The Secret to MCU Phase 4

Now that Marvel’s Infinity Saga has come to end, the next phase of the MCU is dawning. At this year's Comic-Con, fans were treated to a panel presentation that revealed what the future holds for Marvel. Many of the properties discussed were already confirmed, others just heavily rumored, but there were some exciting surprises - and now we have a timeline for these projects, as well as some huge reasons to be excited about the future. 

Cate Shortland Directing Black Widow 

Black Widowmight have taken longer to arrive than expected, but it’s better late than never. The next Marvel movie set to be released, it also has a lot working in its favor. Over the last couple of years, Marvel has started to focus more on their female heroes with Captain Marvel, the incredible ladies of Black Panther, and the female team-up in Endgameall getting praise. But unlike those movies, Black Widowwill be Marvel’s first female-dominated film, in front of, as well as behind the camera.

Starting with their choice of director, Cate Shortland, it is evident for phase 4 Marvel wanted to hire unconventional names for their first-time projects. The Aussie director has previously directed the films Lore (2012) and Berlin Syndrome(2017). Both indies, both take place in Germany (not too far from Budapest). Tackling an already established character such as Black Widow brings its own set of challenges, but Kevin Fiege obviously saw promise in Shortland’s work, and from the way the cast has spoken about her direction, it seems she is going to not shy away from telling a brutal and personal story with Natasha. 

Apart from this being Marvel’s first solo female director helming a movie, the cast in this features some of the biggest actresses working today. Obviously, there’s Black Widow herself, Scarlett Johanson. There’s Academy Award winner Rachel Weisz who will play Melina Vostokoff. She has done her fair share of blockbusters to pair with her more critically acclaimed performances, so fitting into this universe should not be a problem for a veteran presence like herself. But probably the most exciting new cast member is THE up-and-coming star of the year, Florence Pugh. She plays Yelena Belova a sister figure of sorts to Natasha. Pugh has been rising in stardom ever since her indie breakout in Lady Macbethand more recently she appeared in Fighting With My Family, which premiered at Sundance, as well as the Ari Aster horror film Midsommar. On all three occasions, she delivered magnificent performances that demand a very different set of skills. This is a blockbuster starring three extremely talented women, co-written by a woman, and directed by a woman.

The Eternals: An Ensemble of Dreams

One thing that Marvel should continue to get credit for are its incredible directing hires. They have essentially grown most of their directors from the ground up when it comes to recognition from the masses. The same can be said for their choice on The Eternals, director Chloe Zhao. Most Marvel fans will have no idea who this woman is, nor would they have seen any of the few films she’s directed, but this is the most inspired directing hire by Marvel since Taika Waititi. 

Zhao hails from Beijing, China, and so far in her short career has kept a focus on telling stories set in the American Mid-West; something you wouldn’t typically associate with the MCU. In her first two feature films (Songs My Brother Taught Me,The Rider) she directed non-actors on micro-budgets. In total, both movies amassed a box office of $3.5 million dollars. That might be much it’ll cost to produce a single shot in The Eternals. Not only does Zhao have a gift for telling emotionally-driven stories, but she also directs actors with ease. Both of the movies mentioned starred non-actor casts, and specifically inThe Rider, she managed to bring out one of the best performances from a non-actor ever in Brady Jandreau. 

On its own, the hiring of Zhao should be enough to signify a hit for Marvel with The Eternals, but as history has shown, Marvel commits to putting together an insanely talented ensemble. In the cast, you have Angelina Jolie (Thena), Richard Madden (Ikaris), Kumail Nanjiani (Kingo), Salma Hayek (Ajak), Brian Tyree Henry (Phastos), Dong-seok Ma (Gilgamesh), Lia McHugh (Spirte), and Lauren Ridlof (Makkari). This selection of actors includes a Latina, African-American, Pakistani, Korean, and deaf actors. Their profiles range from well-known to up-and-coming, to complete unknowns to audiences. They should make for a very intriguing group for Zhao to work alongside.

Shang-Chi: Marvel’s First Asian Lead 

Four days before Marvel’s Comic-Con presentation, Simu Liu was in his home when he got a call that would change his life forever. Four days later, he was in San Diego, walked on stage at Hall-H to be announced as Marvel’s Shang-Chi. Liu is a relative unknown. The Chinese-Canadian actor has been on shows like Fresh Off the Boatand Kim’s Convenience, but Shang-Chiand the Legend of the Ten Rings will be his first leading role in a film. Not only that, he gets to play Marvel’s first lead Asian superhero (we still see you Wong). 

Joining him in the cast is rising star, Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians, The Farewell), in an undisclosed role, as well as veteran Asian actor Tony Leung (In The Mood For Love, Infernal Affairs) playing the real Mandarin first alluded to in Iron Man 3. At the helm of Shang-Chiis director Destin Daniel Cretton, most widely known for directing the indie hit Short Term 12. Cretton continues Marvel’s tradition of picking low-profile, indie names over big, name brand directors. Cretton, from Hawaii, most recently directed the courtroom drama Just Mercystarring Brie Larson, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Foxx set to be released this awards season. 

Shang-Chiwill be Marvels’ first movie starring an Asian lead and has the potential to be a tentpole movie for the Asian community. In recent years we have seen a rise in these sorts of stories with movies like Searching, To All The Boys I Loved Before, and Crazy Rich Asiansdoing extremely well at the box office as well as on streaming. With Shang-Chi being a part of this enormous universe, it will no doubt be a box office hit and give much-deserved representation to people who deserve it.

For three movies that aren’t sequels and, for the most part, introduce fans to completely new characters, Marvel is making bold moves hiring unknown directors, bringing to the screen heroes and stories that aren’t as popular. They did the same for Iron Manand Guardiansso why not try again, they don’t really have much to lose. But aside from the new properties being developed, fans will also get sequels to some of their favorite Avengers’ solo movies, and each of them is bringing something unique to the table.

The Doctor Strange sequel subtitled In the Multiverse of Madnessis being hailed by director Scott Derrickson as Marvel’s first “scary movie”. While the verdict is still out on how scary this will truly be while still considering Marvel’s preferred PG-13 rating, matching a horror vibe with this movie makes complete sense. Doctor Strange, as a character, has the ability to go to some trippy places, as showcased in the first movie. His foes tend to be on the more mystical and spiritual side of the MCU. Also, Derrickson has traditionally been a horror director outside of Doctor Strange, shepparding films such as Sinister,Deliver Us From Evil, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Apart from the genre details, it was also confirmed that Scarlet Witch will appear in the Doctor Strange movie and have connections to her Disney+ series, WandaVision.

Finally, the god of thunder is set to return alongside director Taika Waititi for the series’ fourth installment titledThor: Love and Thunder. Not only does it have the most badass name of Phase 4, but the film is set to bring back Natalie Portman as Jane Foster and turn her The Mighty Thor. Yes, that’s right Portman will wield the hammer inLove and Thunder! Most Marvel fans would know that Portman had previously stated she was done with the MCU; however, perhaps her cameo inEndgamewas just the beginning of her reintroduction to Marvel. Might she become a full-fledged Avenger? Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie also is returning as the new King of Asgard and was confirmed by Fiege to be an LGBTQ character as she looks for her queen.