15. Ironheart & Armor Wars
- Destiny vs. Deviation: What we know is that we know little so far, and much less than Riri Williams. She is one of the youngest and brightest geniuses in the world. She is destined to become Ironheart while Rhodey was always destined to assume the title of Iron Man for some time. An agent is killed. “Iron Man” is the public enemy. He must do everything he can to make things right. The Armor Wars theme is very much like a mini-crossover. Since we can expect the main characters to be Riri and Rhodey, let’s keep them together until we are blessed with knowledge.
- Probability (70%): We have no clue what Marvel wants out of these rich characters yet. With Tony Stark still dead we can only wait for more data, but expect Riri Williams to make all things possible; technologically speaking.
- Possibility (70%): I would love for Public Enemy’s music to be a part of both of these soundtracks; especially Armor Wars. We could get an AI of Tony Stark to make things interesting. I have no clue what’s possible because none of us are over Tony being gone yet. This paired series could be the fix for broken hearts around the world.
“Dear Mr. Feige, please give Rhodey the Sentry Armor. Thank you in advance!”.
Sincerely, The Good Looking One (my son)️
16. Guardian of The Galaxy 3/ Holiday Special (2023)
- Destiny vs Deviation: As the Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special will most likely not be a part of MCU canon, it will be filmed simultaneously with the film. I will simply consider it one project with two releases. The Guardians of The Galaxy as we know them are about to end. This band of misfits has to come to terms with the notion that nothing lasts forever; even some of the greatest playlists of all time. It’s time to celebrate the long shot that hit a grand slam.
- Probability (50%): Rocket Raccoon has his moment in the sun and the story of The Golden Cocoon has just begun. We get subtle reminders of how far these characters have come. Gamora must be brought back into the fold. We should be getting a payoff from the GOTG2 end credit with the long awaited appearance of Adam Warlock.
- Possibility (100%): Nothing to see here…yet. This depends on what we get in the MCU cosmic storyline up to this point.
17. I Am Groot
(I don’t even know if this would be considered MCU canon yet so let’s just wait and see. We love Groot!
18. Thor: Love & Thunder (May 6, 2022)*
- Destiny vs Deviation: Thor Odinson has chosen to abdicate the throne of Asgard, pushing forward through space with some friends to find his purpose in The 616 Universe. I didn’t get the impression from his last scene with Valkyrie (Avengers: Endgame) that he was anticipating the Multiverse cracking open and/or smashing together.
- Probability (85%): At some point the concept of worthiness will be addressed in this movie. Odinson is destined to be found unworthy by Mjolnir, but Jane Foster will be judged worthy by the sentient hammer. While fighting back his demons, Thor will come across creatures new and old that will challenge his mettle. We are getting Starsharks!
?
- Possibility (60%): We have seen that a Multiversal version of Loki will be worthy of lifting Mjolnir in the first season of the same titled series. Knowing Jane Foster will be endowed with the powers of The God of Thunder, we can not only imagine Beta Ray Bill, but get a “standing pantheon only” of Thors to help defeat “The Baron Mordo” of gods: Gorr The God Butcher.
- I am hoping since Thor is in tow with the majority of The Guardians of The Galaxy, that we will get origin stories. Even though I would love to see Knull create the All-Black in this movie, I do think Gorr should be the one to have decapitated Knowhere from the Infinity Saga. Adding Gorr, starsharks & Gorr’s All-Black sword (Necrosword) and the sentient being Odin bonded to Mjolnir (in the comics), The God Tempest could be used to tell a story of balance, and also explain how Hela crushed the Uru hammer so easily in Thor: Ragnarok. (Thank you so much if you’ve read this far! You must know a little something something if you have.)
19. Blade (TBD)
- Destiny vs. Deviation: A bi-racial child of two Latverian immigrants, torn apart due to persecution and false imprisonment becomes a genetic deviation of vampires called a Dhampir; all before his pregnant mother gives birth. The child would become orphaned. Growing up with a hatred towards vampires, now a young man, Eric Brooks has to learn his place in the world. We do not know what Marvel plans to do with this character but this is the easiest slam dunk out of the whole schedule.
- Probability (75%): We are not getting the same version of Blade that Wesley Snipes played. Because this Blade will be a part of the bigger MCU, he is naturally the perfect character to explore the world of vampires which began with the Atlantean, Varnae. Blade is originally European and we know that Eternals will be partly based in neighboring regions, so it’s easy to see how he could fit into that lineage without blinking an eye.
- Possibility (50%): The Genetic Deviation theme is a part of Blade’s DNA. Dracula being the villain of this movie is the easiest guess; but still a guess at this point. Lilith, Mother of Demons would be too powerful a villain choice for a Blade solo story. Team-ups with Moon Knight would make more sense then. Doctor Strange in a Blade movie would make this a must see for almost everyone. If Blade were to debut or cameo in either of the prior projects, a Midnight Sons theme may be on the table sooner than later. Ghost Rider in any project is fine with me by the way. (A fanchild can dream.)
- Possibility (25%): Blood being a central focus in vampire themes, Marvel could do us a favor and add a scientist that studies DNA and blood like Nathaniel Essex (aka Mister Sinister) for connective tissue back to the study of experimentation on humans. Morbius would be an obvious option too but Sony owns the rights to that character. Varnae, himself could show up here. I’m all for mutants in a Blade movie; especially Wolverine. I’m not just saying Wolvie for no reason; Logan is a part of Blade’s origin. Comic book wise, Modred The Mystic is a character that connects Blade to The Scarlet Witch. I will stop here because it’s more likely that none of this happens.
20. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (TBD)
- Destiny vs. Deviation: The Young Avengers are destined to be formed. The catalyst characters that either form or cause this group to form should have appeared in the MCU by this film’s release except for Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie (as Stature). Kang is set to star. He and a divergent version of himself play hero and villain in the Young Avengers lore. Historically, the genius that figures out how to defeat Kang is Hank Pym. Quantumania is my favorite title of all Phase 4, and with all the stories that will be told before its time comes we can only imagine what Marvel has in store.
- Probability (70%): We see the set up for a Young Avengers project. The mysterious Benefactor mentioned by Sonny Burch in Ant-Man And The Wasp should probably be revealed.
- Possibility (75%): If Hank Pym is not the one to figure out how to neutralize Kang, Reed Richards could become a part of the story. Kang is said to possibly be his descendant ( as well as Doctor Doom’s). As the Fantastic 4 project gets closer the possibility of seeing them increases.
21. Black Panther 2 (7/8/22)
- RIP Chadwick Boseman. Long live The King!
- Destiny vs. Deviation: T’challa will not return
. With the possibility that Atlantis could be introduced relatively early in Phase 4 (see Eternals), Wakanda’s prowess will have challengers. Ryan Coogler is in control and could pull from the wealth of Wakanda’s legend by telling a prequel story or appropriating aspects of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ brilliant futuristic run : “The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda” which could see the return of fan favorite, Killmonger; a multiversal deviation of the character, of course.
22. Fantastic 4 (TBD)
- Destiny vs. Deviation: The first family of Marvel is finally home. Destined to explore The Multiverse and deviations of all kinds, The world’s best superhero group will be continuously counting their lucky stars. This group of cosmic powered “Imaginauts” could be anywhere doing anything but they’ll be here with us!.
- Probability (100%): Fantastic Four!!!! Fun!!!! (‘Nuff said)
- Possibility (100%): Any character could show up. Being the first official Marvel comic story, this has the most mythology to pull from. Gotta wait and see which way director John Watts and Kevin Feige decide to launch this IP.
23. Spider-Man 3 (12/2021)
- Destiny vs Deviation: Peter Parker’s world is caving in; not only because he has been exposed for being Spider-Man, but The Scarlet Witch fractured reality. It’s a Spider-Verse party and everyone is invited! As Marvel’s most popular character in history, expect something special for all ages.
- Probability (0%): Sony is involved. (‘Nuff said)
- Possibility (80%): We have gotten reports of all of Feige’s faves making their way to the Spider-Verse. A tribute to the character’s cinematic history is in order. Based on what I wrote in the beginning of the article, “Kraven’s Last Hunt” started this successful level of story continuity in comics and on screen, so I’m all for some kind of adaptation. The only thing I can think of that may have used continuity on screen prior would be soap operas. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man showed the world that Marvel was ready for higher forms of storytelling. Besides the bevy of leaks (that actually overload the project in my opinion), the biggest and brightest possibility is that we finally get Miles Morales introduced to the MCU somewhere in this film.
Stay tuned True Believer. Manchild out.
What do you think of the theme of destiny versus deviation in Marvel Studios’ Phase 4? Let us know in the comment section below or over on Twitter.
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