Producer Trinh Tran reveals that it will be a little bit of a wait before Marvel Studios comes up with another Avengers: Endgame-sized crossover. The 23-film Infinity Saga wrapped up this summer with the Joe and Anthony Russo movie, followed by Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Far From Home which served as an epilogue. Bringing together heroes from all pockets of the MCU, the film saw Earth’s Mightiest Heroes take down Thanos (Josh Brolin) and ensure the universe’s future. It also marked as the journey’s end for some of its most-beloved heroes, leaving the franchise in a rebuilding phase.

Months after the Infinity Saga wrapped up, Marvel Studios kept mum about what fans can expect in its Phase 4. It was only during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con and D23 Expo that they laid out their plans for the next few years with a mix of old and new characters headlining their respective movies. At the same time, Kevin Feige and his team will try their hands on TV shows with a slew of Marvel Studios project set for Disney+. Amidst a schedule that will last until 2022, Tran says that it will take a while before fans are treated with another massive crossover from the MCU.

Speaking with CinemaBlend, the long-time MCU producer talked about their approach to Phase 4. Surprisingly, for a franchise that prides itself for interconnectivity, Tran said they’re more concerned about fulfilling their announced slate rather than simply building on another massive crossover event.

With a string of their cornerstone heroes such as Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) and technically even Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) now gone, it makes sense that Marvel Studios is focused on filling the void that they left rather than building towards an overall narrative. Hence the reason why new characters are fronting films such as Chloe Zhao’s Eternals and Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Aside from that, sequels such as Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther 2 will further establish the new Avengers lineup. The MCU is also expanding in other directions with tie-in shows such as The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision and She-Hulk among others soon rolling out, not to mention the imminent arrival of the X-Men the Fantastic Four.

Our focus right now is to make sure that the titles that we’ve released in Phase 4… obviously those stories are going to be new, exciting, different and can connect with the audience like the other movies have been. Over 10 years ago, it’s always been our dream to get to Infinity War and Endgame level. We didn’t know obviously where that was going to go at the start of the studio, but it’s incredible to know that we were able to accomplish that. Now it’d be amazing if we could get to that level 10 years later, so I think it’s a dream to continue doing that and build upon the MCU and the connective tissue that we have. And now with obviously our Disney+ side and the shows and how our characters are venturing into that world and how that’s gonna lead to the future and more franchises and more stories and more properties and their connective tissue to the rest of the MCU, it would be amazing to do something like this 10 years later.

In hindsight, Marvel Studios’ current approach isn’t that different to how they operated during their early days of building the MCU. Feige has been vocal that his main concern in 2008 is to come up with a solid Iron Man film, which fortunately they did. However, despite no concrete plans for any crossover, it’s safe to say that he and his team has a vague idea on where the franchise is heading in the next several years. The plan is malleable enough to adapt to any unforeseen events, but it’s the end-goal is clear. Admittedly, it will be difficult to replicate the emotional resonance of Avengers: Endgame to fans, but if Marvel Studios carefully execute their blueprint for Phase 4 and maybe even Phase 5, they might come really close.

More: Why Captain America’s Costume In The Avengers Is So Cheesy

Source: CinemaBlend

  • Black Widow Release Date: 2021-07-09 The Eternals Release Date: 2021-11-05 Shang Chi Release Date: 2021-09-03 Doctor Strange 2 Release Date: 2022-05-06 Thor: Love and Thunder Release Date: 2022-07-08 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Release Date: 2022-11-11