"MCU Phase 4 Predictions and Previews UPDATE"
On my previous MCU Phase 4 post, I put the dates for the upcoming Phase 4 film releases but since then due to the Corona Virus Disney has decided to move back the film dates and here are the updates.
I will have the original date first and the new changed dates that the movie is now coming out on.
Black Widow 5/1/2020 to 11/6/2020
Eternals 11/6/2020 to 2/12/2021
Shang-Chi 2/12/2020 to 5/7/2021
Doctor Strange 2 5/7/2021 to 11/5/2021
Thor 4 11/5/2021 to 2/18/2022
No new date for Spider-Man 3 yet
BUT
We got the exciting news of Black Panther 2 and Captain Marvel 2 official dates!
There had been talks that Black Panther 2 and Captain Marvel 2, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy 3, will either end Phase 4 or kick off Phase 5 and we still have no confirmation from Kevin Feige as of it yet but we do know these two films are highly anticipated and should be box office gold once they come out.
So here I am going to do a preview and prediction for what we COULD get in these two movies, obviously, nothing is set in stone I'm not even sure if pen has hit paper yet for these scripts but here are some things we could come to expect from these two future tentpole MCU characters.
Black Panther 2 - 5/6/2022
Man oh man do I have some ideas for this movie, I really hope they go huge with this film. The last film while great was really safely written and did not take too many chances. Here is to hoping they let Wakanda‘s freak flag fly with this one.
There have been dozens of villains proposed and theorized for this movie but the two most popular are Doctor Doom and Namor the Submariner.
Doctor Doom is obviously the huge and primary antagonist of the Fantastic Four but could be an amazing look at how one country respects its ruler while another despises it’s own King. I am referring to of course how Victor von Doom is beloved by his Latverian subjects meanwhile Wakanda could be in a time of turmoil half the country despises T’Challa wishing they still had Kilmonger as King and blame T’Challa for their involvement in the battle against Thanos anyways. Remember Wakanda was hit the hardest of any country on Earth by Thanos as their army served as the front line fighting alongside the Avengers, so even though the snap victims have returned, those who died fighting Thanos army are still dead. This could be an opportunity for an interesting political struggle movie that I have full confidence that Writer-Director Ryan Coogler would do an amazing job with.
But here is my theory that I truly believe will and should happen, Wakanda v Atlantis.
It all begins after the final battle in Endgame the Wakandans return home and there is a power struggle. We saw how the government works in Wakanda in Black Panther 1 where after T’Chaka died there was the ritual combat ceremony to name the next King. But T’Challa was long thought dead for over five long years, and we see Okoye still leading but we know she refused to make a move on the throne in Black Panther 1. Shuri was also snapped away by Thanos so the most obvious line of thinking is that Winston Duke’s M’Baku took the throne and has been ruling Wakanda longer than T’Challa ever had.
This power struggle is cut short by an invasion of Wakanda that was hinted at in Endgame when Black Widow is asking what they are to do about the earthquake under the African Plate... and it got me thinking about where exactly that plate is...
Then that triggered my A.D.D. brain into thinking, wait a second that looks familiar why is that area sticking out to me...
This is the map from the end of Iron Man 2 (the one y’all are sleeping on, really fun movie) when Nick Fury is discussing Tony Starks future for the Avenger Initiative, this map can be seen in the background... now look at the previous map and tell me that it does not line up perfectly. Kevin Feige is a super nerd like us and would love to be able to stand up on stage at comic con and be like “we have been planting seeds of Namor being in the MCU all the way back in Iron Man 2”, and then to have a throwaway line referencing the exact location? Nah too coincidental they did that line on purpose.
Back to the theory.
The power struggle between M’Baku and T’Challa is cut short because Namor and Atlantis attack Wakanda because they blame them for Thanos and then the sub sequential restarting polluting of earth's oceans once the snap was reverse. If you have zero knowledge of Namor that’s okay, basically, think of him as Aquaman but as an antihero that leans true villain depending on your perspective and what’s happening. Namor is the King of Atlantis and will do whatever it takes to protect his people including battling the Avengers. Fun fact, Namor the comic book character first appeared in 1939, meanwhile, Aquaman first appeared in 1941, in early days of comics (still happens today as well) it was very common for characters to be copied and tweaked so this isn’t a DC vs Marvel thing both companies are guilty of this.
The battle ensues between the two military superpowers and some sort of agreement has to happen between the two because neither can be eviscerated and killed out of the MCU, my thought process is that we will get nods to if not direct visuals of Marvels Greek/Roman pantheon of gods that exist in the comics. This can be referenced in Thor Love and Thunder due to Gorr the God Butcher hunting down and killing “gods” so maybe he kills Poseidon and that’s another reason why Atlantis is angry and blames Wakanda because that would not have happened if they did not fight Thanos.
I have always agreed with the fan casting of Daniel Dae Kim to play Namor and I hope we get to see that on the big screen.
To be serious for a moment, typing "big screen" right there saddened me. Please support your local theaters by buying gift cards right now, a lot of them probably will end up financially failing because of this pandemic and will be bought out by giant corporations. The suggestion I have done and I recommend you do as well if you can afford it is, add up how many movies you would have gone to see during the past month or so and then over the summer as well and just pre buy your tickets via a gift card. The cash in hand right now could save jobs and pay rents to keep your favorite local theater open!
Captain Marvel 2 - 7/8/2022
A quick recap for what was the last we saw of Captain Marvel, Brie Larson's first scenes acting as Captain Marvel aka Carol Danvers actually were her scenes filmed for Infinity War and Endgame. Fun fact, those two films were shot back to back with a total budget of one BILLION dollars. So we last saw Carol where we last saw most of our heroes at the Funeral at the end of Endgame (I still refuse to write whose it is because I hate spoilers), but during the movie, we know that she has been out in deep space helping people from across the galaxy stay safe. The Avengers keep Earth safe, Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers keep the dimension safe, and Captain Marvel is out there fighting to keep the entire universe safe. She even called out Rhodey for this during Endgame when he asked why she hasn't been on Earth to help and she said: "There are a lot of other planets in the universe, and unfortunately they didn't have you guys". This quote right here should tell you that Captain Marvel 2 should lean more to Guardians of the Galaxy and being out in space more so than Captain America and being a grounded story on Earth.
Kevin Feige has said it multiple times he wants to expand the universe he wants these crazy out in space movies and Carol is the perfect hero to do so. So what does that mean for the story? Captain Marvel 1 touched on the long-standing Kree Skrull War that has been raging for generations. Krees are raised to believe that the Skrulls are evil and vice versa. Now that is a gigantic event that was barely covered in the first film, I am hoping we will continue to get more of that storyline going forward in Captain Marvel 2. That could possibly be leading to, if it stays on Earth, the Skrulls Secret Invasion. Maybe there was an uprising and revolt after Carol flew off to help Nick Fury when he called her at the end of Infinity War, maybe the Skrulls blamed Carol for half of them getting dusted and want to get revenge.
There is also a “missing” Skrull from the Captain Marvel movie, I put it in quotes because it can very easily but chalked up as an accidental continuity error by the directors of the movie but, when Talos and the Skrulls show up on earth there are four Skrulls including Talos but only three are accounted for throughout the film.
One dies in the car accident while with Nick Fury, and the “scientist” one dies after impersonating Carol and getting shot by Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg. Then Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos survives and has since reappeared in the MCU impersonating a certain Director. But where is the fourth Skrull? We never saw where they went or ended up. Maybe the Skrull stayed behind and impersonated someone important...
Theories have flown wild about this mysterious fourth Skrull and some have speculated that this Skrull was secretly Black Widow the entire time and this is going to be revealed in Black Widow.
But the theory I’m going with is that this Skrull has been impersonating certain members of the avengers multiple times throughout the MCU. And now that Carol left the Skrulls right as Thanos Snap happened my theory is that a separatist group of Skrulls is going to return to Earth to exact revenge.
One thing we do know is that in Captain Marvel 2 we will be seeing Monica Rameau all grown up and now a government agent, will she have any if her comic book powers? Maybe but doubtful. I imagine the entire plot plays out of Carol and Monica working together to figure out who all has been compromised and is secretly a Skrull imposter, which will lead to an emotional climax of Monica realizing the Skrull leading the Secret Invasion is none other than Talos daughter that Monica had a connection with at the end of Captain Marvel and she will realize it by her purple eyes that Monica once told her that she should never change them.
Thank you so much for reading please like and subscribe!
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