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Marvel Movie Delays Are What MCU Should’ve Been After Endgame
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the MCU now needs to delay kicking off Phase 4, but this should've always been the plan after Avengers: Endgame. The Joe and Anthony Russo-directed team-up epic capped off the Infinity Saga with Jon Watts' Spider-Man: Far From Home acting as its epilogue. Since Endgame marked the end of an era, it would've been better for Marvel Studios to always plan on taking a break before Phase 4.
While Endgame ended the MCU's first ongoing narrative after 11 years, the universe will continue with a confirmed string of projects. The slate for Phase 4 and beyond is composed of new and familiar faces as Marvel Studios begins to build another overarching narrative with the promise of culmination down the road. They're also expanding their horizons with small screen projects on Disney+. In short, there's so many things to look forward to in the MCU, starting with Black Widow which was supposed to roll out this May, followed by Chloe Zhao's Eternals which was going to arrive this fall. Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Hollywood was brought to a near standstill. Marvel Studios delayed Black Widow to November, forcing them to push their full slate back.
This move has saddened many moviegoers since it means that there will more than a year gap between the last MCU movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and the next; however, even if there were no global health crisis, Marvel Studios should've opted for a longer hiatus from the start. Taking a much longer break between Infinity Saga and Phase 4 gives audiences more time to reconcile with the finality of the film's major deaths plus Captain America's retirement. It allows the events of the movie to fully sink in before moving on with new adventures - this way, it doesn't feel like Endgame was just a normal movie in the MCU library, because it's not.
This is particularly important since Phase 4 will truly begin with Black Widow. Since Natasha died in Avengers 4, seeing her running around fighting Taskmaster not long after her tragic demise in Vormir somehow cheapens her death, even though people know her standalone movie is a prequel. That goes for Tony and even Captain America if rumors are true that they have cameos in the movie.
Endings are hard to nail in general, but the Russos delivered a perfect mix of big blockbuster action and character storylines in Avengers: Endgame making it a satisfying conclusion. Replicating the success of Endgame would be an even bigger feat than Endgame itself. While the public knew that that the MCU wouldn't end with the movie, it was marketed as an end of an era, which makes sense considering it was the final chapter for some founding heroes.
So having a longer gap would've also given the MCU a cleaner break between Endgame and Phase 4, generating more interest and anticipation. At this point, Marvel Studios has a fresh start with Phase 4. Kickstarting this new phase while audiences are still processing the fresh events of Infinity War and Endgame might have been too much too soon, considering how invested many people were in Iron Man and Captain America's story arcs. So, while the wait for Phase 4 is a bit longer than originally intended, the MCU will be better for it.
Black Widow (2020)
Release Date: Nov 06, 2020
Eternals (2021)
Release Date: Feb 12, 2021
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (2021)
Release Date: May 07, 2021
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2021)
Release Date: Nov 05, 2021
Spider-Man: Homecoming 3 (2021)
Release Date: Jul 16, 2021
Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)
Release Date: Feb 18, 2022
Black Panther 2 (2022)
Release Date: May 06, 2022
Captain Marvel 2 (2022)
Release Date: Jul 08, 2022
