Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been the most extensive and diverse phase of the juggernaut franchise yet. With the new avenue of MCU stories told through Disney+ series, Kevin Feige and Marvel are now producing more content than ever. From the Phase Four kickoff with WandaVision in January 2021 to Ms. Marvel, which premiered on the streaming service a few weeks ago, Marvel has released as many projects in the last year-and-a-half as they did in the entirety of Phase Three. With the release of Thor: Love and Thunder next week, this fourth chapter of the MCU will officially be the longest yet, but still, there’s no real concrete confirmation of how long it will continue or where its story is going.
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With this rapid expansion of the Marvel universe comes a variety of new characters to populate the various interconnected films and shows. Some characters, such as Shang-Chi and Black Widow’s Yelena Belova, have instantly become new fan favorites, while characters like those in the Eternals film have failed to really connect with audiences. Deadline reports that the latest new property Marvel is developing is a Thunderbolts film, which would focus on several villains and anti-heroes of the MCU coming together to form a new team. Here’s why this development is a step in the right direction for the franchise:
The Ever-Expanding Universe
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Up until this point, the MCU has been very Avengers-centric, with almost every film centering on a character who already has been on the team, or is being set up to join the ranks soon. It’s understandable why this has been the case, as the Avengers films have been the key cross-over events that have built the MCU into the franchise it is. However, as there are more characters than ever running around the world of the MCU, it would make sense for there to be more than one team of super-powered individuals that exists at a time. In order to carry the weight of so many different stories and characters, Marvel is going to need more than just the singular crossover-supporting pillar of the Avengers films.
The introduction of the Thunderbolts allows Marvel to move some of these new characters away from the Avengers and into their own space within the universe. Many of the MCU’s less-heroic characters will now be able to continue their stories in the universe without being tethered too closely to whatever is happening in the core Avengers films, whether it be John Walker’s US Agent, Baron Zemo, Yelena, Taskmaster, or whoever else might be joining the team. The Thunderbolts film will also allow the MCU to continue the more governmental side of its story, which has been established with characters like Secretary Ross and Valentina, along with agencies such as the Department of Damage Control. So far, much of this plot has been delegated to the Avengers and Captain America films, but by separating that story off into a new Thunderbolts series, the MCU can take the Avengers in whatever cosmic, quantum, or multiversal direction they choose, without abandoning all the work that has been done developing that side of the MCU.
Competing With The Suicide Squad
Warner Bros.
Although Warner Bros’ DC films have not enjoyed the same consistent success and fan fervor that the MCU has, they’ve still managed to be genuinely competitive with Marvel Studios on several occasions. Feige has shown his willingness to directly compete with DC’s characters and stories, most notably by green-lighting Captain America: Civil War only after DC announced Batman v. Superman, and this Thunderbolts film is yet another example of him doing that. DC beat Marvel to the punch with a super villain team all the way back in 2016 with Suicide Squad. While that film may not have been very well-received, it did perform well at the box office, and it successfully launched a fan-favorite character in Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. DC has continued to leave Marvel in the dust when it comes to villain-led material, as they’ve since produced Joker, Birds of Prey, James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, and HBO Max’s hit series Peacemaker.
While the MCU’s adaptation of the Thunderbolts is sure to be a more complicated property than just “Marvel’s version of the Suicide Squad,” that basic pitch is likely what Feige and Marvel Studios are going for. Though Birds of Prey and The Suicide Squad weren’t massive box-office hits, the likes of Joker and Peacemaker have shown that there is an audience for more adult-oriented super villain stories. That is a concept that Marvel has yet to cash in on, and considering how aggressively the MCU has been expanding over the last couple of years, it’s only a matter of time before the Disney-owned cash cow gets around to this idea.
More Direction for Phase Four
Marvel Studios
Despite how extensive Phase Four of the MCU has already been, there is still a bit of confusion amongst fans as to what exactly is going on. There’s still no confirmation of what all of these new shows and movies are building toward. While the likes of Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seem to be setting up a multiversal crossover, like Secret Wars, there are other properties like Black Widow, Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Hawkeye that are less clear with their relevance to the overall story of the MCU. Thunderbolts could be the answer to many fans questions. The more grounded and less cosmic stories Marvel has been telling are a much better fit to crossover in a Thunderbolts film rather than a Secret Wars event. For example, the mysterious new villain Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has already popped up in several projects, and it’s doubtful Feige is setting her up for a big role in Secret Wars.
Throughout the Infinity Saga, though each film told its own cohesive story; the MCU as a whole was focused on one path that led to Thanos and Avengers: Endgame. With the introduction of the Thunderbolts, Marvel could be doing something new with Phase Four: adding a B-storyline to the MCU. Essentially, Marvel would be dividing the MCU into two overarching stories, instead of just the one that fans have been used to. While the main Avengers-centric films are focused on whatever multiversal crossover they seem to be setting up, the Thunderbolts film can serve as the big crossover movie for the more Earth-based characters that would feel out of place on a grand cosmic adventure. This approach also gives the MCU’s characters more room to breathe, as the likes of Yelena and US Agent can be further developed in Thunderbolts without having to worry too much about how they factor into a massive multiverse war. It’s a gamble, as some fans are already exhausted with the amount of material Marvel is producing, but if it pays off, the MCU might just be able to recapture some of the same success they’ve previously had with the Avengers films.
