In today’s bit of “No shit!” news, we have Disney CEO Bob Iger teasing that ‘Avengers 4‘ doesn’t necessarily mean the end of any more ‘Avengers’ films. But there might be something else brewing at Marvel Studios.
In a recent earnings call (via THR), Iger was praising the recently released “Avengers: Infinity War” and its box office records. However, he was quick to point out that the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t going anywhere, but a new direction definitely is in the cards.
“We meet on a regular basis with our Marvel team, and we’ve plotted out Marvel movies that will take us well into the next decade,” said Iger. “I’m guessing we will try our hand at what I’ll call a new franchise beyond ‘Avengers,’ but that doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t see more ‘Avengers’ down the road. We just haven’t made any announcements about that.”
A “new franchise,” huh? That’s sure to get fans talking.
Of course, what Iger said plays into what Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has been saying for months now, that ‘Avengers 4’ isn’t necessarily a conclusion to the MCU, but instead, the end of the current iteration of the universe. What fans took that as was a hint that the MCU would focus on the newer, popular characters like Spider-Man and Black Panther, and kill off Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. However, with Iger’s comment, maybe there’s more changing than just the rosters.
Of course, they’re not going to stray too far from the beaten path. Iger also said that even though there are no plans yet for a new ‘Avengers’ film past the untitled fourth film next year, that doesn’t mean there are no more ‘Avengers’ movies in the future. “Given the popularity of the characters and given the popularity of the franchise, I don’t think people should conclude there will never be another ‘Avengers’ movie,” Iger said.
What we know for sure is that the upcoming Phase 4, or whatever Feige ends up calling it, will feature “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Black Panther 2,” and will be kicked off with a “Spider-Man: Homecoming” sequel, scheduled to hit theaters only a couple months after ‘Avengers 4.’
And Feige has gone on record saying any more announcements about what’s to come won’t be until closer to ‘Avengers 4’ anyway. So, it appears that whatever this “new franchise” looks like, we won’t know for probably another year. Oh well, time to go watch ‘Infinity War’ for the fifth time.
