Marvel comics is on the rise. Since it began adapting super heroes into big-budget franchises, the company has turned out hit after hit, culminating in the most successful movie crossover of all time, Joss Whedon's "The Avengers." Now, the studio is well into Phase 2 of its Marvel Cinematic Universe and studio president Kevin Feige says there is no end in site.
"I could arguably say what we're planning for the year 2021," he said in a recent interview with WIRED. "Will that happen? I don't know. But what we planned for 2015 in 2006 is happening."
According to IGN, two dates have already been announced for unspecified movies, one in 2016 and one in 2017. Now it appears we can expect even more in the years past that assuming all goes according to plan for the superhero franchise giants. Characters such as Doctor Strange and Black Panther are rumored to have movies in the pipeline. Marvel has a legacy of over 50 years of comic books with stories and crossovers branching in almost every direction. The possibilities for more movies and heroes is endless.
"Five years ago, looking at our plan, we knew that if Avengers was going to work, the movies had to stand alone," Feige said. "Now we have to prove to the studio that we're more than just these five characters, these five franchises."
Once Phase 2 of Marvel's plan is complete with 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy and 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron, the studio will immediately get started on Phase 3 by finally bringing the most unknown member of the Avengers into the fold, Ant-Man that same year. If this current pacing keeps up, Feige's promise of films in 2021 might actually happen.
Tell us what you think. What characters would you like to see crossover into the Avengers universe from other Marvel Franchises? We think it's about time Spiderman found a way to get his webs in there.
