Marvel Studios' Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con was a rollicking success! Kevin Feige took the stage to clue fans in on the future of the ever-expanding tapestry that is the MCU. Much was revealed including, but not limited to, release dates for projects like Blade and Fantastic Four. Marvel also showed off engaging trailers for upcoming movies and shows.
But perhaps the biggest news of all was the declaration that Marvel is releasing not one, but two Avengers films in 2025: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, both of which will be the grand finale to The Multiverse Saga.
After all these new announcements, fans might be curious as to why the MCU's Phase 4 and 5 don't conclude with Avengers movies. Well, luckily Feige had the answer during a post-SDCC panel interview.
Feige Sets The Record Straight on Avengers Release Plan
When asked by MTV News about the scale of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars in comparison to previous Avengers movies, Marvel Studios' president and chief creative officer Kevin Feige explained how the larger scope of nearly every MCU film has caused Marvel to shift their release strategy for their epic Avengers movies:
“Well… it’s never about going bigger just to go bigger. Sometimes, by the nature of the number of characters that you have in the toy box to then bring into the sandbox of the story, things can get bigger. But you know, the truth is, when we were doing Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3, there were less projects over more years. And they were smaller projects and individual character stories. And it felt appropriate at that point that after, you know, every two or three years that it took for a phase, we would do an Avengers film. As 4, 5, and 6 were coming together, there are more projects in less years because of all the amazing stuff we’re now allowed to do on Disney+ and getting and getting characters from Fox, for Fantastic Four and Deadpool, that it felt like… and certainly after Infinity War and Endgame that we thought, ‘Avengers movies aren’t cappers.’
He continued by naming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as examples of large-scale team-up films that aren't also Avengers movies. Additionally, the visionary producer stated that at this juncture, Avengers films "really should be the capper to a saga."
So many of our movies now, the Multiverse of Madness, what you’re about to see in Quantumania, are big team-up films introducing big parts of the mythology and that Avengers films really should be the capper to a saga. Which is really all we wanted to to lay the groundwork for today, is say, ‘We are currently in the midst of the Multiverse saga which will culminate in two Avengers films.’”
The MCU's Future Looks Bright
It's important to note that the MCU's Phase 1 was the only Phase to conclude with an Avengers release. Devotees will surely be aware that Phase 2 ended with Ant-Man and Phase 3 with Spider-Man: Far From Home. Some fans seem to collectively perceive that every Phase must be tied off with the Avengers assembling to stop some huge threat and that Marvel should repeat that formula every time.
Ultimately, though, as long as Marvel Studios keeps making enjoyable blockbuster movies and shows, the MCU will continue to be hugely successful, regardless of whether or not an Avengers-related project is the end goal.
And so, Phase 4 concludes with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Phase 5 seemingly kicks off with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, since it would be the next project on the docket after the Black Panther sequel. Likewise, Marvel's fifth Phase ends with Thunderbolts, leaving Fantastic Four to pick up the beginning of Phase 6.
The MCU has always been fairly loose in structure with regard to Phases, so it should come as no real surprise that it will be sticking to this particular method.
The next MCU project to release will be Marvel Studios' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law which hits Disney+ on August 17.
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