Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 2nd phase started with Iron Man 3. It had a twist the no one expected but then it looked kind of familiar. Ever wondered how?
During Avengers when Loki attacked Earth it was Thanos who was the actual puppet master and reason for everything that happened on Earth. Then let's come to Iron Man 3 where Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin character turned out to be a theater artist and it was Killian who was playing the actual game.
Something common in both these movies is that while events unfold there is always someone running the show hidden from the world.
So how MCU’s phase 2 upcoming movies related to this theme.
If you have read Thor: The Dark World synopsis then you must remember about a mysterious shadowy figure that walks in the dark. While Malekith is the man running the show then who is the shadowy figure? Is he Surtur or Thanos himself, that will be seen but overall the theme signals that is going to be familiar.
Now coming to Captain America: The Winter soldier we all know by now that it is going to be based on Winter Soldier as well as Nick Fury vs SHIELD arc that clearly signifies this theme. Who is Winter Soldier, who is he and Crossbones working for? There are so many cast members whose roles are still not revealed, so what if Red Skull is back or World Council is infiltrated by HYDRA. This movie is going to give a huge reveal IMO.
I don’t think Guardians of the Galaxy is going to be an origin movie. This movie has a lot of villains, collector is here, rumors about Korvac and Ronan have surfaced along with a female villain and because this movie will lead straight into Avengers 2 so the big reveal I guess will happen in the end.
MCU has decided a theme for Phase 2 movies and this is something that is going to make the movies interesting.