Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame" (2019) is one of the biggest films of the year; grossing over two billion dollars worldwide. The film has been critically praised for managing to bring a satisfying conclusion to the last decade of films. There is a lot to discuss with Endgame but one of the major questions looming over all of us is: what's next? At the time of this article, Marvel has been hush-hush on what is next in their cinematic universe. Originally after the success of films like "Black Panther" (2018) and "Doctor Strange" (2016) their sequels were quickly confirmed to be happening in the foreseeable future. However, after the universe-shattering events of "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018), Marvel Studios suddenly went from being open about their plans for the future to being silent.
Now right now we know "Spider-Man: Far From Home" (2019) comes out in a couple of weeks, seemingly concluding phase three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Originally, Kevin Feige; President of Marvel Studios wanted Sony to not release the next Spider-Man film till late 2019. Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios came to an agreement in 2015 to share the film rights to Spider-Man. This allowed the wallcrawler to join the likes of Captain America and Iron Man in "Captain America: Civil War" (2016). While Marvel is in charge of the story and overall characterization of Peter Parker and his world, Sony pictures are in charge of Marketing. Generally, Sony has been pretty bad at marketing their films in the past. They are notorious for including scenes from the final ten minutes of their films in their trailers. Just look back at all their Spider-Man trailers over the years. Marketing for a movie generally starts six months before a film is scheduled to release. This was mentioned in a recent tweet by Patty Jenkins, director of "Wonder Woman" (2017).
By now you’ve heard: WB isn’t going to Hall H this year. We’re so sad to miss you there! And waiting until Dec. to… https://t.co/gbSUph5DTn— Patty Jenkins (@Patty Jenkins) 1559761207
It was quite the bummer when Sony decided to release a trailer to Far From Home prior to the release of Endgame. Since Spider-Man was technically not supposed to be around after the events of Infinity War (#NoSpoilers). But Sony did it anyway and released a trailer that left many people wondering where was Iron Man. It got to the point where the phrase "Tony Stark" was trending on Twitter because everyone was wondering where the Armored Avenger was; seeing as he was a big player in Peter's life in the films. A couple of months later we got our answer.
We all know that the new Spider-Man movie is coming out but what's next? Captain Marvel recently came out in March and while it made 1.2 Billion Dollars there was a bit of controversy with the film overall. We can discuss that issue another time, but it is clear that Marvel does not want characters like Captain Marvel to just be the best of the best with no flaws. So, she might need to get some rework done. Paul Rudd was recently reported as saying he was uncertain when the next Ant-Man film will take place. Jokingly calling fans to petition for an Ant-Man 3. Films like Black Panther and Doctor Strange are most likely guarantee to be confirmed in the near future as Black Panther was a critical success and Doctor Strange can open the Marvel Cinematic Universe up into more extravagant threats and truly showcase Stephen Strange's skills like "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018).
Paul Rudd is unsure if a third ANT-MAN movie will be made, telling a reporter to "start a campaign to make it happe… https://t.co/LwUuIYO6PM— MCU - The Direct (@MCU - The Direct) 1560294142
Another topic to be interested in what about characters like the X-Men and the Fantastic Four? Disney just acquired 21st Century Fox and so all the film rights to those characters fall back under Disney. I would love to see the Fantastic Four back in the film working with characters like Spider-Man and the New Avengers. Until we get a confirmed answer at this year's D23 I believe that whatever is happening for the MCU in the future will be on a much smaller scale than the last decade of films. With Marvel creating their new Disney+ shows like "Loki" and "Scarlet Witch", don't expect a new Avengers film anytime soon. Whatever is in store for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the next decade, I hope that it brings a smile to my face like the last ten years has.