Thanks to the success of franchises such as Iron Man, Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and their array of feature films have captivated comic-book fans for the better part of a decade. With their planned Phase III set of movies, will Marvel’s big-screen success continue?
The original plan within the MCU was to unveil movies through three separate phases. Each phase contains a collection of movies, and is capped off at the end by an Avengers film.
However, with the recent success of new and exciting ventures the studio may wish to expand their universe even further.
Marvel’s most recent film, Guardians of the Galaxy, was relatively unknown to most casual fans, but proved to be one if it’s biggest box-office successes in grossing $619 million worldwide—including $308 million domestically.
Thanks to its impressive box office haul, GOTG has become the highest-grossing movie of the summer, and has set the studio up nicely for its next wave of releases.
While Marvel still has one more movie for their phase two collection of films, Avengers: Age of Ultron, we can certainly begin to speculate on what may come in its phase three lineup.
The upcoming slate of movies will include sequels to a few of their biggest names, which will include a sequel to the aforementioned Guardians franchise, and will likely see the final incarnations of Captain America and Thor.
The three films will not only develop the stories that were laid out in previous installments, but will also set up the events of future Marvel films.
Currently, the company has new franchises, Ant-Man and Doctor Strange, lined up for phase three, and Marvel Studio head, Kevin Feige said he has high hope for both.
(On Ant-Man)”Ant-Man’ is a very important character for us, We like that people don’t necessarily know what it is. We like that it sounds sort of strange when you first hear the notion of Ant-Man, or a hero that can shrink, but he’s a very key Marvel character. He’s a key Avenger. He’s an important character we want to bring into our universe”
(On Doctor Strange)”Strange is very, very important, not just because it’s an amazing character study, and a journey of a man who’s gone from this very arrogant surgeon to somebody who is quite zen and literally keeps all of reality together on a daily basis… There’s a whole other side of the Marvel comics, which is that supernatural side – the interdimensional side of the Marvel universe, and Doctor Strange is, I believe, our entry point into that other realm, which has dozens of characters and storylines all of its own.”
In addition to Ant-Man and Doctor Strange, Marvel may give some other lesser-known comics the big screen treatment.
While none of these films have been confirmed, it is highly likely we see them in phase three or in future Marvel projects, and they include the Inhumans, Black Panther, and Ms. Marvel. There is also a possibility that sequels to Iron Man and the Hulk could make their way to theaters as well.
Marvel is not only reaping the success of their movie properties, but their venture into the small screen market has paid off as well. The studio will premier the highly anticipated second season of MARVEL: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in September.
The show, which follows the agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., was a huge success for both Marvel and ABC. In fact, the series was so successful it spawned a spin-off series titled Agent Carter, which is set to debut this fall.
In addition to the big screen and growing cable television market, Marvel has secured a deal with Netflix to distribute entertainment across their entertainment platform. The deal will start in May of 2015 when Daredevil premiers on the streaming service, and future productions will include shows based on Marvel entities Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and The Defenders.
The television and Netflix deals are a gateway to develop lesser-known characters, and it presents the opportunity to expand their library beyond the cinema,
Marvel has been leading the charge in providing quality entertainment for it’s fans. If the studio can continue its string of hits there could be no limits to what the company produces next.
With a roster full of characters and stories, Marvel is certainly not going to lack in terms of content. For comic-book die-hards, such as this writer, the past decade has been great for Marvel. Based on the success of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Guardians, here’s hoping the next ten years are even better.
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