6 Most Likely Possibilities For MARVEL's Three Mystery 2020 Phase 4 Movies
While Inhumans may ultimately take one of those mysterious 2020 slots after being delayed by Marvel, what are the most likely possibilities for the other two? Probably not the movies you're expecting...
The recent news that Inhumans won't make that 2019 release date has got me thinking about what Marvel Studios has planned for Phase 4. Phase 3 comes to an end with Avengers: Infinity War Part 2, meaning that Inhumans has been pushed into their next wave of movies, but what will join it? Sequels are a guarantee, but you can bet your life there will be plenty of surprises too, especially as Marvel has already pencilled in three of them (May 1st, 2020, July 10th, 2020, and November 6th, 2020).
So, after taking a look at the most likely possibilities for Warner Bros.' two mystery DC Comics adaptations, here you will find what I believe to be the movies which stand the best chance of being placed in those 2020 slots. Something tells me that there are more than a few listed here which you won't be expecting, and while we probably have a good year or two to wait until another Marvel event where their Phase 4 slate is revealed, there's already a fair bit of evidence which supports these...
6. Namor
Who exactly holds the rights to Namor is a complicated issue, and that may explain why we've yet to see him join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of course, with Aquaman (starring Jason Momoa) now on the horizon at Warner Bros., Marvel may have missed the boat to take advantage of the King of Atlantis' adventures.
However, should the big screen debut of the widely ridiculed and massively underrated DC Comics hero end up going well, you just know that the rival studio will have to take notice. Namor is also a very different character to Aquaman, so the movies being too similar doesn't seem like a huge risk, and the hero/sometime villain could bring a lot to the Marvel Cinematic Universe if given the chance. Similar, yet different, to Aquaman, this is a hero with a ton of potential.
5. Sinister Six
During the promotional tour for The Martian, one time Sinister Six writer and director Drew Goddard talked a lot about his hopes to make the movie a reality in the near future, and while Marvel's focus is clearly on their Spider-Man reboot, it's entirely possible that they decide to move forward with this one by the time 2020 rolls around (rumour has it that a second Spider-Man movie will be released in 2019 and a third in 2021, so this could be squeezed in if they shoot them pretty much back to back).
While fans were initially against the idea of a Sinister Six movie, Goddard's comments about Spidey being heavily involved in that story has changed that to at least some extent, and Marvel may want to get in on some villain-led action if Suicide Squad proves to be a hit this August.
4. She-Hulk
With the rights to a solo feature revolving around The Hulk tied up at Universal, the Green Goliath is unlikely to get a solo outing come 2020 regardless of the demand. However, She-Hulk would be a great choice to take one of these slots. The cousin of The Incredible Hulk, Jennifer Walters became a superhero when Bruce gave her a blood transfusion to save her life.
What separates Jennifer from him though is the fact that she retains her intelligence when she transforms and is a lawyer by day, something which would obviously make this a very interesting and unique movie (with tons of action). In some ways better suited to television, technology really isn't where it needs to be for that to happen, and the plus side of giving Jennifer her own movie is that The Hulk could probably show up!
3. A-Force
Assuming Captain Marvel (and Wonder Woman over at Warner Bros.) is a success, a greater focus on female superheroes is likely inevitable. That could be seamlessly achieved with a big screen take on A-Force, an all-female team of Avengers made up of heroes from throughout the Marvel Universe.
As a result, we could be looking at a roster made up of the likes of Captain Marvel, Elektra, She-Hulk, Medusa, Rescue, The Wasp, Scarlet Witch, and countless others. The Avengers themselves - with a mixed roster - could of course still exist, but A-Force would make for a fun spinoff of sorts, especially if it's essentially a Captain Marvel sequel, similar to what Civil War has done with Captain America. Give them a base in LA and name them West Coast Avengers if needs be, but this could be epic.
2. Iron Man 4
Iron Man 3 remains the only Marvel Studios solo movie to gross over $1 billion at the worldwide box office, and while Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark has a leading role in Captain America: Civil War and the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War, it's crazy that Marvel haven't thrown a big pile of money at the actor to return for one more solo adventure.
While some believe that Downey Jr. is going to bid farewell to the role after that epic two parter, one more movie in 2020 seems like the best way to go, especially if they bring back Shane Black to direct (he'll be done with Predators by that point too). What direction could they take the character in? Well, Marvel has yet to have Iron Man square off against the real Mandarin, so he seems like the perfect choice of villain and is actually long overdue.
1. Fantastic Four
Yeah, I'm going out on a limb here, but bear with me for a second! This may be wishful thinking, but after the epic failure of Fox's Fantastic Four reboot, it wouldn't hurt them to turn to Marvel Studios for help in getting this franchise right (the same thing Sony has had to do with Spider-Man). Providing a deal could be made, introducing this team post Avengers: Infinity War makes perfect sense.
They could actually show up in those movies (before their transformation) as astronauts who get caught in the battle with Thanos and receive their powers in the process. With the origin story out of the way, Marvel could launch straight into them being an established team in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and if there's anyone who can get this team right, you just know it's Kevin Feige.
Do you think any of these movies will be released in 2020 as part of Marvel's Phase 4? Have we missed any you'd like to see? As always, let us know your thoughts in the usual place.