The MCU's Future - What's in Store/Reel and Roll's Thoughts (Comic-Con 2019)

How does one follow up something like Avengers: Endgame? A whole lot of everything, apparently. 

Black Widow - 1st May 2020 (film) directed by Cate Shortland

L - R: Florence Pugh, O.T. Fagbenle, Rachel Weisz, Scarlett Johansson

L - R: David Harbour, Florence Pugh, O.T. Fagbenle, Cate Shortland 

Confirmed cast:

Scarlett Johnasson, reprising her role as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
David Harbour as Alexei
Florence Pugh as Yelena
Rachel Weisz as Melina
O.T. Fagbenle as Mason

Hype level: B

Given the events of Endgame this is clearly expected to be a prequel, and the MCU has assembled quite the cast for this one, with the incredibly talented Pugh's inclusion being particularly intriguing. It'll be interesting to see what direction they go with this one, if it'll be a change of pace and a smaller, more intimate story given that it doesn't need to deal with added ramifications/more buildup for the MCU and can afford to be a more self-contained story, and we may well find out what REALLY happened in Budapest...

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - Fall 2020 (Disney+ Series)

L - R: Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie

Confirmed cast: 

Anthony Mackie, reprising his role as Sam Wilson/Falcon
Sebastian Stan, reprising his role as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier
Daniel Brühl, reprising his role as Helmut Zemo

Hype level: B -

Mackie and Stan have shown incredible chemistry both on and offscreen so hopefully this will be a good continuation of this, although I have to admit I really hope they do give ol' Bucky Barnes a proper break at some point, he's gone through a really long rough patch, and I hope the series doesn't fall into the trap into making them too much of a cutesy joke duo. Adding in the return of Zemo, who was one of the first MCU villains to properly break through the mould of underwhelming antagonists, and the experimentation with the miniseries format for a Marvel scale story, piques my interest. An unknown quantity but one I'm nevertheless anticipating. 

The Eternals - 6th November 2020 (film) directed by Chloé Zhao

L: Chloe Zhao
L - R (back row): Lauren Ridloff, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani
(front row): Brian Tyree Henry, Lia McHugh, Don Lee

Confirmed cast: 

Richard Madden as Icarus 
Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo
Lauren Ridloff as Makkari
Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos
Salma Hayek as Ajak
Lia McHugh as Sprite
Don Lee (a.k.a. Ma Dong-Seok) as Gilgamesh
Angelina Jolie as Thena

Hype level: B

Kudos to Marvel for embracing diversity in the right way, as this is a pretty intriguing mix of actors, and hopefully is also a sign that the MCU will continue to go bonkers with the Celestial/cosmic side of things. Zhao is also a brilliant director as evidenced by her breakthrough The Rider, hopefully her still will translate to a big-budget production like this.  

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - 12th February 2021 (film) directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

L - R: Destin Daniel Cretton, Simu Liu 

Confirmed cast:

Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
Awkwafina as ???
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as The Mandarin

Hype level: A -

Well talk about some major throwbacks, as we go back to the very beginning with the Ten Rings, the terrorists essentially responsible for spring boarding Tony Stark's journey into Iron Man, and his antagonist in Iron Man 3 the Mandarin - but this time for real, and pitted against the MCU's first Asian hero. Liu seems like a good casting choice, I like Awkwafina, but I have to say the biggest boon here is casting the legendary Leung in a role I hope they'll give the required complexity and nuance to. Plus this is being released on my birthday. Hype, for sure.

Loki - Spring 2021 (Disney+ Series)

Tom Hiddleston

Confirmed cast:

Tom Hiddleston, reprising his role as Loki

Hype level: C -

Hey, I love Loki as much as anyone else, and Hiddleston certainly delivered throughout each of his appearances, smaller or more substantial, as the God of Mischief. I do however, think that he got the perfect sendoff in Infinity War and frankly, that exploring more of the Loki who goes AWOL in Endgame in the '2012 alternate timeline' doesn't really pique my interest. I'm all for exploring the multiverse but honestly, I don't know how much more Loki has to offer as a character especially if he's going to be removed from the Thor storyline.

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness - 7th May 2021 (film) directed by Scott Derrickson

L - R: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen 

Confirmed cast:

Benedict Cumberbatch, reprising his role as Doctor Stephen Strange
Elizabeth Olsen, reprising her role as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch

Hype level: A

Now the idea of making a Doctor Strange horror film is a fantastic idea, given how some of the best elements of the first film verged into this territory and Derrickson's background in the genre. All bets seem to be off if you're going to blend the powers of Strange and Scarlet Witch together (though don't forget Wong, and maybe Karl Mood will be back), as visually speaking this may be even more of a trippy affair than the first film. And honestly there's no better individual to explore the multiverse concept now than the Master of the Mystic Arts.

WandaVision - Spring 2021 (Disney+ Series)

L - R: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany 

Confirmed cast:

Elizabeth Olsen, reprising her role as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
Paul Bettany, reprising his role as Vision
Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau

Hype level: B-

I'm not quite sure what to expect from this, except that it'll definitely be quite experimental in nature, which is a good thing, but could potentially feel a bit extraneous in the overall MCU canon. I'm all for getting Olsen and Bettany back to reprise their roles, though, and I'm sure that this will find some way to bring some more meat to one of the more thinly sketched MCU relationships.

What If...? - Summer 2021 (Disney+ Series)

Jeffrey Wright

Confirmed cast:

Jeffrey Wright as the voice of The Watcher

And featuring the vocal reprisals of - 

Haley Atwell as Peggy Carter 
Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther
Josh Brolin as Thanos
Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark 
David Dastmalchian as Kurt
Michael Douglas as Hank Pym 
Karen Gillan as Nebula 
Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster 
Sean Gunn as Kraglin 
Chris Hemsworth as Thor 
Djimon Hounsiou as Korath 
Toby Jones as Arnim Zola 
Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan 
Natalie Portman as Jane Foster
Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye 
Michael Rooker as Yondu 
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk
Stanley Tucci as Dr Abraham Erskine
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger 
Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man 
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier
Chris Sullivan as Taserface 
Taika Waititi as Korg 

Hype level: B

A series exploring a series of hypothetical 'what if'-scenarios over the MCU chronology, in an episodic Twilight Zone style format sounds intriguing. It seems like the kind of format where the MCU can afford to be hit and miss and be a bit daring since there's no risk at all. And Wright's voice as an omniscient overseer seems pitch perfect. 

Hawkeye - Fall 2021

Jeremy Renner

Confirmed cast:

Jeremy Renner, reprising his role as Clint Barton/Ronin/Hawkeye
??? as Kate Bishop

Hype level: C

I'm all for seeing more of Jeremy Renner onscreen and him getting those hefty Disney pay checks. However, the direction they seem to be going in with this series - exploring more of the Ronin phase of the character in between Infinity War and Endgame...I don't know. It doesn't sound particularly intriguing to me on paper, and I kind of like how the film left much of it to the imagination. Nevertheless, I'll approach it with an open mind.

Thor: Love and Thunder - 5th November 2021 (film) directed by Taika Waititi

L - R: Taika Waititi, Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson

Confirmed cast:

Chris Hemsworth, reprising his role as Thor Odinson
Tessa Thompson, reprising her role as Valkyrie
Natalie Portman, reprising her role as Jane Foster

Hype level: A+

Okay, that title is what gets me halfway there in terms of excitement, as it seems that they're really ready to let Taika Waititi loose with whatever he wants to do with Thor the character and Thor the story. Overjoyed for the reprisals, and though Jane Foster wasn't the best written character in the previous films, I'm sure that choosing to develop her story arc into 'female Thor' could result in something quite special and exciting (plus Portman's adeptness at comedy has often been overlooked - take a look at her SNL appearances).

Mahershala Ali will play Blade

L - R: Kevin Feige, Maheshala Ali 

A very good casting choice for the role, although he had a really thankless character in Alita: Battle Angel the whole aesthetic was basically a prevision to how he'll probably look as Blade. Wesley Snipes was iconic in the role but I'm sure Ali will find a way to own it and make his mark.

Black Panther 2, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Captain Marvel 2, Fantastic Four, Mutants in the works

More details will probably be announced at next year's Comic-Con. Particularly excited to see who they cast as the new Fantastic Four.

Sources: Reddit, IGN, Variety, Entertainment Weekly