After The 'Endgame': Here’s Where The Phase 4 Future Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe Goes

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*Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame”*

Update: This article has been amended to reflect the official announcements of San Diego Comic-Con 2019.

Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” has made all the money and cracked the $2 billion mark in less than two weeks in theaters—the fastest a film has ever reached that mark and absolutely obliterating the old record (24 days) into dust. It’s likely going to challenge “Avatar” for the all-time record, as the movie keeps soaring and soaring at the box office. But what’s next? ‘Endgame’ is the closing chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or at least somewhat of a chapter-closing on the first 11 years and three phases Marvel Studios put into play, collectively called the Infinity Saga.

READ MORE: ‘Avengers’ Directors Talk Chris Evans’ Future In The MCU & Say ‘Endgame’ Was Not The Original Title

Three of its major characters are gone. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is now dead. Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johannson), the Black Widow perished. And Captain America (Chris Evans) has been aged out of active duty for now (presume they’ll want to bring him back one day—ten years from now?— through one of many comic book-y devices like the time travel or multiverse ideas introduced in ‘Endgame’).

So what’s next? Here’s what essentially on deck given the timetable of upcoming productions and using some logical educated guesses. And note, some concrete answers will be coming up soon. Marvel will officially date at least two of these films (probably) for 2020 at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con in July.

READ MORE: ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Passes ‘Titanic’ As #2 Movie Of All Time As Marvel Film Reaches $2 Billion In Record Time

2019
July 2, 2019 – “Spider-Man: Far From Home”
Spider-Man gets the first Marvel film post “Avengers: Endgame” and you kind of get the sense Marvel would love to take the rest of the year off and let ‘Endgame’ breathe and have its due, but ‘Far From Home’ is a Sony Pictures release and that studio’s urgency demands a new ‘Spidey’ movie now. With that comes big spoilers for ‘Endgame,’ introduced in the most recent trailer. Tony Stark is dead and this affects almost no superhero greater than Peter Park (Tom Holland), who was his defacto ward. ‘Far From Home’ shows Peter is grieving and feeling collective confusion from the snap—it’s 2023 and he’s the same age he was at the end of ‘Infinity War’ (this applies to everyone on Earth who was returned). To cope with all the strangeness—some people who thought they had passed on and mourned them for five years—Parker and his friends go on a Euro trip, and while he tries to leave the suit behind and just try and live as a teen for a while, trouble follows him abroad in the form of SHIELD agents (Nick Fury and Maria Hill) and the wannabe superhero Mysterio (played by Jake Gyllenhaal). The trailer is way more spoilery than that for both ‘Endgame’ and ‘Far From Home,’ so we’ll just leave it at that.

READ MORE: ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Trailer: Peter Parker Grieves For An Avenger

2020
(NOTE: The first Marvel year without 3 releases in several years.)

May 1, 2020 – “Black Widow”
Wait, we just established that Natasha is dead, how does she come back for a solo film? Well, it’s not official, but “Black Widow” is essentially a prequel set before the days that Russian spy Natasha Romanoff defected and became an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and eventual Avenger. While Marvel hasn’t made this announcement yet, enough casting and plot details have trickled out, that you should be confident enough to assume the film takes place pre-‘Infinity War.’ Shooting this summer— hence being the first Marvel movie to be ready for summer 2020—“Black Widow” will be directed by Cate Shortland, known for the indie drama “Somersault” (which put Sam Worthington on James Cameron’s radar) and the thriller “Berlin Syndrome” among other film and TV projects (she directed some killer episodes of “SMILF” this year too). Co-starring in the film is adversaries and friendlies in the world of spies and espionage including Florence Pugh (“Fighting With My Family”), David Harbour (“Stranger Things”) and Rachel Weisz. Note: Marvel has not made this movie and release date official, but Comic-Con is right around the corner and you can bet it’s 2020’s first Marvel movie. Production is expected to start in the summer around the same time. The news and release date was confirmed at Comic-Con 2019.

READ MORE: The Namor & Captain Britain Clues In ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Are Probably Legit As The Russos Avoid Giving Straight Answers

November 6, 2020 – “The Eternals”
For the first time in several years, Marvel is only planning on two releases in 2020 (the delayed “Guardians Of the Guardians 3” messed with the original plan). The second must be ‘Eternals,’ if only because it’s just a few short months behind “Black Widow” on the production date calendar (reportedly, the fall) and the length of time between the movies could account for all the VFX that ‘Eternals’ will need. “The Eternals” will fall decidedly into the cosmic side of the MCU; the Eternals are god-like figures who live on different planets across the Galaxy and seemingly more powerful than the Guardians and even potentially, Captain Marvel. No plot details have been revealed, but so far, Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, and Dong-seok Ma have been tapped for roles (details here). Directed by indie filmmaker Chloe Zhao (“The Rider”), the ‘Eternals’ is expected to introduce characters like Hercules, potentially Star Fox (Thanos’ brother in the comics) and lesser-known celestial heroes like Ikaris, Druig, Piper, Elysisus, and Sersi. With no infinity stone as a bridge that connects all the characters and realms, what’s the connective tissue of the MCU now in its fourth phase? That’s unknown and it’s even unclear if such kind of narrative connective decide will be used going forward. Time will tell. ‘Eternals’ may eventually connect to some of the characters in “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3,” especially some of the rumored ones expected to appear like Adam Warlock, and it’s rumored to feature the first openly gay hero, but other than that, the thing to really keep in mind is that Marvel’s hired the artiest director of them all so far, to helm a big, celestial epic. The details and release date were confirmed at Comic-Con 2019.