Marvel's Phase Four: Setting New Dates & Breaking New Ground in 2021

In the uncertain times we find ourselves in this year, the realm of cinema has shifted dramatically as major film studios weigh the consequences of pushing back their theater releases further into an unknown future. While many studios have combatted the circumstances of empty theater seats by dropping their films on-demand by way of streaming platforms like Amazon Prime and Disney+, many films are still set to release physically in theaters. While some films have taken the long route to release, like the ninth installment in the Fast & Furious franchise (now set a whole year later in April 2021), Disney seeks to keep most of its films in theaters, especially with the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe as one of its most profitable franchises. While films like Black Widow and The Eternals were originally set to kick off the MCU's fourth phase this year, its release schedule has shifted much like everything else. As the Scarlett Johansson-led spy prequel lies as the only MCU film to grace a turbulent 2020 (out this November), 2021 will mark a groundbreaking renaissance for some of Marvel's newest and strangest characters to stake their claim. The concluding months of this year and the budding months of 2021 will also see the rise of the MCU's next dominance on the small screen via its multiple Disney+ series still on track for release. Read here as I break down each major film release, and explain why 2021 could be Marvel's most ambitious year yet. 

 

Black Widow (orig. release: May 1, 2020; new release: Nov. 6, 2020)

The hype for Scarlet Johansson's first solo endeavor as super-spy-turned-Avenger Black Widow will have to sustain a few more months than originally expected, as the pseudo-origin tale now takes the November release date originally intended for the cosmic adventure The Eternals. While the super-spy's untimely demise in Avengers: Endgame might not be as fresh in the minds of fans by the time November rolls around, Johansson's character and her story remains in the hearts of many as the new film is set to delve further into her shadowy past. While her story following 2016's Captain America: Civil War may not impact the franchise's continuity as a whole, Natasha Romanoff's interactions with newcomers Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour) and villain Taskmaster could clue us into how they factor into later stories within the MCU. 

The Eternals (orig. release: Nov. 6, 2020; new release: Feb. 12, 2021)

The cosmic team-up film akin to James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy was originally set to conclude the year with a bold leap for Marvel once more into the otherworldly side of the comic-book realm. Now set to kick off the spring season, sliding into theaters just before Valentine's Day, the tale of an immortal alien race reunited to protect the universe from destruction will unfold in The Eternals. With an ambitious and handsome cast headed up by Richard Madden as all-powerful Eternal Ikaris, Angelina Jolie as the warrior Thena and Kumail Nanjiani as the wise-cracking Kingo, the film is set to be just as stacked with stars as any Guardians or Avengers film before it. Hinting at a globe-trotting and galaxy-hopping feature that spans from Bollywood to the deep-space realm of the ancient Celestials, The Eternals will likely be Marvel's weirdest film of 2021, and one that will surely forge its focus on the cosmic well past the conclusion of Phase Four. 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (orig. release: Feb. 12, 2021; new release: May 7, 2021)

The early spring introduction of Marvel's first Asian-led superhero story is now due in theaters in late spring, as the Master of Kung-Fu Shang-Chi seeks to come into his own within the Marvel universe. Set to reintroduce not only the Ten Rings terrorist organization back into the MCU (featured heavily across films like Iron Man and Ant-Man), but also its leader in the Mandarin (the real one this time), the film will see newcomer Simu Liu step into the shoes of hero Shang-Chi as the character tackles the injustices of his complicated family. With Just Mercy director Destin Daniel Cretton at the helm, the humanity at the heart of the powerful warrior's becoming will surely make Shang-Chi one Marvel's most complex new heroes. 

  

Thor: Love and Thunder (orig. release: Nov. 5, 2022; new release: Feb. 11, 2022)

2022 will kick off with the return of both director Taika Waititi and his cast from 2017's Thor: Ragnarok to the MCU. While the contract of leading thunder-god Chris Hemsworth was thought to be up following his graceful turn as Thor in Avengers: Endgame, the actor will swing the hammer at least one more time alongside Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie and Waititi's own Korg. Just as he did with the 2017 sequel, Waititi aims to shake things up, and bring the storytelling of the comics to the screen with his own twists at play. With Natalie Portman's Jane Foster confirmed to return, the film will see her step up to the plate as the female incarnation of Thor, a recent update to the comic-book love interest of Hemsworth's titular god. While Portman's reentry to the franchise will surely bring enough fun and drama for Waititi to toy with, the sequel is also set to bring the Guardians of the Galaxy into the mix to some extent, as well as feature actor Christian Bale as a yet-to-be-confirmed antagonist. 

  

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (orig. release: May 7, 2021; new release: March 25, 2022)

While cosmic entities are at play in Thor: Love and Thunder and The Eternals, interdimensional travel will likely be the focus of 2022's next MCU project. As the follow-up to 2016's Doctor Strange, the film originally intended to follow Shang-Chi in 2021 will now send us further into the multiverse in spring 2022. With director Sam Raimi taking up the helm from Scott Derrickson from the first film, the "gothic" horror elements that Derrickson was set to bring to the sequel featuring Sorcerer Supreme Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) will more than likely live on as the Evil Dead director joins the project. Acting as the first film that will directly tie into the incoming Disney+ series WandaVision, the film will feature Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff following her return as the character in the series. While it remains unconfirmed if the small-screen series will hold its December 2020 release date, the inclusion of Maximoff aka The Scarlet Witch in the mind-bending sequel will most definitely promise a disturbance in the peaceful fabric of the Marvel universe in the years after the events of Avengers: Endgame. 

  

As far as the films are concerned, Marvel's Phase Four is set to break new ground with entirely new characters to the MCU come 2021. While next year might seem far off, there is still plenty to enjoy with the franchise's more familiar characters as the year's end will see Black Widow finally come out of the shadows, and two series in August's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and December's WandaVision will detail the continued stories of Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, Wanda Maximoff and Vision. While Disney and Marvel Studios have further confirmed the likelihood of sequels to their most recent projects like Captain Marvel and Black Panther (set tentatively at May 6, 2022 and July 8, 2022 respectively), the films that go past 2021 are likely to shift even more, potentially joining the fifth phase of the MCU. Given Marvel's track record of debuting at least three films per year, it may be a while until we see those characters embark on their own adventures again on the big screen. As for the third entry to the Guardians of the Galaxy series, and the unconfirmed Spider-Man: Far From Home follow-up, their releases remain unknown.