Marvel wasn’t content to let the DCU’s announcement hog all the attention, holding a press event this morning and introducing a 9 film Phase 3 slate, including new franchies like Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, and The Inhumans. Phase 3 will begin with Captain America: Civil War on May 6th, 2016 and end with part two of Avengers: Infinity War on May 3rd, 2019. Thoughts on the giant slate, Marvel’s first big steps at diversity, and how this collides with the DCU below.
Much like the DCU included a Wonder Woman film and a Cyborg film, Captain Marvel and Black Panther have thankfully been added to MCU to include some diversity. Wonder Woman will bow first in 2017, which goes to show how late in the game MCU is, but Captain Marvel, which focuses on Carol Danvers, won’t be too far behind on July 6th, 2018. Fan-casting has of course pointed towards Katee Sackhoff, best known by the world as Starbuck from the fantastic 2004 Battlestar Galactica series, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role. Then again, no one expected Gal Gadot to be up for Wonder Woman, so it’ll be interesting to see who the MCU gets for their first female-led superhero film. Black Panther will star Chadwick Boseman, first starring in Captain America: Civil War, with his solo-film in 2017 (DC’s Cyborg will be in Batman vs Superman, but won’t go solo till 2020). Boseman was most recently seen as Jackie Robinson in 42, so this is a great snag for the role. Fans have been vocal about the lack of diversity in the MCU, so it’s nice to see not only DC responding, but Marvel following suit.
Much like Captain America: Winter Solider changed up the MCU in Phase 2, Thor: Ragnarok will be Phase 3’s gamechanger film, which appears in theaters after Guardians of the Galaxy 2. I think Marvel was emboldened by the response to the first GotG, and their slate reveals a more confident tone by including so many new franchises, plus is willing to change up the Avengers line-up for the Infinity War two-parter. This reveal was certainly a great way to undermine any excitement and buzz the DC had after their ambitious slate was announced only a few weeks back.
The biggest thing missing from the newest films is a Black Widow film, which might spell bad things for Scarlet Johansson’s character in one of the upcoming films. Maybe Age of Ultron? Or maybe not, as Kevin Feige has mentioned she’ll be a “linchpin” for the universe as it goes on.
Also no Hulk focused film, but they were hit-or-miss so far and honestly new franchises and diversity seem like more important things.
Below is the upcoming slate of the DCU and MCU combined, but remember DC is teasing solo films for Batman and Superman somewhere in the coming years, too. Please note, all film release dates are subject to change, as DC has already moved BvS around to avoid a battle with the new Captain America film even before it was revealed to be about the Civil War comic storyline. Wallet, meet your 19 film deep doom:
UPDATE 2/10/2015: Some dates below changed after Spider-Man joined the MCU!
UPDATE 10/12/2015: Ant-Man gets a much deserved sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp (and the Wasp gets a even bigger deserved co-lead spot), which leads to some of the release dates juggling around a bit. I’ve updated the list below.
March 26, 2016: Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
May 6, 2016: Captain America: Civil War
August 5, 2016: Suicide Squad
November 4, 2016: Doctor Strange
May 5, 2017: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
June 23, 2017: Wonder Woman
July 28, 2017: Untitled Spider-Man Standalone
November 3, 2017: Thor: Ragnarok
November 10, 2017: Justice League – Part I
February 16, 2018: Black Panther
March 23, 2018: The Flash
May 4, 2018: Avengers: Infinity War – Part I
July 6, 2018: Ant-Man and the Wasp
July 27, 2018: Aquaman
March 8, 2019: Captain Marvel
April 5, 2019: Shazam
May 3, 2019: Avengers: Infinity War – Part II
June 14, 2019: Justice League – Part II
July 12, 2019: Inhumans
April 3, 2020: Cyborg
June 19, 2020: Green Lantern
What does everyone think of the upcoming comic book movie bonanza? Tell us in the comments below!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.
SEE ALSO:
Avengers: Age of Ultron Teaser Trailer Online
DC’s Cinematic Universe Announced
Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy
Agents of SHIELD Reviews
Agent Carter Reviews