Black Panther
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced theMarvel Cinematic Universe ’s Phase 3 slate back in 2014 , but how have those plans make out ? TheMCU Phase 3 announcementwas absolutely unprecedented , with Marvel reveal every celluloid they planned to turn between 2016 and 2019 during a secret event . What ’s more , the ticket included upshot movies likeCaptain America : Civil Warand - of course -Avengers : Infinity WarPart IandPart II .
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But this annunciation had another burden , one that ’s less comment upon . While Marvel has a report for long - term provision , the truth is that the studio is remarkably flexible , adapting - sometimes at upper - to changing circumstances and popular answer to their ideas . By divulge their initial Phase 3 ticket , Marvel unwittingly allowed witness to see just how their plans could shift . So permit ’s take a flavour at the original slate , and research just how that played out .
The MCU Phase 3 Slate
On October 29 , 2014 , Marvel Studios hold back a press event at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles . There , Feige shocked journalists by divulge Marvel ’s plans for the next five yr , confirming a slew of sequel , a bit of new eccentric , and a tentpole two - part event movie that would of necessity see the Avengers go up against Thanos . Funnily enough , this announcement had occur just two week afterWB unveiled the DCEU ’s entire slate . Here ’s what the original slate looked like :
It was sure as shooting ambitious , and it promised to conform some of the most pop comical book news report of all metre for the MCU . What ’s more , the announcement also affirm that Marvel had decided on Thanos as the Big Bad of their shared cinematic creation ; he ’d been premise in the post - credits scene of 2012’sThe Avengers , and appeared in 2014’sGuardians of the Galaxy , but nobody had rightfully take in he ’d be intend to play such a major purpose .
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How Marvel’s Phase 3 Slate Changed
Ironically , though , it was n’t long before the Phase 3 ticket began to exchange . before that year , Marvel had offer a deal with Sony that would grant a new personification of Spider - Man to enter the MCU . Sony ab initio turned them down , but reconsidered over the next few months . In February 2015,Marvel and Sony announced a landmark Spider - Man dealthat would get Marvel puke Tom Holland as a adolescent Peter Parker , and introduce him inCaptain America : Civil War . That would be followed by a Spider - Man solo moving picture set in the MCU , Spider - Man : Homecoming , which was prepare to put out in 2017 . All the other release dates were scuffle around , and Marvel shortly droppedInhumanscompletely . ButSpider - Man : Homecomingwasn’t the only gain to the Phase 3 slate ; in October 2015 , Marvel confirm anAnt - Mansequel , Ant - Man & the Wasp , and pushed backCaptain Marvelyet again .
Meanwhile , Joss Whedon result Marvel Studios after behind - the - scenes play onAvengers : Age of Ultron . Whedon had generally been expected to helmAvengers : Infinity War Part IandPart II , but instead Marvel hired the Russo brothers . The Russos seem to have had a slenderly unlike glide path to the two films , which dropped the " Part I and Part II " and became separate entity . Thetitle of the fourth Avengers picture , Avengers : Endgame , has only latterly been revealed .
The New Marvel Phase 3 Slate
As a result , the final MCU Phase 3 slate appear very unlike to the one Marvel announced back in 2014 . The first few films match up , but everything had changed after May 2017’sGuardians of the Galaxy Vol . 2 . Here ’s what it looks like :
Page 2 of 2:How Unexpected Changes Transformed MCU’s Phase 3
How Unexpected Changes Transformed The MCU’s Phase 3 Slate
There are really three major reasons for these changes . The first is the mountain between Marvel and Sony , which bring Spider - Man into the MCU . Under the terms of that slew , Marvel gained the ability to utilize a new version of the wall - crawler as a character in their own moving picture , but in homecoming had to produce a raw series of solo Spider - Man movies on Sony ’s behalf . Those film are pay for and distributed by Sony - and , crucially , Sony are the one who profitfrom their achiever . It was a profits - winnings pot : Sony got a relaunched Spider - Man , with appearances from major MCU thespian like Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson ; Marvel got to incorporate the most marketable superhero of all into the MCU and apply him as part of their coreAvengersfranchise . But that naturally mean that a new film had to be slotted into Phase 3.Spider - Man : Homecoming ’s release alter the entire MCU Phase 3 slate .
Meanwhile , behind - the - scenery drama at Marvel Studios led to a dramatic corporate restructure . Feige was more and more finding himself in conflict with other key image at Marvel Entertainment , who were insisting on having their own way with the MCU . matter seem to have descend to a head in 2015 , with thehigh - profile departure of WhedonafterAvengers : Age of Ultron . As Whedon reflect , the whole experience was a painful one for him . The firstAnt - Manfilm struggled as well , withEdgar Wright quit as manager , and the design look set to repeat itself forCaptain America : Civil War .
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at long last , Feige had enough . There are reports he advertise the issue so far as to peril to lay off , and rather than lose him Disney conducted a massive embodied restructure . They draw out Marvel Studios out of Marvel Entertainment , and place Feige in charge of it . While it ’s hard to pass over the upshot of this alteration in leading , it ’s notable that a lot of the changes to the Phase 3 slate came after Feige was give the authorisation to make his own decision , main of the like of Marvel ’s Ike Perlmutter and Jeph Loeb . Inhumans- a project Feige had always seemed lukewarm on , but that Perlmutter is believed to have been emotional about - was dropped , and legislate to Marvel television set to make an ill - fill out series .
In mid - to - late 2015 , Marvel start solidifying their plan for the death of MCU Phase 3 , rent the Russo brothers as conductor ofAvengers : Infinity War Part IandPart II , with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely brought on display board as writers . The new creative squad presently decided to treatAvengers 3andAvengers 4as separate projects , filming them back - to - back but swing the idea of " Part I and Part II . " Meanwhile , Feige was quenched with the box position execution of the firstAnt - mankind , and by July was gayly discussing musical theme for a sequel;Ant - Man & the Waspwas ultimately announced in October 2015 , replacingInhumans . The Russo brothers have systematically said they believe there ’s a narrative throughline fromAvengers : Infinity War , throughAnt - Man & the WaspandCaptain Marvel , toAvengers : Endgame . If that ’s the event , then that narrative throughline was presumably being resolve in recent 2015 , hence the conclusion to dropInhumansand insertAnt - Man & the Waspinto Phase 3 . It ’s possible different originative option would have been made under the Marvel Creative Committee .
It ’s engrossing to see how MCU Phase 3 change form , almost entirely due to factors that Marvel Studios could n’t predict . When Feige made the Phase 3 announcement back in 2014 , he had no reason to believe the Sony deal was on the table , and he had no approximation his clash with other Marvel Entertainment figures was die to lead to such a dramatic restructure . But this should serve as a caution to any studio making its foresightful - term programme public knowledge ; it ’s impossible to predict every variable , and those plan are ineluctably going to be subject to change . Marvel have away with it without any warm unfavorable judgment , largely because the new plan seemed better than the old ones ; Tom Holland is a tremendous fresh Spider - Man , and in truthInhumanswas a enfranchisement few people care much about .
These observations are more than just a historical curiosity for film buffs . The adjustments made to the Phase 3 slate proved that Marvel would n’t announce their next plans right now . That ’s because the MCU is again about to be transmute by outcome outside Feige ’s control condition , in this caseDisney ’s at hand skill of twentieth Century Fox . That ’s presently bear to beconcluded by June ; sham everything go as planned , thefilm rights for the X - Men and Fantastic Fourwill revert to Marvel Studios . Concepts like " mutants " are sure to drastically reshape theMarvel Cinematic Universe , while it ’s deserving mark that associated franchises are as diverse as Alpha Flight and the Starjammers . Marvel ’s long - term plans will be in fluxion once again .
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