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MCU Phase 4 Is About Fallout From Avengers: Endgame Says Marvel Exec
The core story of the MCU's Phase 4 is about the fallout from Avengers: Endgame, confirms a Marvel producer. In 2019, Joe and Anthony Russo culminated the decade-long Infinity Saga through their blockbuster film. It marked the end of an era for the MCU, and now the franchise is currently in the process of rebuilding in Phase 4, laying the groundwork for its next big crossover event.
After being hampered by several delays and schedule reshuffles due to different factors, Phase 4 is finally in full swing. At this point, six films have already been released, with the latest, Thor: Love and Thunder, currently playing in theaters. Meanwhile, its newly-minted Disney+ branch is also booming with Ms. Marvel currently preparing for its season finale. Throughout all this, there are clear arcs that tie different projects together, such as the multiverse with titles like Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home. At the same time, other stories mainly function as standalone installments, such as last summer's Black Widow. While it's still unclear what the overall narrative will be in this new chapter of storytelling for the MCU, a Marvel Studios executive shares what's the common theme for Phase 4.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness producer Richie Palmer recently sat down with Empire Spoiler Special Podcast (via Collider) to talk about the film and what's next for the franchise. He reveals that the MCU's Phase 4 is defined by the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame as the characters are feeling different emotions from their fight against Thanos. Read Palmer's full quote below:
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"Phase Four is all a reaction – and I don't mean on our part as filmmakers, I mean the characters...It's a reaction to the trauma of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. We're still feeling those effects in these movies years later."
This is an interesting admission from Palmer, as there was an assumption that Marvel Studios is moving away from the Infinity Saga and setting up an entirely new arc that will someday also culminate in a blockbuster event. However, this also explains much of their creative decisions recently. WandaVision and Loki's events were directly set up by what went down in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Doctor Strange's eagerness to help Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home arguably stems from his guilt over the death of Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame. Even recently, Love and Thunder features, albeit briefly, Fat Thor and reflects on Thor's lingering trauma. Perhaps at this point, the MCU is using the early stages of Phase 4 as a transition period as it builds upon the events of the past to launch what comes next for the universe.
Over time, however, Marvel Studios needs to fully move on from the Infinity Saga to be able to tell entirely new stories. Avengers: Endgame is a brilliant endpoint for the franchise's first three phases; it shouldn't also define the future of the universe. As the MCU further expands through the multiverse and new characters are introduced, this can be ultimately achieved, but only if Marvel Studios is deliberate with it.
