The Marvel Cinematic Universe was shown to be far from over after Avengers: Endgame, and since then, the biggest superhero franchise in history has only grown. Marvel turned its attention to the multiverse after wrapping up the Infinity Saga in 2019 (and killing off a few of its star performers), launching Phase 4 with a slew of movies and Disney+ TV shows, including WandaVision, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Marvel is currently prepared to start its next chapter. Phase 5 will begin with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Friday, along with the appearance of Kang the Conqueror, a new antagonist played by Jonathan Majors.
The Fantastic Feige began where Phase 4 left off. On each endeavor, he hopes to gain some knowledge. He's incredibly happy with everything Marvel has accomplished thus far. For instance, Kamala Khan is a fantastic new addition to the pantheon. The Ms. Marvel show makes him incredibly proud. he also wanted us to know—and this is a spoiler—that she rips off The Marvels, which will be released on July 28. It excites him because viewers would, hopefully, watch the movie and then revisit those episodes on Disney+. The appeal of streaming is that it allows for endless exploration and availability. Same thing with Moon Knight. As time goes on, he believes that character will have a future.
He would then open up by talking about the Multiverse Saga, as he calls it, including Phases 4, 5, & 6. Saying Actually, it's a classification scheme for the audience who is paying attention. It serves as a record of how the puzzle parts fit together. They constantly modify and weave as creative needs and new ideas arise, so he didn't talk much about the main themes or direction of Phase 4 until afterward. However, Feige would add in very general terms that, as you can see in Quantumania, it's about establishing the main thread that will carry through the subsequent stages.
It will be the same in movies 5 and 6 that not every Infinity Saga movie focused on the Infinity Stones or Thanos. People will experience this in a significant manner in Quantumania as they begin building up to Avengers: Secret Wars.
Feige was quickly asked how he finds the balance for all the viewers, old and new, with the number of stories they are putting out. To which he said,
"We've tried to make that our methodology since the start. If there's a Marvel Studios method like there was a Marvel method in publishing — it's trying to do both. I've talked about this for years: If you want to dip in and out and just go to the movies on a Friday night or watch a streaming series, you can do that. And if you want to follow along, there's certainly much more to be discovered. But we don't ever want it to seem exclusive or that you need to have done your homework before watching something."
All the juicy stuff, mutants, and X-Men, he left for the end. He believes they've used the word before. Namor describes himself as a mutant among his people, while Kamala mentions a genetic abnormality in her speech. Additionally, the term "mutant" is not merely a term from comic books but refers to a genetic condition.
But part of the fun is that, even though Feige has worked for this company for nearly half of his life, they're only now beginning to explore what is undoubtedly one of the most important facets of publishing history. It's quite amazing and a testimony to what Marvel Publishing has accomplished over the past 80 years and the House of Ideas. Marvel has been attempting to answer the questions of how to proceed and when to proceed for years. He wouldn't discuss it at this moment, however.
For anyone who didn't know, or needed a reminder, Mr. Feige got his start with a superhero film career with X-Men. He stated,
"It's amazing. And we've got Hugh Jackman coming back for our first Deadpool film within the MCU. That's our first R-rated film. To have Hugh come back is incredible. For me, that is where I started. I remember sitting behind the camera — well behind the camera — at his audition for the film. It was his first on-set audition, and he flew up to Toronto to do a read with Anna Paquin. For him, and me, and I think for all of the fans of Marvel, it's unbelievable what has happened in those 23 years. It's very full-circle having him come back in this new Deadpool film."
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