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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
Yeah.
I think there's a reason Phase 4 isn't ending with an Avengers movie, and that reason is that the MCU has entered its "Shit, what the f*ck do we do now?!" period.
Not just with the films, but also with the transition to making Disney+ streaming shows alongside them. This is a very experimental time for the franchise. Also a delicate one; many a franchise has gone downhill after passing the Obvious Ending Movie/Episode/Game.
It needs some time to figure out what its new identity is going to be now that Endgame has used up all of the momentum it's been running on for years.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Sep 6th 2019 at 11:25:45 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.In a lot of ways we're back to square one.
No idea what's the long game, no big crossovers and events to look forwards to, no big Greater-Scope Villain.
I guess it must've been like this for people who were already following the franchise since Phase One.
so no rian johnson as well I take it
Edited by Ultimatum on Sep 6th 2019 at 5:28:15 PM
have a listen and have a link to my discord serverNo, there was a long-game and big crossover to look forward to back in Phase One. From the first Iron Man film, we knew that Avengers was the plan. We just didn't know if Marvel would actually get there. It seemed, at the time, tremendously ambitious for a niche genre.
We wanted Avengers to happen. But we didn't fully believe it would actually materialize. Movies like that don't actually get made.
This period of complete absolute uncertainty is a new development for the MCU.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Sep 6th 2019 at 11:33:16 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.To add to what I was saying, that trailer that served as First Avenger's stinger was mind-blowing in its day. That was the moment that the Avengers film stopped being a "Yeah, we'll see" promise and became real. They were actually making this. It was really happening.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Yeah, unlike the last three phases, we don't know what the endgame (heh) of Phase Four will be, if there even is one. It's probably just going to focus on expanding the world and establishing a new status quo after Phase Three shook things up so much.
I remember how Honest Trailers described each of the phases by comparing them to a rock band. One was where the found their voice, Two was their experimental period, Three was the "WOO-HOO! We can do whatever we want!" period, and they worried Four would be the "vomiting in the alleyway wondering where it all went wrong" period.
I don't think the MCU will crash that hard, but it's definitely going to be an interesting place for the series going forward.
Ship might have sailed on Thunderbolts. Zemo's going to be the bad guy for Sam and Bucky's show, and it just isn't Thunderbolts without Zemo.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.It could but I kinda doubt it. Zemo's already in a perfect position to set up Thunderbolts. I don't see how having him return to menace Sam and Bucky some more could really improve his position for a potential Thunderbolts movie. I can see plenty of ways it could harm that position, though. Especially if they kill him off.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.They could do it without Zemo. I've already been expecting it, because MCU Zemo isn't really the "team of supervillains" type. They could use another character in the same role.
There was a theory before that, since they're almost certainly compositing Fu Manchu with the Mandarin in Shang Chi, that they might also composite the character of Fu Manchu's daughter (one of Shang Chi's antagonists) with Mandarin's daughter (Sasha Hammer). If they further composite Sasha with her mother (the Crimson Cowl) they could have her be the head of the Masters of Evil.
The Masters of Evil is a fine name. Just have them call themselves "the masters." I had a fun idea that they could to the Nick Fury "let me talk to you about the Avengers Initiative" scenes, but with villains, and have the word "master" be dropped somewhere in every one.
But a Thunderbolts story is the best way to introduce the Masters of Evil in this universe anyway, and the state of the MCU right now is great for it.
Edited by KnownUnknown on Sep 6th 2019 at 11:43:56 AM
It's going to be interesting to see how Zemo gets involved in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, because he really doesn't seem like a villain with a lot left for him to fight for.
He lost his family, he technically succeeded in tearing apart the Avengers, so what brings him back into the fray? Maybe the Snap made him change his perspective on things? Maybe he realized he didn't go far enough? Or maybe he might try to atone for his crimes?
The new Star Trek movie has been in Development Hell for quite a while, and I don't think Abrams was attached to that one in the first place. The rumor for quite a while has been that Quentin Tarantino might be doing the next one.
I could 100% believe the Zemo we have now accepting an offer from Ross to run his own "proper" Accords-abiding equivalent to the Avengers. That could happen in the very next movie and I would believe it.
Especially if one of their missions is to hunt down and arrest the fugitive Avengers.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Sep 6th 2019 at 3:24:32 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.He lost his family, he technically succeeded in tearing apart the Avengers, so what brings him back into the fray? Maybe the Snap made him change his perspective on things? Maybe he realized he didn't go far enough? Or maybe he might try to atone for his crimes?
I guess it will depend on what has happened in the universe post-Endgame. One thing that's interesting is the Avengers are in kind of a nebulous place right now. Obviously there will eventually be another movie, but it's unclear if the team itself actively exists right now given everything that happened (especially with Avengers HQ destroyed).

Yeah, no.
They might hand the reins to James Gunn now that he's back for Vol. 3, but I think we'll find out the way the game goes with the next movies post-endgame. If, say, Multiverse of Madness proves to be a massive hit critically and commercially and the director is there for it, they could pass it to him.
"All you Fascists bound to lose."