This weekend, the Marvel teams laid a WHOLE LOT of news on us at once about Phase 4 at San Diego Comic-Con. The unveiling of their future plans for Phase 4, introducing new characters, the blockbuster actors playing them, and the movies they are currently filming. Endgame is over everyone. It’s time for the next phase of Marvel to begin.

All the work you would need to do to catch up on Phase 4 I’ve done thanks to Twitter and my insatiable thirst for MCU news the moment it breaks. Let’s check out all the MCU Phase 4 information I gathered.

The Black Widow

Okay, let’s start off easy. This was a movie we knew that was going to be in the pipeline for the MCU, but that’s about all the information we had. Now we have a cast, y’all. Of course, Scarjo is back, reprising her role as the Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff. Joining her will be Academy Award-winner Rachel Weisz, playing Melina. Melina is a highly-skilled spy-assassin who’s been through the infamous Red Room a few times. Then there’s Florence Pugh (Midsommar), playing Yelena Belova, a sister figure to Natasha with a little of a love/hate relationship. O.T. Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale) plays Mason, a possible romantic interest. Coming off of Stranger Things 3, David Harbour plays Alexei Shostakov, better known as Red Guardian. 

A little about Red Guardian. Though there is no confirmation on whether or not any of this backstory will be relevant to the upcoming movie. Alexei Shostakov was an acclaimed pilot for the Soviets and a KGB agent. He would train as The Red Guardian, the Soviet response to American created the first supersoldier, Captain America. However, and most importantly, in the second iteration of the character from 1967, he was also the husband of Natasha. Hmm… What we do know is the big villain of the movie will be the Taskmaster. It’s also been confirmed that the film will take place after Captain America: Civil War.

Kate Shortland (Lore) is set to direct the Black Widow movie. It will hit theaters on May 1, 2020.

The Eternals

It wouldn’t be the MCU without an ensemble cast of heroes! Say hello to this ragtag bunch of immortals who have been on Earth for 35,000 years or so, The Eternals! Originally created in 1976 by Jack Kirby, the movie will showcase eight characters in what seems like mostly gender-bent roles from their originals.

Among the cast is Game of Thrones alum, Richard Madden. Madden plays Ikaris, the leader of the Eternals. He levitates and shoots cosmic beams from his eyes. No big deal. Salma Hayek will be playing a female Ajak, a character known for being the god of Incan worship. The amazing Angelina Jolie will be donning her superhero headdress as Thena, daughter of Zuros. Don Lee (Train to Busan) will play Gilgamesh (or the Forgotten One). In the comics, Gilgamesh was exiled by Zuros and has been known by many names of legendary heroes like Hercules and Beowulf.

The Eternals group comic book illustration

Lauren Ridloff (The Walking Dead) will be playing the gender-flipped version of speedster Makkari. Kumail Nanjani, comedian and writer/star of The Big Sick, is playing Kingo. Kingo is an Eternal and former samurai warrior in Japan. Lia McHugh, the youngest member of the main cast, will be playing a gender-bent Sprite. Young though she may look, Sprite is thousands of years old. And finally, Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) will be lending his talents to Phastos, an engineer and inventor that was a later addition to the original Eternals comics. 

Chloe Zhao (The Rider) is set to direct The Eternals movie, releasing on November 6, 2020.

MCU Phase 4

While these two are the first movies coming out in Phase 4, Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, dropped some news. He announced the following films and television series that we can expect: 

The Falcon and Winter Soldier – Disney Plus series (Fall 2020)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Feb. 21, 2021)
WandaVision – Disney Plus series (Spring 2021)
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (May 7, 2021)
Loki – Disney Plus series (Spring 2021)
What If…? – Disney Plus series (Summer 2021)
Hawkeye – Disney Plus series (Fall 2021) **in which it has been confirmed that Clint will be training Kate Bishop.
Thor 4: Love and Thunder (Nov. 5, 2021) **in which it has been confirmed that Valkyrie (played by Tessa Thompson) will be the first-ever LGBT superhero character in the MCU (even though we know she’s been bi the whole time). ***ALSO, Natalie Portman will be back as Mighty Thor!

And just when we thought they couldn’t drop any more news on us, MCU announced they will be doing Blade with Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali as Blade. Also, don’t forget that the mutants are coming to the MCU along with the Fantastic Four! Nervous that you aren’t seeing Avengers 5? Don’t worry, we can safely assume that this movie will be slotted in Phase 5 in 2022.

What are you most excited about with MCU Phase 4 now in the works?