Christmas came early for Marvel fans following a flurry of announcements that were made by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige during Disney’s Investor Day presentation Thursday afternoon.
In addition to a new Fantastic Four movie and a third Ant-Man film, Feige shared news on Christian Bale’s jump to the MCU (as the villain Gor the Godbutcher in Thor: Love and Thunder ), fresh details on Captain Marvel 2 , a release date for its original series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier , and more info surrounding a slew of new Marvel shows headed to its Disney+ streaming service.
Through its acquisition of Fox, Feige introduced a retooled Fantastic Four film as part of its Phase 4 slate of theatrical titles with current Spider-Man director Jon Watts at the helm. The heroes, which were introduced in 1961, feature some of Marvel’s most beloved comic book creations, including Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm.
The third Ant-Man film, to be titled Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania , will be directed by Peyton Reed and reunite Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Hope van Dyne/the Wasp. Freaky star Cassie Lang will join the cast as the daughter of Scott, while Jonathan Majors ( Lovecraft Country ) will play the time-travelling villain Kang the Conqueror.
Feige also revealed during the presentation that the late Chadwick Boseman will not be replaced as T’Challa for Black Panther 2 . Instead the sequel, which is due in theatres in July 2022, will continue to “explore the world of Wakanda and all of the rich and characters introduced in the first film.”
The studio also committed to releasing Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow spinoff in theatres next year. The film, which was due out last spring, is set to hit cinemas on May 7, 2021.
“Fans have been patient, and I can’t tell you just how ready we are for this Avenger to finally have her own standalone film,” Feige said, according to EW .
Backed by its 86.8 million subscriber base, Disney+ will also aggressively push out a number of new Marvel-themed projects, including Secret Invasion , centring on Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn’s Skrull commander Talos.
Don Cheadle’s War Machine will also get his own show, Armor Wars, a premise which is “a classic Marvel story about Tony Stark’s worst fear coming true: what happens when his tech falls into the wrong hands? ”
And even though Robert Downey Jr. and Tony Stark are out of the MCU following his death in last year’s Avengers: Endgame , Disney+ will explore his legacy with Ironheart , a series that centres on Riri Williams, a young girl who builds “the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man.”
James Gunn , who will write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 , will also shoot a live-action Guardians holiday special set to air in 2022.
“One of my favourite stories ever, which I have bugged (Feige) endlessly about over the years,” Gunn tweeted . “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this. And, yes, I unronically loved the Star Wars Holiday Special as a kid … The story is as crazy & fun as can be, & it’s live-action & in the MCU. ”
Disney+’s upcoming shows will also crossover with its theatrical slate with Kamala Khan — aka Ms. Marvel — set to appear alongside Brie Larson in Captain Marvel 2 and next month’s WandaVision tying in with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (which will also impact Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 3 ).
Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan will continue the legacy of Captain America’s shield in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier debuting March 19, while Tom Hiddleston’s cunning trickster Loki’s anticipated spinoff show is set to hit the service next May.
Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany will play Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk alongside Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk in She-Hulk , with Tim Roth reviving his villainous Abomination, who appeared in the Hulk’s only solo film in 2008.
In an interview with the Sun last year, Feige said that the conclusion of Endgame gave Marvel a clean slate going forward.
“When we decided we were going to make individual stand-alone movies that would connect to these three phases over the course of what will be known as the Infinity Saga, we needed an ending to be able to build and grow and finish that arc,” he said.
“You also need endings to have new beginnings. So it became very, very important to us over the last four, five years, when we first decided to do this, that we have an ending. Because all great stories have endings.”
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