As the MCU moves from Phase 4 to Phase 5, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty's head writer recently explained why he doesn't particularly focus on the Phase idea.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania officially became the first movie of the MCU's Phase 5 upon its release, kicking off a slate of at least 12 new movies and TV shows that will debut by 2024. Later, Phase 6 will be home to both Avengers 5 and Avengers 6, which will be the first time the MCU focuses on Earth's Mightiest Heroes as a team after the end of the Infinity Saga.
As part of Ant-Man 3's promotional tour, Marvel released a video celebrating the start of Phase 5, following up an MCU record 18 live-action projects that debuted in Phase 4 between 2021 and 2022.
This new Phase is already building up considerable hype, although the idea doesn't necessarily have much of an impact on those making the MCU's upcoming entries.
Avengers 5 Writer Talks MCU Phases
Speaking with Gizmodo, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty writer Jeff Loveness discussed his most recent work on Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
When asked if he knew he would be directing the first movie of Phase 5, Loveness admitted that he actually "[doesn't] know what phase we're on" at all.
Loveness noted that he's heard the "Phase 5" term "more in the last two months" than he did during his entire time making Ant-Man 3:
"I have heard the term 'Phase Five' more in the last two months than [the entire time making the movie.] [Laughs] No, I think that’s more of almost a thing for the internet than anything."
He even understands how many Marvel movies there are and how fans want them to connect with one another, but he also recognizes his own background of growing up in a small town with not many people around him:
"Like, obviously there are 30 Marvel movies. You want them to connect. You want to propel them into the next phase, which this is the beginning of. We’ve got a plan and it’s going to be very exciting with Avengers. But in the back of my head, I’m a kid from a small town of like 200 people. We didn’t even have a movie theater in my town. So in the back of my head I thought 'My cousin’s going to go watch this. Who knows if he’s seen Loki? Let’s just make a fun movie.' Even if you just know who Paul Rudd is, you kind of get what’s going on. Context clues will help you out with the rest."
While speaking with SlashFilm, Loveness reiterated that he "could care less about what phase we're in," focusing on giving fans "a fun family adventure comedy" that people will want to see in theaters:
"You know, I just tried to focus on writing this movie, and then you can kind of fish-food a couple of things to go forward. I could care less about what phase we're in. It's more about just making this fun family adventure comedy with a great villain. I think, at the end of the day, that's what people want to watch, and if you do your job right, it gets people excited going forward."
While he still wants to include a few teases for where the story is going, his core focus was making sure "to close out the Scott Lang story" and "launch Kang the Conqueror" without worrying too much about the greater Multiverse story:
"Certainly, you want to lay down a few planks or railroad tracks for where you want to go, but it was more important for me to close out the Scott Lang story, leave a door open, but then also launch Kang the Conqueror, and don't really worry about all the multiverse stuff. Just really get to know this guy as a character and hopefully people want to stick around to see where he goes."
Marvel's Phases Not So Important?
This isn't the first time that a big name from the MCU has commented on the franchise's Phases not being of vital importance when making the movies and TV shows.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James Gunn shared that he only found out his movie was part of Phase 5 when it was confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con. He even admitted that he would have to look up his first two movies to see which Phases they were in, with the first movie being in Phase 2 and the second coming as part of Phase 3.
This seems to indicate how much focus and attention it takes to make an MCU movie, with Loveness and his team only centering on the story that they were hired to tell for the time being for Ant-Man 3.
Loveness has the advantage of writing both this movie and Avengers 5, which he is in the early stages of writing more than two years ahead of its MCU debut. This means he'll have to have even more insight than most from past Marvel Studios projects, taking over the responsibility of bringing the Avengers together after Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely took that duty for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
But while professionals like Loveness may not have their minds focused on the MCU's Phases, they still serve as a useful guideline for diehard fans as the franchise continues to build its story further.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is now playing in theaters. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will debut on the big screen on May 2, 2025.
