Marvel Studios put on a little show and dance number earlier today in Los Angeles at the El Capitan theater where they revealed their plans for Phase 3 of their Cinematic Universe. Along with Ant-Man, which is in production now, Marvel has confirmed Captain America 3, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Thor 3, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Inhumans, and a two-part Avengers 3 conclusion. Learn more about each film and when you can expect to see them after the break.
First on the list of newly confirmed releases – in chronological order – is Captain America: Civil War; the second movie of Phase 3 following Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man. This story arc has been in the rumor mill for a little while now after directors Joe and Anthony Russo have been dropping hints. Civil War is a huge event in the comics as heroes fight against heroes to uphold what they believe to be right.
Originally written by Mark Millar (Kick-Ass; The Secret Service; Wanted), Civil War completely reshapes the fabric of Earth’s mightiest heroes. Pitting Iron Man and Captain America against each other will be one of the greatest face-offs this generation will ever see. And if they attempt the ending that is within the comics, we can assume that one actor will be free from doing future movies.
(Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge)
We will also see the debut of Chadwick Boseman in the MCU as Black Panther before his big release in 2017. Other characters that played a big role in Civil War currently in the MCU lineup includes Falcon, Ant-Man, and Ragnarok (the Thor clone – we’ll get to that). Heroes not in the MCU, but who play a key role in the comics are The Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Spider-man, which will be interesting to see how they approach this story.
Captain America: Civil War hits theaters on May 6, 2016.
Although it was rumored yesterday that Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast to play Doctor Strange, the announcement of was never made. The “Batch” wasn’t even in attendance. Scott Derrickson (Sinister; Deliver Us from Evil) will be directing this obscure new character, which will push the boundaries of Marvel movie fans to a different plane of existence. As Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige puts it:
“It takes a while to work on these movies before they’re ready to come to you in theaters. Doctor Stephen Strange, brilliant neurosurgeon, bit of an arrogant fellow who gets in a car accident and ruins what he thinks are the tools of his trade: his hands. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the supernatural, that involves everything from quantum mechanics to string theory. The idea of this film is to open up a whole new corner of the cinematic universe. We want to enter, through Strange, the world of parallel dimensions.”
Doctor Strange arrives in multiplexes on November 4, 2016.
