Marvel Studios unleashed its entire plan for Phase 3 at a special event in Hollywood on Tuesday. Inside the El Capitan Theatre, the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced three sequels, three new franchises and an epic conclusion for "Earth's Mightiest Heroes."
Kevin Feige took the stage for a 15-minute presentation for Marvel fans to introduce each of the eight new films set to premiere over the next five years. The studio president wanted to make these announcements at San Diego Comic Con in July, but "things hadn't come together until recently," he told reporters at a Q&A session after the fan event.
"Captain America: Civil War" will kick off Phase 3 on May 6, 2016 and "Avengers: Infinity War Pt 2" will wrap it up on May 3, 2019.
Here are the movies and their premiere dates.
END OF PHASE 2
"Avengers: Age Of Ultron" - May 1, 2015
Director Joss Whedon attended the Marvel event that previewed his "Avengers: Age of Ultron" teaser as well as additional clips from the upcoming sequel. Marvel wanted to unveil the teaser during tonight's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," but an Internet leak (reportedly caused by Hydra) led the studio to release it on Oct. 22. More clips will air during tonight's "S.H.I.E.L.D." and the ABC special "Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!" on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
"Ant-Man" - July 17, 2015
Feige made no mention of "Ant-Man" during his presentation. The film will star Paul Rudd as Scott Lang a.k.a. Ant-Man. His co-stars include Michael Douglas (Hank Pym), Corey Stoll (Darren Cross/Yellowjacket) and Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne).
Con-man Scott Lang and his mentor Dr. Hank Pym must protect the secret of the Ant-Man suit that has the ability to shrink a man, but increase his strength at the same time.
PHASE 3
"Captain America 3: Civil War" May 6, 2016
Feige called "Captain America: Civil War" the "civil war of the cinematic universe." Marvel has not announced an official synopsis, but a possible scenario has Captain America facing off against Iron Man in a fight that could permanently change the dynamic between the fellow Avengers.
The "Avengers" sequel may plant the seeds for that growing rift between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. Tensions run high between the two characters in a couple of scenes from the upcoming film, as they did in the first "Avengers" movie.
"Captain America 3" will also introduce the character of Black Panther. "42" actor Chadwick Boseman will play the first black superhero ever created for mainstream comics and made his debut at the event with Marvel vets Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans.
"Welcome to the fray," Downey told Boseman. "Get used to that applause."
The fans tried to get Boseman to choose sides between Downey's Iron Man and Evans' Captain America but "Get on Up" star made the safe choice and said, "Black Panther is kind of his own guy. Boseman did thank the audience and his future co-stars for the warm reception.
"I'm blessed to be a part of this Marvel Universe, to work with you both, and to make magic together," he said.
"Doctor Strange" - Nov. 4, 2016
Benedict Cumberbatch became the most recent actor to have his name attached to play Steven Strange a.k.a. Doctor Strange, according to reports on Oct. 27. All casting remains speculative until Marvel makes the final call. "If it was confirmed, we would have announced it today," Feige said and then jokingly added the studio would make the announcement "sometime before the release of the movie."
"Doctor Strange" director Scott Derrickson, who also attended the event, will helm the script given a rewrite by Jon Spaihts. Feige said the movie about the Sorcerer Supreme would "open up a whole new world for the cinematic universe."
"Guardians of the Galaxy 2" - May 5, 2017
Marvel bumped up the release date for the untitled "Guardians of the Galaxy" sequel by two months. The studio had so much faith in the first movie that it announced the sequel a week before the original even premiered. "Guardians of the Galaxy" went on to have the highest-grossing August debut in history.
"Guardians of the Galaxy" did give a face to Thanos, played by Josh Brolin. He will likely be the villain in the upcoming "Avengers: Infinity War" films as well as making other small appearances throughout Phase 3. Feige said he will discuss more sequel details with director James Gunn when he returns from Tokyo (he's currently there for the Tokyo International Film Festival).
"Thor 3: Ragnarok" - July 28, 2017
Ragnarok has several meanings but they all sum up to "the end of all things," as Feige called it. In Norse mythology, Ragnarok is the ultimate doom of all gods and humans. Neither paints a rosy picture.
The character of Ragnarok first appeared in the Marvel comics in "Civil War #3" in 2006. When Thor is presumed dead, Tony Stark takes a piece of Thor's hair that he had collected upon their first meeting and helps Reed Richards and Hank Pym clone the Asgardian DNA and fuse it with Stark technology. The clone was used to battle anti-registration heroes during the Civil War.
"This is a very important movie for us in Phase 3" Feige said, who also confirmed Tom Hiddleston will reprise his role as Loki in the film. "We plan on taking Thor to another level. It picks up where we leave Thor in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' and impacts everything that comes after."
"Black Panther" - Nov. 3, 2017
Boseman's "Black Panther" will mark the first non-white lead character in a Marvel Studios production (depending on the final casting for "Doctor Strange"). Feige teased that the footage shown during the event may have contained an Easter egg "that leads directly into 'Black Panther."
Marvel creator Stan Lee first confirmed plans for a "Black Panther" movie back in late August at Fan Expo Canada.
"Black Panther and all of Wakanda is one of the most interesting characters in Marvel history," Feige said on Tuesday. "He's a bit of a prince, he may even become a bit of a king, but it's all about how this isolationist country meets the world. Maybe it goes well, may it doesn't."
"Avengers: Infinity War Pt. 1" - May 4, 2018 / "Avengers: Infinity War Pt. 2" - May 3, 2019
Marvel will split its third Avengers story into two movies. As many have speculated, the story will likely revolve around the Infinity Guantlet, which made an appearance in the footage shown at the event.
"Captain Marvel" - July 6, 2018
Not to be outdone by DC and Warner Bros., who announced a solo Wonder Woman movie for 2017, Marvel will premiere its first female-led film with Captain Marvel front and center.
"This Captain Marvel's name is Carol Danvers," Feige said. "This film has been in the works almost as long as 'Doctor Strange' or 'Guardians of the Galaxy' before it came out, and one of the key things was figuring out what we wanted to do with it. Her adventures are very earthbound, but her powers are based in the cosmic realm."
"Inhumans" - Nov. 2, 2018
Like "Black Panther," the MCU will also drop "Inhumans" Easter eggs sooner rather than later, according to Feige. Marvel's next ensemble franchise will "introduce dozens of characters," Feige said. "We really do believe the Inhumans can be a franchise or a series of franchise unto themselves. They have dozens of powers and an amazing social structure."
"Inhumans" will mark the twentieth movies for Marvel Studios. Feige said the studio "wanted to continue to refine what the universe is about."
The Marvel special event comes about two weeks after DC and Warner Bros. unveiled their own slate of movies through 2020. Feige wanted to make Tuesday's event fun and have the fans "on the front line" for the announcement. As the fan portion of the event wrapped up, Feige told the audience, "As you can see, we have a hell of a lot of work to do."
