Disney's Marvel-ous Future?: Investor Day Fallout

Vega
Dec 22, 2020
9 min read

Disney Investor Day 2020 has come and gone, and it left a pile of first-looks and teases for the future of the MCU. A slew of new streaming projects that will continue to build within the foundation of the MCU, seemingly ending the annoying separation of Marvel movies/TV with which fans have had to deal. Amidst the excitement was also a fair bit of disappointment about what wasn't announced. While many of these were loose rumors and weren't really expected to be part of the presentation, news like new movie trailers or an 18+ Disney section would've been welcomed. But what I was most letdown by was the lack of change in Disney's release strategy. It may prove smart in the long run, but with Warner Bros. really raising the excitement for home-viewing of blockbuster movies, it makes Disney out to be the bad guy.

In a resentful win, Disney met my prediction of a price increase, with the service charging an extra dollar for a $7.99 USD price started March 2021. Considering the immediate importance of a streaming service in building revenue amidst the COVID pandemic and the slew of new shows finally coming to Disney+, its far from surprising. The movie/TV bonding within the MCU brought about a few mixed feelings. Considering the history of the relationship between Marvel TV and the movie studio, it's difficult to resolve the dissonance I have that reinforces the separate storytelling realms. There is no more Marvel TV universe and separate movie universe, it is ALL the MCU. Still feels weird. An immediately realized benefit of the merger is the movie quality that the footage showed the TV series to have. It may not be a full Marvel Studios level budget, but it's clear they are serious about maintaining a certain feel and quality to the production of these stories. Taking a closer look at these Disney+ series brings us to the news that...

Marvel's First Family is Coming to the MCU

RELEASE: TBA

It was March 2019, Disney's purchase of FOX's entertainment assets was completed, officially reverting the rights to Fantastic Four and the X-Men back to Marvel and into the capable hands of Kevin Feige. Since that time, the ongoing struggle of "which will receive the MCU treatment first" has leaned heavily towards Fantastic Four since X-Men got a much greater treatment on the silver screen. Now that is official, as Feige announced that Jon Watts (director of the MCU Spider-Man movies) will be helming the future MCU entry. Now comes the wait for casting: could Marvel follow the popular fan-castings of Krasinski/Blunt or do they have other casting gold in mind? Also, who is the big bad? Do they jump straight into Dr. Doom? Probably not, especially with Kang the Conqueror being introduced into the MCU.

New WandaVision Trailer...Still Confusing

RELEASE: 1.15.21

I am mostly sure it is a part of the marketing strategy to keep the story as secretive as possible, but it would be nice to have ANY clue of what's happening. Wanda and Vision are living together, appear to be married, and the details of their life gets shuffled through classic sitcom-styled inspirations. This would be sweet, if Vision wasn't dead. So how is this happening? There are clearly glitches happening, so whatever the "mainframe" is for this reality is crashing. Is it a machine? A psychological experiment? It could all just be in Wanda's head, considering her powers were gifted to her by means of the "mind" stone. Through various clips, we see there will be military involvement, whether that be because they're behind all of this or to defend from something (Wanda herself?) remains to be seen. There also appears to be an invisible veil surrounding the town their in, which would lend itself to the "Truman Show" theories I have read about more recently. Regardless of the details, this hopefully births a Wanda with fully-fleshed reality-warping powers, which would be more similar to her comic counterpart than she currently has. I never read

First Look at The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

RELEASE: 3.2021

I hate Falcon. I don't like his character, I cheered when he got snapped, and I loathed Cap passing the shield to him. However, I am fully behind this show following the trailer. Clearly not much has changed in the world following the resurrection of half the living creatures. You'd think there be a long period of unity or something, but no, there is still a bunch of bad guys, with the trailer focusing on what appears to be a group of mercenaries that Bucky and Sam are investigating. The two pushed that buddy cop vibe, so I'm sure there will be plenty of witty banter to go around. Whether they are working alongside the government or on their own remains to be known. The action pieces looked to be movie quality and the while trailer felt very cinematic, which helps support the idea that the MCU movie and TV universe is connected. The theme of this trailer, and assumingly for the show, is that of symbolism. Sam appears to struggle with the weight of being Captain America, so the government develops its own symbol to unite people behind, US Agent, who is seen running onto the football field. Baron Zemo is shown in a quick glance and while his involvement was already known, it's unclear how he will play into the grand scheme of the story.

First Look at Loki and his Time-Traveling Mischief

RELEASE: 5.2021

I would like to begin by noting that Owen Wilson looks weird as shit in this role...that is all. As has been rumored, the Time Variance Authority (TVA) makes itself known in the MCU, an organization that monitors the timelines across the multiverse, and Owen Wilson is one of their agents. Loki from the alternate-Endgame timeline escaped with the tesseract and, thus, is up to some mischievious shit. The series will tackle time and, as meta as possible, I'm sure the events of the trailer are presented out of order. Glimpses of Loki running for office, a female rumored to be female-Loki, apocalyptic scenes of a decimated New York...how much damage has Loki done...or has he done it yet? Kang the Conqueror was announced for another upcoming Marvel project, but the imagery of his face is seen throughout the TVA headquarters, so this will likely be his first introudction. I'm most interested in the mysterious hooded figure: is Loki helping capture them, is it Kang, is it a time-displaced version of Loki? Endless possibilities for a series with endless timelines.

What If...? Changes the MCU

RELEASE: Summer 2021

How fun is this? The What If series will look at the already established entries of the MCU with a slight twist in some of their details. Narrated by Uatu, the Watcher, this series gets the distinct advantage of being animated and having little in the realm of budget restraints. Some of what we will see is T'Challa becoming Starlord rather than Peter Qsuill and Peggy Carter getting the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers. Clips from the trailer also show a zombified Captain America, Loki at large press conference, and Dr. Strange fighting an evil doppleganger. An added bonus is getting to relive the journey through the Inifinity Saga even with the change in some bells and whistles.

Ms. Marvel Suits up for Captain Marvel 2

RELEASE: TBA

It is not an actual trailer, but just a glimpse into what to expect from the tone of Ms. Marvel. While showing a bit of Iman Vellani and her youthful innocence, those involved described the character as being someone everyone can relate to. That was a spot that, for me, was traditionally held by Peter Parker, but considering the unique plot lines the MCU has strewn Spidey along, a new everyday hero is welcomed. This is definitely feeling like show that's meant to rope the younger kids in. I'm not eager for this show, but perhaps a little dabble into her comics will grant new appreciation.

Kate Bishop officially played by Hailee Steinfeld

RELEASE: TBA

She was fancasted A LONG time ago as Kate Bishop, long before the Hawkeye series was announced (or even rumored). I thought she was a near-perfect choice and I have enjoyed her performances thus far to trust her in the MCU. Now it's official, as Kevin Feige announced that Ms. Steinfeld would be bringing Kate Bishop to life alongside Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton/Hawkeye. Of course, it was unofficially announced months ago and set photos released prior to the panel with her in costume really dampered the excitement, but it was nice to have anyway.

RELEASE: TBD

TATIANA MASLANY IS JENNIFER WALTERS/SHE-HULK!!! Yes, I am aware that this was leaked a while ago, but now it's Feige official. Controversial statement? Sure, but Tatiana Maslany is now the most talented actor in the MCU. To maybe add to that exciting news, Tim Roth is returning in his role as Abomination from The Incredible Hulk, though the extent of his role is unknown. As is the same with Mark Ruffalo's role and with the timeline of this series unclear, we don't know whether Ruffalo will be playing Banner or Hulk. Little is known about the series outside of Maslany's Walters practicing law and working specifically in superhero-related business, but Feige teased the possibility for multiple guest appearances...Daredevil?

RELEASE: TBD

As Talos and his wife used their shapeshifting abilities to fill-in for Nick Fury and Maria Hill, Spider-Man: Far From Home introduced the idea of Skrulls invading Earch. Now that concept will be expanded on as Fury and Talos investigate the extent to which society has been infiltrated and replaced by shape-shifters. For me, this is the show that will make or break the weaving of MCU movie and TV because this is an event, and a big one at that. In the comic story, no character was left spared from suspicions, which is what drove the core drama. This limited series needs to be handled similarly to Captain America: Civil War in the sense that Nick Fury and Talos can be the core characters we follow, but every other characters needs to be available and used. If the MCU is meant to be tied between movies and TV, Marvel has to prove that they will not hold back with their TV budgets and strive to maintain a similar quality of storytelling. That being said, a part of this will play out in the movies, so this could very well have an excuse to not include many heroes as their arcs may play out in the movies.

RELEASE: TBD

Kevin Feige could have just said "Kang the Conqueror" and dropped the mic. Before getting to that, Cassie Lang appears to be getting a bigger role, along with a recast. Kathryn Newton (Detective Pikachu, Big Little Lies, Freaky) will take over the role from Emma Furhmann and grabbing a more noticeable name makes me think the character may gain a footing in the future of the MCU. Even before Thanos' defeat at the conclusion of Endgame, the question of who the next big bad would be has long been pondered. There are only a few villains/entities that could fill that role: Galactus, Dormammu, Annihilus, the Phoenix force, a few others, and, of course, Kang the Conqueror. At his simplest, Kang is a time-traveler who uses his manipulation of the past, present, and future to become a tryant-like ruler. But his use of time can make him a very complicated and difficult villain to handle. Since he exists across many timelines, even if he is defeated, there is usually an alternate version ready to take his place. He primarily has ties to the Avengers and Fantastic Four, which makes him an ideal villain with the introduction of the latter, as he typically is believed to be related to Reed Richards. The TVA's introduction in Loki, Kang's appearance here, and the future introduction of the Fantastic Four leads me to believe you should read up on Kang a bit.

RELEASE: 2.11.2022

Not a lot to talk about here, with the only new information coming out for this movie is Christian Bale's role as Gorr the God Butcher. In the comics, Gorr lives on an alien planet and is raised to trust in the gods, though his belief wavers strongly as disasters strike. He is stricken with many struggles of life and through a combination of starvation, natural disasters, and harsh environmental conditions, Gorr lost everyone important in his life, from his parents to his children. Following these events, he no longer believed that gods existed and was exiled. During his exile, Gorr witnesses gods in the flesh and for their ignoring of his prayers, he exacts a plan of vengeance against all gods (hence God Butcher).

RELEASE: TBD

How do you continue telling Iron Man stories without an Iron Man? Well, here is the answer. Two shows that will follow in the legacy of Tony Stark's footsteps, Ironheart will provide the "successor" to his role as a hero and Armor Wars will show the future of his technology. Armor Wars will star Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine in this series that explores Tony's tech falling into the wrong hands. That series will continue what we already know, whereas Ironheart will bring something, and someone, new to the MCU. Played by Dominique Thorne (If Beale Street Could Take), Riri Williams is a genius teenage-inventor who, in the comics, builds her own suit of armor and ultimately becomes mentored by Tony Stark. The actress cast as Williams is in her early 20s, so the show may not follow a 15/16 year old Riri Williams as in the comics which is really interesting since Ironheart co-creator noted that Riri's appearance was based on teenage actress Skai Jackson. Looks like Kamala Khan will have to carry that young hero mantle all alone. Feige explicitly stated that Ironheart will make her way to the movies, so I am assuming this series will work as a pilot to her movie run. Both Ironheart and Armor Wars will have a level of crossover with each other as well.