Disney really isn’t holding back. Aside from their remakes, the media and entertainment giant is gearing up for their upcoming streaming service, Disney Plus. It’s clear they have especially big plans for their Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. During the Marvel panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios announced new, MCU-based TV series for Disney+ which will reportedly launch on Nov. 12 for U.S. subscribers. TV Line reports, “It will then be rolled out to the rest of the world over the next two years.”
Excited? We’ve listed down their upcoming MCU-based movies and series here:
The Eternals
The Eternals is a race created by Celestials who visited Earth five million years ago. Though they are not entirely immortal, they are much more long-lived. They protect the human race, especially from the Deviants, a deviant race also created by the Celestials with their powers and advanced technology.
Leading the film is Angelina Jolie who plays an Eternal, Thena, alongside Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Lauren Ridloff as Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, and Don Lee as Gilgamesh.
According to Collider, director Chloe Zhao says that “Although the lead characters are immortals, the film will explore what it’s like to be human.”
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Here, Anthony Mackie once again plays Sam Wilson, who now takes on the role of Captain America. He and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) form a crime-fighting duo in the series. Polygon reports, “The Falcon and Winter Soldier is likely set sometime after Spider-Man: Far From Home in the MCU’s timeline, but we don’t know exactly when.”
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
This film is set to introduce its first Asian lead protagonist, played by actor Simu Liu. He will be joined by the likes of Awkwafina and Tony Leung, with the latter playing the Mandarin.
It will be directed by Destin Creston and written by Chinese-American writer Dave Callaham.
Wanda Vision
Alongside Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, who respectively reprise their titular roles in the streaming series, will be joined by an unexpected newcomer: Teyonah Parris, who will star as Monica Rambeau—the daughter of Captain Marvel’s friend’ Maria Rambeau. However, per Collider, “this new Disney+ series sees Monica all grown up in the current timeline of the MCU and ready to take on her own adventures.”
Loki
In Avengers: Infinity War, Loki was killed by Thanos. However, Polygon points out that in Avengers: Endgame, “Loki appeared to alter his own fate when he acquired the Tesseract during the Avengers’ botched ‘time heist’ and teleported himself to safety.” Moreover, during the Comic Con, Tom Hiddleston announced that, “The series does not star the reformed Loki we saw in Thor: Ragnarok. Instead, it’s the truly mischievous version seen in The Avengers.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Benedict Cumberbatch returns for this film, this time with Elizabeth Olsen who plays Wanda Maximoff. Scott Derrickson also returns as director.
CNet notes, “With the film’s title, a version of the Marvel multiverse also seems to have been confirmed by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. This has been teased at before in previous Marvel movies, including Spider-Man: Far From Home.”
What if… ?
This is the first animated series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It features the voice of Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher, a celestial being who observes events in the Marvel universe. They actually made a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Polygon highlights, “The Watcher assigned to observe Earth and its solar system is named Uatu, and he served as the narrator of Marvel’s What If comic book series, telling readers tales of alternate realities.”
Alongside Jeffrey Wright, it has also been announced that several MCU vets are lending their voice for this series.
Hawkeye
Jeremy Renner will reprise his role as Hawkeye for this series, which will reportedly take place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The character Kate Bishop, will also be heavily featured. “I get to teach someone else how to be a superhero without superpowers,” Renner joked at Marvel’s San Diego Comic-Con 2019, while highlighting the underlying message of the series: That anyone can be a hero.
Thor: Love and Thunder
Natalie Portman, who was introduced in the first two Thor movies as astrophysicist Jane Forster, is coming back to the MCU—but not just as a love interest. This time around, she will play a female god of thunder in the fourth film, titled Thor: Love and Thunder. Variety notes, “In a 2014 comic-book storyline, she’s deemed worthy to wield Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, and adopts the title of Thor, the Goddess of Thunder.”
Taika Waititi returns as the film’s director.
Black Widow
Though it’s only been in production for about a month now, a short footage has been released at the Comic Con, where director Cate Shortland and stars Scarlett Johansson, David Harbour, Florence Pugh, O-T Fagbenle, and Rachel Weisz were present.
According to Cinema Blend, details of the reel includes a cityscape shot and the word “BUDAPEST” in big letters across the scene. Natasha was also seen in a standoff with a character named Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh). Additionally, a mysterious character was also revealed in the footage, who was later revealed as comic book villain Taskmaster.
IGN notes that the film takes place between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.
Blade
One of the most unexpected announcements during Marvel’s Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con was that the studio will be rebooting Blade, with actor Mahershala Ali as the lead role, no less.
The Verge notes, “The character was one of the first of Marvel’s superheroes to become a notable hit as a film: Blade was released in 1998, starring Wesley Snipes as the titular vampire hunter.”
Photo courtesy of @ritatjkoro’s Instagram account
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