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In Film/TV

Marvel Studios announces Phase Four, including ‘The Eternals’ and Natalie Portman as ‘Thor’

By Nick Johnstonon
Avengers: Endgame
Marvel

The most hotly anticipated panel of the entire San Diego Comic-Con happed on Saturday in Hall H, where Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige took the stage to announced the Phase Four slate of films. There were ten blank titles on their new road-map, including a whopping seven coming out in 2021 alone. Most would be Disney+ shows, but a ton of movies would be announced as well.

The first film to be announced was Eternals, the long-rumored adaptation of the Jack Kirby-created comic about the immortal godlike beings who protect the Earth from the Celestials. It’ll be directed by Chloe Zhao, who gained fame for her 2018 film The Rider, which was a hit on the Festival Circuit. Eternals will star Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Madden, Gong Li, Bryan Tyree Henry and more, and will hit theaters on November 20, 2020.

Marvel’s Falcon and Winter Soldier, starring Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie and Daniel Bruhl, will hit Disney+ in the fall of 2020.

Daniel Deston-Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was up next, and will feature Simi Liu as the title character, Tony Leung as the original Mandarin, the Iron Man nemesis who nerds got mad about when he wasn’t in Iron Man 3. Awkwafina is also in the cast in an undisclosed role. It’ll hit theaters on February 12, 2021.

The next Disney+ series announced was WandaVision, which will see Paul Beatty and Elizabeth Olson returning to their roles as the Vision and the Scarlett Witch. Apparently it’ll be set after Endgame, and Captain Marvel‘s Monica Rambeau will be featured in some capacity. It’ll hit that streaming service in the Spring of 2021.

Following that would be the Disney+ series Loki, which will feature Tom Hiddleston reprising his role as the Norse God of Mischief. It’ll arrive in the Spring of 2021 as well.

The next film to hit theaters after that will be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is, uh, a choice! Scott Derrickson will return to direct, and we’re pumped to hear that Marvel is branching out into the multiverses that have defined their work, and also the Lovecraftian implications behind that title as well. Derrickson apparently is saying that it’ll be the first “scary” MCU film, as well, and Elizabeth Olsen will also appear in it as Scarlett Witch. It’ll hit theaters on May 7, 2021.

The next Disney+ series after Loki will be What If?, which will feature Jeffery fuckin’ Wright as The Watcher. It’ll be animated, and a whole host of familiar faces will return to voice their characters. That’s coming in the summer of 2021.

Following that Disney+ announcement, yet another series was announced: this time, it’s Hawkeye, which will see Jeremy Renner return to the role to train the next trick archer, Kate Bishop. That’ll hit Disney+ in the Fall of 2021.

Next up was Thor 4, which has been titled Thor: Love and Thunder. Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson (whom Thompson says Valkrye will “find her Queen” in this movie), and director Taika Waititi will return. Even crazier: it’ll adapt Jason Aaron’s gender-flipped Thor storyline, and Natalie Portman will return to play Lady Thor. Holy shit! It’ll hit theaters on November 5, 2021.

And, finally, Black Widow. It’ll star Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, and Rachel Weisz. Directed by Berlin Syndrome‘s Cate Shortland, it’ll hit theaters next May and be set during Civil War and in Budapest. Taskmaster will be the villain. They’re showing footage, as well — an action sequence between Johansson and Pugh — so you should expect grainy cellphone rips of it to hit the Internet within the next 48 hours.

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! Feige confirmed that the Fantastic Four and the X-Men are both in the pipeline, along with James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, followed by sequels to Black Panther and Captain Marvel. Then, Mahershala Ali took the stage, where he was announced as the new Blade for an upcoming feature film. Talk about an ending!

And, on that note, the panel ended. Well, it’s official, folks: Marvel won this Comic-Con, though would there be any doubt? Anyways, this was a crazy-ass panel, and these announcements will be sure to stoke the passions of many nerds out there in the world.

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