Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phase 4 & Beyond (and a chance to change your vote)

loved the show so far but worried that the mcu’s pathological need to tie everything into something else will make for an unsatisfying finale. they can’t do endings because they don’t want any of their stories to truly end

There's only one episode left, I doubt they will introduce anyone that needs any sort of deep explanation.

That is indeed another reason why I'm having my doubts on 'said villain' and more expecting another Loki variant. But he could then still have taken on the role of a mastermind ruler, which is why I'm wondering if they shape it like that other villain I suggested.
But if they go full-on tie-in with the next Ant-Man villain, I expect that I'll be cheering at the screen next week myself - I love those MCU interconnections!

my money is on the final boss being loki from a timeline where the avengers didn’t win at the end of their first movie and loki got everything he wanted but still ended up miserable

the whole show has been about loki exploring himself, thematically it makes sense for the big bad to be loki, and for him to have to defeat the worst part of his own character

2 lokis 1 cup of destiny

Next three MCU things (Black Widow, Shang Chi, Eternals), I have no idea if or how they might fit into a big picture sort of thing. Black Widow is out now, right? Anyone know if it has any connections to the MCU going forward, or is it strictly stand-alone? The other two, I know nothing about them. But then right after that is Spider-Man 3, which is supposed to have more multiverse stuff, then Dr. Strange 2, which has multiverse in the title, Thor 4 (which we know features an alternate Thor), then The Marvels, which ... who knows. But just noticed that Ant-Man 3 isn't released until 2023 (barring another pandemic), so that seems like a lot of stuff (6 or 7 movies, some shows) without really hinting at where it's all going, let alone introducing a big villain. Though it seems most likely we won't really see him til Ant Man 3.

it will be batman

I mean, at this rate, sure, it might as well be Batman.

xxpost It's also possible that (this) Loki will settle on ruling this particular timeline. They've made Loki something of a softy pushover, but they frequently revert back to his desire to rule. Old Loki has shown a Loki willingness to live alone in exile, but it could be a tidy way to wrap things up by having (our) Loki and Sylvie stay in this timeline/nexus/apocalypse to "rule," which conveniently gives them a place to wait until the next time they are needed in the MCU (if ever). Because if (our) Loki were to escape again, where would he go? To yet another timeline where he would be captured or killed? Seems in character to stay where he's "won." Better to rule in hell (Hel) than serve in heaven, etc.

the whole show has been about loki exploring himself

My completely unsupported assertion is that Kang is gonna be like the Thanos of this new MCU phase and, like Big T, will make some cameo appearances in the shadows or whatever before he's formally introduced.

It does make sense thematically that another Loki is pulling the TVA strings...but who is pulling his strings?!?!

I wouldn't rule out a brief post-credits scene featuring that villain. I mean, let's not forget how Thanos was officially introduced, they can do it without minutes of exposition.

lol xpost with OL, yeah.

Re: Black Widow and the MCU going forward the post credits scene has Pugh's character being lined up to assassinate Hawkeye by Julia Louis-Dreyfus at Natasha's grave. So maybe she'll be in the Hawkeye series?

_the whole show has been about loki exploring himself_


u must be watching the unrated DisneyMax version of the show

This is MCU continuity, they could have the Big Bad here be another Loki and then have him rebrand himself as Other Villain to distance himself from the other variants if they wanted to

that would be a fun twist

Goddamn it why did I click on that tag... be warned others that treefell's spoiler tags are about Black Widow and not Loki.

Not your fault treefell, just not paying attention to what your post was about.

lol I actually do appreciate post-credit spoilers, or at least more than I appreciate being made to sit and watch the scroll of 1000 fx dudes for just 30 seconds bonus footage.

And the character in the spoiler tags was of course introduced in Falcon & The Winter Soldier so Marvel appear to see all the pieces playing together.

I like the theory that the Big Bad of Loki is ... another Loki.

i like this theory, provided that the ‘another loki’ is möbius. his exit was much too smooth imo

(i imagine there are many in-universe reasons of which i am unaware that this is impossible)

appreciate any and all black widow spoilers because the movie seems extremely mid

Caught Black Widow last night, I thought it was excellent. Definitely more of a spy story than a superhero story though there is a supersoldier involved. Stay for the end credits scene which sets up Hawkeye.

sorry, not a spy story, just an action film. but the action is great.

BW end credits LA Times article with spoilery future path guesses.

...guesses that have been made in this thread! that direction seems pretty likely I guess.

Definitely a few nods to Tarkovsky’s stalker in this weeks episode

Also, serious Time Bandits vibes. Grant as Old Loki even looks a bit like David Warner:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/96/60/fa/9660fa5a2472cf6268f6712af8791773.png

’this was fun’

if that is a scene from the end of a film that opened in cinemas less than 24 hours ago, some readers might appresh a warning

otm tbh

my apologies

My late Father asked me 4 decades ago ‘Do you really want to spend your life in make-up and tights?’ At 64, this get-up for @LokiOfficial for @disneyplus would have made him cackle! pic.twitter.com/bQ9Jkypj7w

— Richard E. Grant (@RichardEGrant) July 9, 2021

REG really seems to have struck a chord with fans!

i watched BLACK WIDOW tonight

hated the first 45 minutes but then it turned into Marvel + Bond + Mission Impossible uber ridiculousness & i freaking loved it after that

its weird & pretty bananas

what was wrong with the first 45 minutes for you?

well the fkn Nirvana cover for a start
i was irrationally annoyed that young Black Widow had blue hair.
I fkn hate “American Pie” too so it seemed the odds were piling up against melol

plus from the start there were SO many ridiculous set pieces one after the other that i thought maybe they were trying to distract from a weak story

and then it went cuckoo bananas & i got on board lol

thought this was alright.. but the space MCU stuff is exponentially better

have u seen captain marvel tho bc no

The more I see Captain Marvel, the better I think it is.

It's not the best Marvel movie (still a tossup between Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, and Cap 1) but it's very, very good at mapping out Carol's journey of self-discovery

This was fine, would have been much worse without the charm that Pugh pulled through even with the accent.

we rewatched Endgame before Black Widow because my husband couldn't remember exactly how she died - it was a bit weird how they went on and on about how Nat didn't have a family, but then Black Widow, which takes place earlier in the chronology, was all about family

But Vin Diesel wasn't there!

Pugh is a remarkably charismatic actress, as she was in Fighting with My Family as well. (And I'm someone who hated Midsommar.)

I would put this above Captain Marvel but below the very best MCU films. Still pretty enjoyable, liked the family dynamic and general fuzzy feelings of the dialogue, despite how immensely dark the setting and general human trafficking theme actually was. Agree with Veg about hating the blue hair on '95 Natasha and the Nirvana cover that should only be used in an Xbox commercial.

mr veg is threatening to purchase it just to mess with me

if i rewatch it i’m fuckin skipping it

Future stars of popular children’s entertainment pic.twitter.com/YlhgPjRFAJ

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) July 13, 2021

I have a heart condition! If you hit me, it will be for the Glorious Purpose!

<3

ws trayce; the glorious purpose demands it

hey!

I was completely bored by Black Widow. Pugh was great, Winstone awful and easily the least essential MCU movie. Whole thing felt like a missed opportunity and wonder if it would have been better set further in the past with a younger actor as Natasha.

Seeing several tweets these past few days about how the MCU “ruined” Taskmaster or “completely wasted the opportunity” of the character.

If I were feeling more charitable if ascribe this less shitty reasons, but I can only assume that the toxic portion of the fandom is having a big baby shitfit because of the casting. So sick of this shit.