MCU Phase 4

Spider-Man: No Way Home is the next film set to be released in Phase Four. Photo used with permission of the Marvel Fan Database.

Phase Four pans out

Students, staff reflect on current and upcoming Marvel releases

Emma Tomlinson tomliemm000@hsestudents.org

For Marvel fans, 2019 marked the end of an era filled with iconic storylines, loveable characters and hit films. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe enters its fourth phase, the introduction of unfamiliar characters, storylines and production choices have longtime fans wondering “What now?” Marvel splits the release of its films into phases, with the end of a phase typically indicating the natural end of a story arc. Kevin Feige, President and primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise, announced the production of Phase Four during a press conference in October 2014, but the release of “WandaVision” in January 2021 truly marked the beginning of the new era. Phase Four has a distinctly unique attribute: television shows. This is the first time that the MCU has seen television incorporated as canon storylines into the franchise. “I think, financially, Disney has evolved into this stuff,” English teacher Ben Beasley said. “It’s a lot safer to do television; you know people are going to be in their homes. I think that the evolution of people staying home versus going to films is a large part of that impact.” There are 16 television shows in the works for Phase Four, with many release dates still to be announced. Currently, Disney+ is streaming five of those shows, including the recent release of “Hawkeye.” The six episode season is set to conclude on Dec. 22, and stars Clint Barton, a familiar but relatively unpopular Avenger. “Marvel has done something very similarly effectively with Falcon and the Winter Soldier series [taking a less popular character and giving them a show], and from what I’ve seen so far, [Hawkeye] is a sort of foil for the newer young Avengers coming up,” Beasley said. Marvel plans to introduce the Young Avengers throughout several shows and films in this phase. The Young Avengers is a team of young superheroes, first introduced in the Marvel comics. Producers plan on the Young Avengers becoming the franchise’s newest superhero team. “In the new phase, I’m excited to see how the Young Avengers are going to be characterized,” Beasley said. At the end of 2020, contracts of iconic MCU actors such as Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans came to an end. This has spurred the introduction of new characters and plots. Beasley says that he has already seen some of the new characters begin the process of replacing iconic characters. “It’s important to not just drop in these old characters just for fanfare,” Beasley said. “New characters need their chance to grow and develop.” One such new character is weaponry-based Kung Fu master Shang-Chi, whose debut origin film was released on Sept. 3. The film grossed $431 million in box-office sales, breaking the previous box-office record for a Labor Day release. The fan response on social media was overwhelmingly positive. “‘Shang-Chi’ is something I think fans of Marvel should watch because it will tie in to past and future movies as everything in the MCU does, but at the same time this movie would be just as good if I had never seen a single other Marvel movie because it doesn’t require knowledge of the MCU to enjoy,” senior Cora Thompson said. “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is just one of many origin films being produced during Phase Four, with the introduction of several new characters. Origin films depict a character’s backstory and chronicle their development as a protagonist. However, Marvel origin stories have not always been a hit with fans. “The

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Incredible Hulk” is one such origin fi lm that fell fl at with fans, and some are worried that Marvel may repeat their mistakes with upcoming fi lms. “I think that how well they defi ne these characters will be the deciding factor in how well all of these new movies are going to go,” senior Derek May said. May believes that there will be a mix of good and bad origin fi lms in this upcoming phase due to Marvel’s previous history. “I mean, the Iron Man movies were so good and iconic, and they were origin fi lms,” May said. “Of course, there’s always going to be bad ones like ‘Th e Hulk,’ but I don’t think that means the new ones will be bad.” Beasley argues that origin fi lms cannot be truly judged for the fi rst few years aft er their release because they oft en set up events to come in future fi lms. “I mean, looking back even at Phase One, there were movies that weren’t huge hits, but the characters became integral to the franchise,” Beasley said. However, fans have been quick to criticize the recently released “Th e Eternals” fi lm. Th e fi lm has received a 65% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the worst-rated fi lm of the whole franchise. Many fans share a similar complaint, stating in their reviews that the plot was “convoluted” and the storyline was not “strong enough.” “I felt like there was a lot going on in the movie, and yet nothing at all,” Th ompson said. With the fl ood of new characters and storylines being introduced, some fans are relieved to see familiar faces, such as Tom Holland’s SpiderMan, return to the big screen. Th e project that May is most excited about in Phase Four is Spider-Man: No Way Home. Th e movie will focus on something that no previous Spider-Man has dealt with: Peter Parker’s identity as Spider-Man being revealed. “It’s the third movie of the third version of Spider-Man, which is pretty cool,” May said. “I’m excited to see if all the fan theories about diff erent versions of Spider-Man showing up in the movie.” “Spider-Man: No Way Home” will be released in theaters on Dec. 17, and tickets have already gone on sale for opening night. Record-breaking presale numbers have even caused some mobile ticket apps to crash due to high site traffi c. “I was worried for a while that we wouldn’t get to see the fi nal Spider-Man movie because of the confl ict between Disney and Sony over the rights, but knowing that they’re willing to cooperate and get this movie produced for the fans only makes it more exciting,” Th ompson said. Th e incorporation of old characters and introduction of new ones into Phase Four sums up Kevin Feige’s goal of continuing in “new ways and new beginnings.” Fans hope that these new characters will become as iconic in their own rights as their old favorites. “I see them doing more projects that are refl ective of older, popular comics,” Beasley said. “It will be interesting to see the creativity in this new era now that producers are not necessarily tied to the old storylines.” Photos used with the permission of Marvel Fan Database.