Marvel Studios is gearing up for Phase 4 with new projects continuously being announced and unearthed as the weeks go on. This week is a potential Agents of Atlas project, which would follow the 2021 film Shang Chi and the Legend Of the Ten Rings.
The GWW is reporting that Marvel Studios is currently adapting Agents of Atlas for a future project. It is not clear at the moment if this will be a feature film or a Disney+ series similar to Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision. One thing is clear, though: the studio is banking on the success of Shang Chi and the Legend Of the Ten Rings to be the jumping point for this new title. Based on the comic book counterpart of Agents of Atlas, it is easy to see how Marvel would link Shang Chi to this superhero team.
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Who are the Agents of Atlas?
Agents of Atlas is the title of a Marvel comic and superhero team that first appeared in What If? #9 in 1978, but was firmly established in the main continuity during 2006’s Agents of Atlas #1 by Jeff Parker and Leonard Kirk. The team is a gathering of many of the Asian characters in Marvel Comics. The most recent incarnation of the team featured Special Agent Jimmy Woo, Shang Chi, Aero, Brawn, and Silk alongside other characters of Asian descent.
The group has appeared in numerous events, including Dark Reign and the 2019 hit War of the Realms, in which they played pivotal roles in defeating the armies of Malekith. They have most recently been in the current ongoing title Agents of Atlas, which was launched in August 2019 after the aforementioned event. The series is written by Greg Pak and Jeff Parker, alongside art by Nico Leon and Carlo Pagulayan.
Expanding Diversity in the MCU
Agents of Atlas is only the most recent announcement by Marvel, which is following a trend to ensure that the MCU is more inclusive. This new series and Shang Chi will be helping to grow Asian representation in the MCU, which up until this point has been almost non-existent. Doctor Strange was a big chance for them, but unfortunately Tilda Swinton portrayed the role of The Ancient One, who was originally Asian. While Benedict Wong portrayed the Sorcerer Wong tremendously and Pom Klementieff is a great Mantis, they are primarily relegated to background roles.
The MCU will also be expanding its diversity in the upcoming projects Ms. Marvel, Blade, WandaVision, Black Widow, Loki (given the inclusion of the MCU’s first trans character), The Eternals and Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This is all a continuation of the efforts the studio began in Phase 3 with the launch of our first Black lead in Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and first female lead in Captain Marvel (Brie Larson).
Marvel was rewarded for these changes, as both movies grossed over $1 billion. As the world is expanding, so is the need for inclusiveness in its media. After a decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is taking great strides to be representative of the real universe that we all live in every day.
Shang Chi and the Legend Of the Ten Rings is hitting theaters on February 12, 2021. The series will feature Simu Liu in the titular role, alongside the likes of Awkwafina and Tony Leung. Destin Daniel Cretton is directing the feature which was written by David Callaham.
Are you excited to see Agents of Atlas, or are you waiting to see how Shang Chi plays out? Let us know in the comments below.
