Marvel Drops The Mic on DC Comics By Announcing Amazing Phase Three Slate of Movies

movies and tvOctober 28, 20141 comment

Marvel Cinematic Universe logo

Much has been made of the recent announcement by DC Comics of their upcoming schedule of movies, and many were wondering how Marvel, their biggest rival in the comic book movie field, would compete.

Wonder no more.

At a press conference at The El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Marvel president Kevin Feige held court with press and lucky fans in attendance, and revealed their plans for Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I think DC might be quaking a bit after this reveal.

Captain America 3 is still on target to be released on May 6, 2016, but the title has been changed to Captain America: Civil War. This was confirmed by both Chris Evans (Captain America) and Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man) taking the stage. Of the plot, Feige made sure to clarify, this is the Civil War of the CINEMATIC universe, not the comics. Which basically means anything could happen.

Next up, Feige revealed November 4, 2016 will be the release date for Doctor Strange. He refused to confirm anything further, including casting rumors. Sorry Cumberbatch fans – we have to wait a bit longer to find out if he really has been cast.

Feige then reveals that they’ve decided to move up the release date of the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel two months to May 5, 2017. No other details were given.

Taking GOTG 2’s original release date of July 28, 2017 is the third Thor movie, Thor: Ragnarok. If you’re familiar with Norse mythology at all, you know Ragnarok was the end of the world battle between all of the gods. This should make for a very exciting movie. Wonder which side Loki will fall on.

Marvel will deliver one more movie in 2017…the much anticipated Black Panther solo movie! It will be released on November 3, 2017, and will feature actor Chadwick Boseman (42, Get on Up), in the title role. During the press conference, Boseman came out on stage and it was revealed he will actually make his first appearance in a Civil War costume. Both Evans and Downey taunted Boseman to choose a side, but he refused, saying “Black Panther is his own kind of guy.” Might that mean a cameo in the Captain America: Civil War movie?

2018 will kick off with Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 on May 4. No, Marvel hasn’t forgotten about the Thanos and the Infinity Stones storyline. But Part 1?? Yup, there will be a Part 2, which I’ll get to in a moment. At any rate, the Avengers line-up in the Infinity War may be quite different than we’re used to, because, as Feige stated during the announcement, the team will not look the same once their battle with Ultron comes to an end.

Feige then revealed that Marvel’s first solo female character movie will be none other than Captain Marvel! Yay! Carol Danvers will finally get her movie that fans have been clamoring for. No word on casting yet, so feel free to let me know who you think should play her. Captain Marvel arrives in theaters on July 6, 2018.

Next up is another new franchise, Inhumans, which will debut on November 2, 2018. The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created during the Kree-Skrull War (Ronan of Guardians of the Galaxy was a Kree). They do have connections to the Avengers in the comics, but no word if that is the eventual plan for this to happen in the movies. However, Feige did tease during the conference that we may find out about the Inhumans sooner than we expected, and there might be Easter Eggs about them in the Marvel Studios Universe.

Time to break out those DVDs, I guess.

Phase Three closes with the release of Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 on May 3, 2019. Only one year separates the two segments of this story, which should be a big blowout, especially in light of the Civil War storyline occurring at the same time. It’s also quite possible that we may see the Guardians team up with the Avengers, since they are both fighting against Thanos.

So are you excited yet?

Two rumors that were discussed and dismissed during the event included a rumored movie about The Runaways (“It’s always one we talk about, but we can’t make them all”), and solo Hulk or Black Widow movies (Feige said their roles were key in the Avengers movies, but no solo plans yet).

So just in case you need it in calendar form, here is the Phase Three release schedule for Marvel movies:

2016:

May 6 – Captain America: Civil War
November 4 – Doctor Strange

2017:

May 5 – Guardians of the Galaxy 2
July 28 – Thor: Ragnarok
November 3 – Black Panther

2018:

May 4 – Avengers: Infinity War Part 1
July 6 – Captain Marvel
November 2 – Inhumans

2019:

May 3 – Avengers: Infinity War Part 2

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I'm Michelle Snow, the writer and creator of Zengrrl. I write about travel, entertainment, women's issues, health, body positivity, and more, both for this blog and freelance. I have also authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida. If you aren't already following me, the links are below, as well as on the top right of this page. Thanks!

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1 comment

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