5/1/2020: Black Widow
11/6/2020: The Eternals
2/12/2021: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
5/7/2021: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
11/5/2021: Thor: Love and Thunder
TBD: Blade
MCU series on Disney+:
Fall 2020: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Spring 2021: WandaVision
Spring 2021: Loki
Summer 2021: What If…? (Animated)
Fall 2021: Hawkeye
For Eternals, I will do the opposite: Based on the original Kirby runs, Eternals seems completely bloated, self-imporant, and doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the Marvel universe in any reasonable way.
The plot of the first series is: Thousand-foot-high space gods (Celestials) have returned to Earth, and now they’re going to stand around at various points on the planet and pass judgement…in 500 years! Oh no! Also there are superhuman nigh-immortals called Eternals, and demon-like creatures called Deviants.
It’s the kind of plot that doesn’t fit well with other comics, and I have no idea how they’re going to work it into the MCU continuity. A talking tree seems easy compared to selling thousand-foot unmoving space gods who judge the Earth by giving it a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down.
Oh yeah, I think they announced that that is in the works, although no logo or release date was announced. On one hand, it seems like it would be difficult to make a good F.F. movie, based on previous attempts. On the other hand, the bar is pretty low…
The first Eternals series is very much of it’s time, but it’s full of big ideas, ancient civilizations on Earth, Space Gods, Eternals as the basis for the gods of humanity and Deviants as demons.
They got redefined since the seventies, as it’s usual for comics, the latest one was from Gaiman I think, where the Eternals are a bit like a maintenance system for Earth.
Shang-Chi, I remember reading the books when I was a kid, they didn’t connect very well with the Marvel Universe, he was the son of an old school yellow peril villain, but he managed to be well integrated, they gave him superpowers (sorta like multiple man if I remember right), and general best at martial arts who’s ever been, kinda like, Deadpool doesn’t want to mess with him.
Didn’t expect Natalie Portman to be back, though I figured the Mighty Thor storyline would eventually come to the screens, earlier than I expected, but should be great.
With Natalie Portman becoming Thor, would that mean that Chris Hemsworth is getting depowered and exits the series? Can’t imagine that character just carrying on like a normal human (perhaps with the guardians?), but anything is possible I guess.
Feige was not kidding when he said that Phase 4 would be very different. No Iron Man, no Black Panther, no Avengers at all. Also note that Guardians 3 isn’t on the list. This is a hugely risky move for Disney and shows how much faith they have in Feige.
The Thor 4 detail sound like a misdirection. Love and Thunder? Nathalie Portman as Thor? I can’t even imagine what kind of movie that would be.
“We didn’t even mention that we’re making ‘Black Panther 2,” Feige said. “We didn’t even talk about that ′Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3’ is coming. We didn’t have time to talk about ’Captain Marvel 2. ” “I didn’t even have time to talk about the Fantastic Four,” he added, the crowd roaring with excitement. “And there’s no time left to talk about mutants and how mutants come into the MCU.”
They’re replacing Fu Manchu with Mandarin as Shang-chi’s dad (Tony Leung will play him, not Ben Kingsley, so presumably an entirely different character than the Iron Man 3 one.)
One the one hand it’s an unusual slate, with no typical MCU guys-in-costumes superheros (I’m assuming Black Widow will have a more spy movie vibe.) On the other hand, Thor, Dr. Strange, Black Widow, and Blade are all known quantities to movie audiences, and Shang-chi belongs to an established genre with a clearly defined market.
The Eternals is clearly the odd one out. Even as a big Jack Kirby fan, I don’t see how you turn it into a movie. There are no interesting main characters, no charismatic heroes or memorable villains: it’s basically a bunch of back story. Which isn’t to say someone can’t make a good story out of it; there’s just not much going on with the raw materials.
Shang-Chi has been a blend of Marvel’s take on the old Kung Fu show plus spy capers (he frequently worked with MI6). I can see something like a martial arts heavy spy movie where he discovers that Tony Leung Mandarin is his father and works to dismantle the Ten Rings. Maybe the fallout from this movie or other MCU stuff will add his ability to duplicate himself (kinda like how the Builders from Hickman’s run did so in the comics).
Plus, a mainstream MCU movie with Asian cast and crew. Nice!
Eternals could be something like the secret history of superpowered people throughout history (Angelina Jolie’s character is written as basically the inspiration for Athena). Celestials were already introduced as the creators of the Infinity Gauntlet (and big enough that a head serves as a location in GOTG1) and I guess they can also get into how Thanos is part Eternal.
This is incredible. From an intimate movie about rodeos and horses to the helm of what kinda mustbe an enormous cosmic CGI extravaganza! I think a lot of these have worked out for Disney, and I love seeing independent directors get (presumably) a fat paycheck and more name recognition. This is a big crazy swing, though, right?
After the Iron Fist / Daredevil stuff I’m so over hords of ninjas fighting each other in urban environments. But then, I’m also over zombies and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for that trend yet.
I wasn’t even thinking of The Hand (I haven’t watched Iron Fist, they show up there too?). The Raid and John Wick series have martial arts action in a modern setting without ninjas.