Marvel are going from strength to strength at the moment. After releasing the first trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron last week (although admittedly they only did so to a plug a leak), they held a press conference in Hollywood on Tuesday during which they announced every single title that will be released during their ‘Phase 3’. A little explanation might be needed there, after each new Avengers movie is released, a new ‘phase’ of superhero movies begins. We’re currently in phase 2, which will be bookened by Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man next summer.
From there we enter phase 3, which until Tuesday was shrouded in mystery, but now we can confirm that it will consist of 9 films released between 2016 and 2019. Amazingly, four of them are going to be brand new screen adaptations, flanked by 3 sequels and a 2-part Avengers royal rumble. What’s more, more or less all of these new franchise films are distinctly risky plays, perhaps even more so that Guardians of the Galaxy was, but given how successful Star-Lord and company’s first outing was in the box-office, Marvel’s confidence to roll-out lesser-known names has clearly been buoyed. This might all seem like a lot to take in, so I thought I would provide a rundown of all the films and what to expect from them. The hype-train is leaving the station. Choo fucking choo.
Captain America: Civil War – May 6th 2016
The last Captain America movie was warmly recieved overall, but I’ve always considered the franchise to be the weakest arm of the Marvel movie machine. It’s not as tongue-in-cheek as Iron Man or as grandiose as Thor. This third installment might well be the one to tip the scale, however. For those unfamiliar, the Civil War comic storyline involved the inception of the Superhero Registration Act, requiring all crusaders, caped or otherwise to register and thereby reveal their secret identity. Tony Stark, ever the PR man, is fully on-board with the idea while Steve Rogers is dead set against it. This slices a rift right down the middle of the superhero community and Stark and Rogers end up leading two opposing factions of heroes against each other. Crazy, right?
Robert Downey Jr. had already revealed that his involvement with the Marvel movie world would continue beyond Age of Ultron despite no plans for any more Iron Man movies and the idea of him essentially acting as an antagonist is very enticing. Black Panther will make his debut appearance in this film played by Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up, Draft Day) and Falcon and the Winter Soldier will both return. No word yet on who else will join the fold but this is set to be the biggest Marvel movie outside of the Avengers and there are even some juicy rumors that Sony are looking for a franchise merger so that they can get Spider-man involved. Like nearly every film on this list it’s a little early to make any director/writer calls, but whoever they pick, it’ll be a big job.
Doctor Strange – November 4th 2016
This one was less of a surprise, since the Stephen Strange name was dropped during Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Doctor Strange is one of the most interesting characters ever to come out of Marvel and he’s featured in almost all of their big franchises at some stage or another. Created by Steve Ditko in 1963, Strange was a neurosurgeon who lost the ability to operate when his hands were damaged in a car crash. His desperation for a cure lead him to the mystical Ancient One, who mentored him the dark arts. Doctor Strange was known for being one of the more abstract, psychedelic Marvel comics and the character is known for his moral ambiguity and bombast.
Benedict Crumblebread has already been cast in the role, beating out a slew of other heavyweights rumored to have been considered for the role, such as Johnny Depp and Joaquin Phoenix. Scott Derrick has been signed to direct and his experience with horror films like The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Sinister would suggest that this film will have a dark, psychological bearing to it.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 5th 2017
I know, shocker. The first Guardians of the Galaxy film was really a way for Marvel to test the water, to find out just how well a relatively unknown franchise would do if it was given the big screen treatment. As it turned out, the film was a critical darling and a box-office smash, something I am very grateful for, since it will result in more risky plays and less chain-moving sequels. This one was waiting to be loaded into the chamber even before the first film was released and after a massive first week it was announced straight away.
This second film will allegedly deal with the identity of Star-Lord’s father, who will apparently be someone different to the character laid down in the comics. Beyond that very little is known, but it’s a safe bet that Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet will also feature (more on that later). The Hulk is also rumored to be making an appearance, suggesting either a trip to Earth or perhaps even a nod to the Planet Hulk arc, during which he was exiled by Doctor Strange and the Illuminati. James Gunn is back in the directing chair/writing desk and all the players from the first are reprising their roles, as expected.
Thor: Ragnarok – July 28th 2017
After the massive success of Kenneth Branagh’s first Thor film, expectations were high for the sequel. Unfortunately, The Dark World proved to be little more than an uninspiring franchise booster with a predictable plot and no idea how London works (Charing Cross to Greenwich Park in 3 stops? Sorry, no). This one will up the ante, to say the least. Ragnarok is the Norse iteration of the apocalypse, although it’s more of a hard-reset than the a straight-up end of everything. In the comics it also refers to a character, a cybernetic clone of Thor himself. It’s unclear which of these two things the title refers to, but my money would be on the former.
The clone story is just a little too farfetched and convuluted for the Marvel treatment, whereas the idea of Asgard being beset by an army of fire demons lead by the 1000 foot tall Sutur and submerged in water seems a lot more easy to map to an action movie. It would also provide a legitimate excuse for Thor to sit out of the third Avengers film, as he is rumored to be doing. In any case, hopefully this will inject some life back into the faltering franchise.
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