Marvel Phase 4: Confirmed Release Dates and Future Projects

With the recent announcement of the new release dates for Black Widow, Marvel Studios is once again teasing fans with upcoming projects. As the Avengers: Endgame dust settles, the question remains: when will Marvel officially confirm their Phase 4 lineup?

The Release of Black Widow and Rearranged Plans

Disney Studios has pushed back the release of Black Widow, the highly anticipated film led by Scarlett Johansson. Originally slated for a May 1 release, the movie will now hit theaters on November 6, 2020. This shift in release date has also led to a delay in another highly anticipated Marvel Studios project, The Externals. Scheduled for a February 12, 2021 release, the film featuring Hollywood stars such as Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, and Kit Harington will now be postponed.

In addition to major delays, Disney has announced plans for its Marvel projects till 2022. These upcoming releases include:

Black Widow The Eternals

Stay tuned for further details as Disney provides more information through upcoming events and announcements.

Kevin Feige’s Statements on Future Plans

Muir Studios president Kevin Feige has hinted that they will abandon the concept of “phases” after the Avengers: Endgame releases. In an interview, he stated, “We will release it ‘when we want to.’” This statement suggests that Marvel will focus more on individual films and less on structured phases. However, Marvel is expected to confirm the release dates of their 2020 films and the 2021 projects during the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con.

Black Widow The Eternals Avengers 5 Black Panther Doctor Strange sequel Captain Marvel sequel X-Men Fantastic Four Venom 3 Guardians 3 Black Widow prequel Hawkeye prequel 1 or 2 more Spider-Man movies

In his quote, Feige suggested that Marvel will likely organize a secret event for Phase 4’s announcement, much like they did for Phase 3. Fans can expect the announcement and confirmation to happen shortly after the Avengers: Endgame release.

The Timing of Phase 4’s Launch

Given the history of Marvel’s announcements, the launch of Phase 4 could be as early as the end of 2018, similar to when Phase 3 was announced in October 2014, with the phase scheduled to commence by 2016. However, Marvel is cautious and has a good reason to be so. Movie audiences, while loyal to the Marvel brand, can be surprisingly fickle. For instance, Age of Ultron performed exceptionally well in theaters, but Phase Three has taken significant risks with less-known properties and characters.

Phase Four will likely depend heavily on the success of Phase Three, which will conclude with the Infinity War/Thanos storyline. It’s unlikely that Marvel would confirm Phase Four until the latter half of Phase Three, ensuring that the storylines established in Phase Three can set up potential storylines for a post-Infinity War setting.

Stay tuned for more updates. The world of Marvel is about to get fascinatingly complex once again!