They say that in comic books, nobody ever stays dead. Well, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe may very well be undying, because the studio says they have 20 upcoming Marvel movies on the docket.
Marvel Studios has always played the long game, ever since Samuel L. Jackson walked out of the shadows at the end of 2008’s Iron Man, the movie that started the MCU. But, there’s still something shocking about hearing Marvel Studios President Kevin Fiege tell Vanity Fair that they’ve got twenty more movies planned out. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just a shitload of movies, is all.
Fiege, who was speaking to Vanity Fair at length for the magazine’s glossy Infinity War cover shoot, commented that the MCU is “22 movies in, and we’ve got another 20 movies on the docket that are completely different from anything that’s come before—intentionally.”
That 22 number Fiege throws out covers all the already released movies (Iron Man to Thor: Ragnarok) as well as the five flicks that will round out the studio’s “Phase Three”: Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, and the untitled fourth Avengers movie.
As for what the heck to expect from those next 20 movies? All that’s been officially confirmed are a Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Those next 18 planned movies could very well be about Marvel characters, worlds, and even time periods that we’ve never even considered before in the MCU. Disney CEO Bob Iger says as much to Vanity Fair.
“We’re looking for worlds that are completely separate—geographically or in time—from the worlds that we’ve already visited,” Iger noted.
Those next twenty movies could be way, way different from anything we’ve seen in the MCU before because Feige promises that Avengers 4 will “bring things you’ve never seen in superhero films: a finale.” With all of the original Avengers actors contracts ending after Avengers 4, that “finale” could be a bloodbath at Thanos’s hands that paves the way for another decade of new Marvel heroes.
What a time to be alive, and also you better hope to stay alive, because the MCU might outlive you, if Marvel Studios has its way.
