New Marvel Magic: The Multiverse Saga Begins
San Diego Comic Con made its triumphant return to a world of eager fans after a two-year break due to the pandemic. The convention, famously known for its importance to the Marvel movie community, certainly did not disappoint those lucky enough to secure a spot in the famed Hall H to hear the latest developments in the Marvel-verse.
Over the four-day convention, President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, revealed major projects for Phases Four, Five, and Six of the franchise nicknamed the “Multiverse Saga.” She-Hulk: Attorney at Law acts as the final television addition of Phase Four, centering on Attorney Jennifer Walters as she battles her daily struggles as the cousin of the infamous Hulk. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will serve as the final movie of the phase and covers the fight to protect the Wakanda nation following the death of King T’Challa.
Phase Five will kick off with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, the third installment to the Ant-Man trilogy featuring Scott Lang and supervillain Kang. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 gives the fan-favorite misfit team another adventure as they recover from the events of Avengers: Endgame. Additionally, Feige announced The Marvels, Blade, Captain America: New World Order, and Thunderbolts for in-theater releases during this phase but very little information about the titles was revealed.
The television side of Phase Five focuses primarily on the expansion of characters and storylines from past Marvel property. Secret Invasion tells of S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury’s return to Earth to put to rest the increasing Skrull infiltration in the population. Echo highlights Maya Lopez from the Hawkeye series as she must return to her hometown and start accepting her complex family history and past. Loki will also receive a second season featuring the beloved mischief-causing god. Ironheart highlighting Wakanda warrior Riri Williams, Agatha: Coven of Chaos showcasing magical mastermind Agatha Harkness, and Daredevil: Born Again featuring vigilante Matt Murdock will also premiere on Disney+ in the next two years.
Although not completely fleshed out, Phase Six already shows immense promise with three major films in the works for the final phase of the franchise. Fantastic Four finally makes an entrance into the official Marvel Cinematic Universe after multiple movies by the same name in the early 2000’s as well as a failed Marvel reboot in 2015. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars will focus on the newest band of MCU heroes as they battle multiverse villain Kang and close out the epic finale of the “Multiverse Saga.”
The announced at SDCC undoubtedly excited all fans of the franchise but may spell trouble for those actually working to bring these ideas to fruition. Namely, VFX artists have recently spoken out against the harsh working conditions when working under the company. An anonymous visual effects artist spoke with entertainment news magazine Vulture about the tight deadlines and seemingly endless changes. With the artist reporting “64 hours a week on a good week” and “[listening to co-workers] having anxiety attacks over the phone,” something must be done to protect these artists.
As a devoted fan and viewer of the MCU, I cannot help but feel guilty for supporting a film studio who does not give all of its employees the treatment they deserve. The announcement of a whopping seventeen new projects for the coming years makes me wonder if the quantity of these undertakings will actually be greater than the quality of them—both for the viewers as well as the employees. I would be completely satisfied with half of this number knowing that those behind-the-scenes are receiving appropriate hours and pay for their hard work and dedication.
Unfortunately, with the switch to Disney+ and the surging emphasis on television in the MCU story, it seems to be increasingly unlikely that quality of, say, five shows will be prioritized when ten are able to be produced. Every viewer has unique preferences and over-saturating the market with every kind of hero, storyline, and show imaginable guarantees that a larger number of the fanbase will be satisfied. For example, I was elated to know that the Daredevil series will be getting a second chance but will probably not be watching The Marvels or Agatha simply because I did not like those characters as much. Likewise, other friends have differing opinions than I do on each of these shows. I can understand the move by Marvel from a business standpoint, but I can only hope that the entertainment aspect continues to stay strong and VFX artists are not mistreated as these projects commence; a studio telling stories about societal justice cannot abuse their own system while they do so.