Talk about surprises. Marvel Cinematic Universe 3 concluded with Avengers: Endgame – spearheaded by Iron Man, Robert Downey. It lasted a decade and made several films; found millions of fans and made billions of dollars at the box office.
For MCU fans, there was no set of actors who could replace the charm brought by Tony Stark, the leader of the original Avengers in a sense and the rest. All that is of course until Marvel Studios decided to showcase its next chapter ideas - featuring actors we never deemed would associate themselves with this superhero project - at the recently concluded Comic Con 2019 in San Diego.
New actors are bringing new characters with Eternals now replacing Avengers. For Eternals, Marvel has cast Angelina Jolie as Thena, who is a warrior and will become the eventual leader of Eternals. She will be joined by Richard Madden (Game of Thrones, Bodyguard) as Ikaris. The Eternals will also include Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani and Salma Hayek in various roles. Can you say OMG! And yes to confirm this news, the leader of Eternals - along with her gang - turned up at Comic Con 2019 in San Diego, shocking pretty much everyone. The Eternals will be directed by Chloe Zhao and is scheduled to release on November 6, 2020.
Meanwhile, the long standing promise of making a standalone Black Widow movie, who was one of the original Avengers, is now finally happening. The Black Widow film will feature Scarlett Johansson in the chief role where she will be joined Stranger Things 3 star David Harbour. To that end, a panel was held on the Black Widow film where Johansson confirmed the news. After years of appearing in multiple Marvel films, a solo film for her from Marvel is worth every penny. The film will also feature the Oscar-winning Rachel Weisz as
Melina Vostokoff/Iron Maiden, who trained in the same place as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow.
If that information hasn’t knocked your socks off, MCU 4 has a lot in the pipeline to change your mind. There is a symbiotic relationship between Disney, which owns Marvel Studios and the upcoming Disney Plus streaming service when it comes to the Marvel Universe 4.
The first series from MCU 4 will be The Falcon and The Winter Soldier! Anthony Mackie (The Falcon) and Sebastian Stan (The Winter Soldier) revealed to Comic Com fans that actor Daniel Bruhl will return as the villain with the series set to air in the fall of 2020.
Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen will reprise their roles as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and Vision - in Wanda/Vision that will air on Disney Plus in the spring of 2021.
A Thor film is also in the works called Thor: Love and Thunder where Natalie Portman will return as Jane Foster, and will join Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth. Jane Foster will be the Goddess of Thunder. How delightful.
As for the mischievous Loki, Tom Hiddleston will return in the titular role of Loki in a Disney Plus series that will go on air in 2021. Another series featuring one of the original Avengers will be called Hawkeye and star Jeremy Renner in the lead role.
A standalone Mahershala Ali film called Blade is coming from Marvel Studios as well, with the news confirmed by Mahershala Ali.
Another Doctor Strange film is in the offing called Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness where Benedict Cumberbatch will reprise the role of Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange and will be joined by Elisabeth Olsen aka Scarlett Witch. The film even has the release date of May 7, 2021. This is, of course just the start; knowing Marvel anything can happen. But to rope in these stars is a Marvel in itself.
– With information from Marvel Studios
