugely successful. It looks like it’s either going to be awesome or terrible – there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground there.
I’m also wondering where or if Daredevil fits into Phase 3 now that they’ve got the rights back. Elektra would be a nice addition somewhere, even if it doesn’t get a full feature now.
I agree
How about an X-men movie featuring Cable. Until recently he was one of Marvel’s fan favorites. As many times as the X-men have gone up against Apocalypse, it would be nice to see him and Cable shoot it out with a few of the X-men joining in.
With the amount of material that Marvel has to choose from, the question isn’t what and if other movies will be created in the future, but which ones should be created first.
It’s fine that Dr. Strange is so far in the future, because the only possible person who can play him is Benedict Cumberbatch, and his dance card is fairly full right now.
The rights to the X-Men and Spider-man are held by different movie companies and, as I understand it, are unlikely in the extreme to revert to Marvel.
(As this seems to me to make a Civil War plotline very unlikely in the movieverse, I am okay with that.)
Maybe Cable will be in the new X-Movie? (Days of Future Past, isn’t it?)
I agree that a Runaways movie would be good. I’d even like a Livewire one.
Just saying who they should put in as a villain in one of the avengers films. They should consider putting in Lava Men during some time.
I think you should include a majority of what you guys mentioned,
however I think there should be a battle where lots of villains team up, and the avengers would have to face one of the largest battles ever, with guys like: the Sentinel, Galactus, Thanos,Ultron and all the tough villains
in the marvel universe.
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