Marvel producer Kevin Feige says the MCU will be “very different” in future.
[dropcap size=small]M[/dropcap]arvel Studios essentially pioneered the way in which a cinematic universe is built. From Iron Man through to The Avengers in phase 1, followed by a generous sprinkling of interconnecting Marvel titles in phase 2, and several upcoming titles that will continue to set up phase 3, Marvel’s cinematic universe is stronger than ever.
(Image via The Frameworks)
Doctor Strange, which was the second Marvel title in phase 3, was arguably a major turning point in the MCU, as it had all the makings of enabling the universe to interconnect on a much grander scale than ever before. With the as yet untitled 4th Avengers movie set to finish off the third phase in the years to come, it begs the question of whether or not the MCU will undergo a new evolution for phase 4.
Marvel producer Kevin Feige recently spoke with Collider about the studio’s outlook on the future of the MCU and phase 4. Collider’s Steven Weintraub began by asking Feige about whether or not actor contracts have a bearing on the future of the MCU, to which Feige explained they “haven’t factored in too much”:
“We’ve been lucky that [contract expirations] haven’t factored in too much. We’ve had people under contract for certain films, then we’ve had new ideas and new directions like Civil War like we wanted to do, and we’ve been lucky enough to make new contracts. O[n] Spider-Man: Homecoming, the cast has been awesome in their enthusiasm for the direction and the storylines that we’ve been telling. So it really does, right now, all start with where we wanna take the stories.”
But, more interestingly, Feige indicated that the studio could potentially be putting an end to the phases after Avengers 4 for an entirely “new thing” altogether:
“Certainly as we get to Infinity War there is a sense of a climax if not a conclusion to, by the time we’re at untitled Avengers 4, the 22 movies that will have encompassed the first three phases of the MCU. And what happens after that will be very different. I don’t know if it’s Phase 4, it might be a new thing.”
So we might not be seeing a “phase 4” as we know it at all. Feige then went on to explain that they haven’t actively made any plans ahead of the 4th untitled Avengers film other than the expected Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel and the planned third instalment of Guardians of the Galaxy:
“We’re not actively discussing anything past untitled Avengers, other than we’ve dated Spider-Man: Homecoming 2—which that would not be the title but that’s what we would call it—because that’s the agreement we made with Sony for the inclusion of Spidey in the Avengers films, and James Gunn doing a third Guardians of the Galaxy at some point. But really the whole focus of Marvel Studios is, counting Guardians 2, the next eight films that are gonna take up all of our time.”
Still, the words “new thing” and “very different” are enough to get us very excited indeed, and not in the least because Feige ended the interview with the following statement:
“We have an idea [of what the MCU looks like post-Infinity War], and it’s gonna be very, very different.”
Colour us intrigued. When it comes to the MCU, we never truly know what surprises lie in wait for us, but if the previous phases have taught us anything, the future of the MCU is sure to be just as Marvellously good as it has been for the past decade.
Whilst our questions about the future of the MCU may not have been entirely answered yet, we can at least look forward to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as we sit and ponder what the future may bring.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be hitting the big screens April 28 (UK) and May 5 (US).
