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MCU Phase 4: Rumored & Confirmed Characters Appearing In Movies AND Disney+ Shows
Here are all the characters that could appear in both films and TV series in Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 4. Kicking off the next chapter of their storytelling may have been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but with a confirmed slate, fans have somewhat of an idea with what to expect moving forward from Marvel Studios. That includes both big and small screen offerings as they officially start producing shows exclusively for Disney+.
While previous Marvel shows like Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter, and the Defenders slate on Netflix were supposed to connect to the bigger MCU with references from the series, their movie counterparts barely acknowledge their existence. As the separate Marvel TV goes through a rebranding, Kevin Feige and his team at Marvel Studios now also manages small screen content for the MCU. This means that the public can expect more integration between films and TV shows. With this, some characters in the universe will be crossing over between media formats, which could be more complicated in terms of maintaining a cohesive continuity. However, this also motivates people to also pay attention to what's happening on Marvel Studios/Disney+'s projects since they will pivotal in the franchise's overall narrative as well.
Marvel Studios has yet to reveal much about their upcoming offerings, except for Black Widow since the Scarlett Johansson and Cate Shortland film was supposed to release back in May. Marketing for any projects beyond that is still tightly under wraps since given the current situation due to the global health pandemic. That said since they've announced their Phase 4 slate during last year's San Diego Comic-Con, there's a general idea about which characters could appear in both their big screen and small screen endeavors.
Scarlet Witch
The only character who has been confirmed to factor in an upcoming Marvel film and TV series is Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). Debuting in 2014's Avengers: Age of Ultron, there's not been much focus on Scarlet Witch the last few years despite her massive potential. That's about to change, however, as Wanda is set to play a major role in the MCU Phase 4 with two projects already on the docket. Initially, she was announced to headline her own Disney+ series in WandaVision, where she would reunite with her lover, Vision (Paul Bettany) who died in Avengers: Infinity War. However, it was later revealed that Scarlet Witch will also appear Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness slated to be released in 2022 as the film is narratively connected to WandaVision. Not much is known about the Benedict Cumberbatch-led sequel at this point, but considering that both characters wield magic, safe to say that the blockbuster will further explore the mystic arts in the MCU.
Loki
After several fake-out deaths since he was introduced in director Kenneth Branagh's Thor in 2011, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) finally met his end in Avengers: Infinity War at the hands of Thanos (Josh Brolin). The fan-favorite character paid for his dalliance with the Mad Titan and unlike those who perished because of the snap, the trickster wasn't resurrected with Smart Hulk's (Mark Ruffalo) secondary snap in Avengers: Endgame. That said, Marvel Studios still found a way to continue the God of Mischief's adventures when the heroes traveled back in time to the Battle of New York and 2012 Loki escaped with the Tesseract/Time Stone effectively creating a branched timeline. This alternate reality will be the setting of his own Disney+ series, Loki. However, with Loki also connecting to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it's not outside of the realm of possibility that this existing version of Loki makes an appearance. If Doctor Strange also finds a way to bring him back to the main MCU timeline, he could also pop up in Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder.
Doctor Strange
Stephen Strange will come into Phase 4 without his primary weapon, the Eye of Agamotto/Time Stone since the Infinity Gems no longer exist in the primary MCU reality. So, it will be interesting how he'd take on his new adversary in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. As previously mentioned, the sequel will have story connections to both WandaVision and Loki, and chances are that it has something to do with Marvel Studios starting to establish their own multiverse. While there's no word yet on whether Doctor Strange will also appear in any of the aforementioned Disney+ series, Marvel Studios tend to establish connections among their projects via brief cameos. So, even if the sorcerer does not fully feature on those shows, it's possible that he'll have a brief cameo on them whether it's in the middle of the season or through a post-credits type of sequence.
Darcy Lewis
It's been a long time since Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) appeared in the MCU, but she's slated to return, surprisingly, via WandaVision. Debuting in 2011 as Dr. Erik Selvig's (Stellan Skarsgård) intern and Jane Foster's (Natalie Portman) assistant, Dennings reprised her role one more time in Ala Taylor's Thor: The Dark World. Since then, there have been no sightings of her, although it's been revealed that she, Selvig, and Foster all survived Thanos' snap in Avengers: Infinity War. In the novel The Cosmic Quest Vol. 2: Aftermath which expanded on what happened on the big screen, the trio was investigating what happened with the decimation. While it's unclear how Darcy gets tangled up with WandaVision, her existing relationship with Jane, who is set to become the Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder opens up the possibility of her appearing in the film. And since Asgard is now on Earth, it would be fairly easy to explain how she got there.
