Marvel Studios reveals full phase three release calendar
Today, 28th October 2014 can simply go down in history as Marvel Day.
Anyone who is a big fan of superhero movies or all things comic book related, would've been salivating all day long. We all knew an announcement regarding their phase three of the cinematic universe was coming, but we where treated to a jam packed slate. It's safe to say, the world of cinema will be hearing a lot from Marvel in the years to come.
Phase one of the Marvel cinematic universe featured the first two Iron Man movies, the first Captain America, Thor and Avengers movies, as well as the— so far— only stand alone Incredible Hulk movie. Phase two featured the third Iron Man pic, the Captain America sequel and the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. It also featured the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. television series and in May next year we will come the end of phase two with the release of the second Avengers movie, Age of Ultron.
what's on the horizon
We expected big things from this announcement, but we didn't expect Marvel to be so ambitious. This new phase three is their biggest to date, and will feature four brand new start-up franchises. How those five will play out into Marvel's future phases, remains unknown.
As expected, a third Captain America film is on it's way, along with a third Avengers movie which will be split into two parts. We heard a rumour Marvel where interested in splitting the third Avengers movie in two. It's a smart move from the studio as previous movies such as Harry Potter, Twilight and currently, The Hunger Games, have all spread their final chapters over the two film format, and racked in the cash at the box office.
Thor will also get a third movie too. Along with the third Captain America, we expect both films to tie in nicely with the third Avengers movie, considering both will be released before hand.
It was also confirmed that the Guardians of the Galaxy will get a second movie, but this was something of old news. Director of the first Guardians movie, James Gunn, has openly said be began work on the second movie the day Guardians opened in theatres.
The new movies featured in phase three come in the shape of Doctor Strange. Much like Guardians, we've known for some time this movie is on its way considering there has been a lot of talk regarding casting lately. The announcement of Doctor Strange at this Marvel event didn't, however, mention anything regarding who will play the doctor. Strong reports suggest Benedict Cumberbatch is in talks, but obviously, nothing has been signed off just yet.
Joining Doctor Strange on the list of new faces are Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Inhumans.
This phase three is a huge jump from Marvel. Phases one and two consisted of six and five films, respectively. Phase three features eight movies spread across a three year period. So as we previously mentioned, expect to be bombarded by Marvel in the coming years.
Below is a full list of the movies in phase three alongside their release dates in date order. It's also worth noting, Ant-Man is also featured in phase three.
marvel cinematic universe: phase 3
• 17th July 2015 - Ant-Man
• 6th May 2016 - Captain America: Civil War
• 4th November 2016 - Doctor Strange
• 5th May 2017 - Guardians of the Galaxy 2
• 28th July 2017 - Thor: Ragnarok
• 3rd November 2017 - Black Panther
• 4th May 2018 - Avengers: Infinity War – Part I
• 6th July 2018 - Captain Marvel
• 2nd November 2018 - Inhumans
• 3rd May 2019 - Avengers: Infinity War – Part II
