Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is set to conclude with next month's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special), and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has now summed up what he feels this latest series of movies has been about.
"[It] has been all about introductions," Feige told Marvel.com on the red carpet of this week's Wakanda Forever premiere. "Think about all the characters we've met. Finally, in the finale of Phase 4, looking at it by phases, we meet an entire new kingdom and a character who is the very foundation of what we do at Marvel."
Feige is almost certainly referring to Namor's (Tenoch Huerta) underwater realm of Talokan and the debuting Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a child prodigy who designs her own Iron Man suit and is expected to be an integral part of the MCU moving forward.
It's true that Phase 4 has served as a launching pad for future stories featuring the characters we've met over the past few years, but a lot of fans seem to feel that it has been the most disappointing phase yet. Spider-Man: No Way Home and, to a lesser extent, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings were universally praised, but the likes of Black Widow and Thor: Love and Thunder came in for a lot of criticism, and Eternals gave the studio its first "rotten" movie.
Hopefully, with these new heroes now established, Phase 5 will be able to get back on track as we build towards Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars. Marvel Studios will be hoping Wakanda Forever concludes Phase 4 on a high note, and so far, the reactions have been very positive.
I saw the movie yesterday, and, in my humble opinion, it is the best Phase 4 entry by some margin (it's actually jumped right near the top of the list of my favorite MCU films).
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