D23: Everything We Learned About Marvel Phase 4 on Disney+

D23 is underway and the Mouse House did not pull any punches when rolling out their biggest undertaking in years: the brand new streaming service Disney+. In the streaming wars brewing between every major studio, Disney has to make their service enticing to subscribers. They are pulling out the big guns by announcing a slew of content. Three Star Wars shows are in various stages of development, spin-offs of popular brands like Monsters Inc. and High School Musical, exclusive movies, revivals of Disney Channel favorites like Lizzie Maguire, and the whole Simpsons library are just a few of the titles. Yet one of the biggest and most exciting news announcements came in the form of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which will be debuting a slew of new television series on the platform within the upcoming two years.

Each Phase of the MCU has experimented in some respect. Phase 4’s big experimentation is finally mixing film and television series into one cinematic universe. Yes, there have been shows set in the MCU. But for the most part, while the shows are impacted by the movies the movies are not impacted by the shows. While it made sense in terms of the Netflix series (the adventures of characters like Daredevil and Jessica Jones probably wouldn’t warrant a mention by the Avengers), major stuff like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that had a whole Inhuman subplot and featured the world filling up with superpowered people and never getting a mention in the films seemed odd. Now though, through Disney+, films and television programs can be better integrated together. Marvel Studios will have more a hand in crafting the shows and it appears they will lead to events in films. So these are truly as much a part of Phase 4 as the upcoming films.

We got the announcements for many at San Diego Comic-Con, but it looks like Marvel held some info back. Obviously, some of it was so they could show off some new exciting stuff at D23, but also because it appears they will be at the end of Phase 4 so they aren’t as far down in development.

MS. MARVEL

The first major new announcement actually broke right before the panel, as it was confirmed that Marvel was developing a series based off Khamla Khan aka Ms. Marvel. The series will be written by Bisha K. Ali (Hulu’s Four Weddings and a Funeral). While not confirmed, one assumes it will help set up the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel.

Introduced in the pages of Captain Marvel #14 in August 2014, Khamala Khan is Marvel’s first Muslim character to headline a comic book when she received her own solo title in February 2015. A young Muslim American woman growing up in New Jersey, she is a huge fan of Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel. After discovering she has Inhuman abilities, she adopts the name Ms. Marvel; both to honor her idol Carol (who originally used the name Ms. Marvel) as well as because the two have a shared history of being Kree experimentations.

Ever since her debut in Marvel Comics, Khan has caught on with fans and critics alike. Khamla Khan, much like Sam Wilson’s Captain America and Jane Foster’s Thor, is the latest in a line of characters that were introduced as part of the All-New, All Marvel initiative back in 2014 to diversify the Marvel roster that seemed to be using the comics as a beta testing phase for them to make the jump to live-action. She has been incorporated into numerous Marvel animated programs including Marvel Rising, and was most recently a playable character in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. It was a matter of time until she joined the MCU, but many fans assumed it would in a Captain Marvel sequel. Yet it appeared the character was given the chance to have the spotlight in her own right.

The first question that many asked, that was answered quickly, was that we would see Ms. Marvel in the films as well. So while her journey may start on the small screen, it will continue forward on the big screen. Her series may set up the Captain Marvel sequel, while also setting herself up as both a potential Avenger or member of another team.

Her origin story will probably undergo some changes. The Inhumans play a major role in her origin story, and one wonders if they will leave that out of her origin here since the Inhumans have been mainly associated with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and their own ill-received television series. They might make her a mutant? Or an Eternal? Possible another type of Kree experiment? Or maybe use this as a way to redo the Inhuman storyline.

Numerous possibilities to explore and the high profile status of the character makes it easily one of the most anticipated projects coming to the platform.

SHE-HULK

Long-time fan favorite Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk is finally coming to the MCU. In the comics, Jennifer Walters is the cousin of Bruce Banner, who after a blood transfusion between the two ends up getting his powers. She maintains much better control over her abilities than her cousin and is able to maintain her personality as well as Hulk-like strength and continue her job as a lawyer.

She-Hulk allows Marvel and Disney+ to explore a lot of new territories as well as build off of previous MCU material. Jennifer Walters is a lawyer, so it would allow Marvel to do a procedural show like Law & Order or Ally McBeal. It would also give them a vehicle to maybe bring back another fan favorite lawyer/superhero in the form of Daredevil. Jennifer Walters’ connection to her cousin Bruce Banner would allow them to continue and possibly wrap up the Hulk’s storyline. Now that Bruce has found a balance between the Hulk and Banner, he could serve as a mentor figure to his cousin who is undergoing a similar dilemma.

She-Hulk was also one of Marvel’s first meta characters. Her comics became known for their ability to break the fourth wall and address the reader. She-Hulk was doing it a decade before Deadpool. Her show could feature voice-over to invoke a similar vibe to those classic She-Hulk comics, giving it a unique sense of humor.

She-Hulk has been given a bigger push in recent years in the pages of Marvel Comics, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise she is finally joining the MCU. It is a welcome addition and with how technology has caught up, it will be great to see the character brought to life the same way fans have seen the Hulk on the big screen for years.

MOON KNIGHT

A fan favorite and one that fans have been waiting to see for a very long time is Moon Knight.

While many would call him Marvel’s Batman, he is a much more complicated character. Born Marc Spector, he is a U.S. Marine who became a mercenary. When he is left to die in an Egyptian tomb, Spector is visited by Khonshu, the Egyptian Moon God. He comes back to life as Moon Knight, equipped with some supernatural gadgets. He took his money from his mercenary days and turned it into a small fortune to continue his war on crime (see the Batman connections). He uses multiple identities to deal with both the criminal underground and high society, making him a character of many different worlds. He deals in both street-level criminal thugs and supernatural based horror stories, making him a character that can walk in multiple worlds in the MCU.

Moon Knight’s backstory has plenty of room to mine in terms of a television series and a lot to explore. This could be one of the darker installments of the MCU. The character’s supernatural background also makes him a character that could appear in Doctor Strange or in the upcoming Blade film.

WHAT IF…?

Marvel Studios’ first animated series is one of its most interesting options. The hook is that it will explore all 23 Marvel films in new lights, so each episode will highlight one of the MCU films (this raises a lot of questions for the films Disney doesn’t own like Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home as well as Universal Studios’ The Incredible Hulk).

The first footage was shown off at the convention. The one audiences already know about will center around Peggy Carter, with Hayley Atwell reprising her role. In the clip, Peggy Carter is seen receiving the super-soldier serum and becoming her own version of Captain America, be it more Captain Britain since she was decked out in the British flag.

Other clips shown included Bucky Barnes fighting a zombified Steve Rogers (a reference to Marvel Zombies), a skinny Steve Rogers stepping inside a Mark 1 Iron Man prototype armor, and a new different Star-Lord.

FALCON AND WINTER SOLDIER

Based on the title fans already knew Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan would be back as their respective characters, and Comic-Con confirmed that Daniel Bruhl would return as Zemo. Now it was officially confirmed that Emily Van Camp would return as Sharon Carter aka Agent 13.

Wyatt Russell (Overlord, 22 Jump Street) has confirmed to play John Walker, who in the comics is a right-wing jingoistic ‘patriot’ who takes on the mantel when Captain America abandons it. He eventually cools down and adopts his own identity, US Agent. His involvement in the show hints at an earlier rumor that the series will be focused on the government not being happy that Sam Wilson was given Captain America’s shield and want to install their own version of Cap. One that they can control and truly use a propaganda symbol. It appears the series will be about a battle of who/what makes someone good enough to be the new Captain America.

LOKI

Tom Hiddleston couldn’t attend the actual event but he did send a message letting fans know the ‘sun would shine on Loki again.’

It is already confirmed this series will follow the version of Loki that escaped the Avengers in the alternate 2012 timeline that was created in Avengers: Endgame. It appears that this Loki may still find a path to redemption while he is messing around in history. One does wonder how he is able to time travel since he has the space stone and not the time stone, yet all will be revealed when Loki hits Disney+ in 2021.

WANDAVISION

Easily the one with the most questions and quite easily the most anticipated is WandaVision. The footage showed at D23 was a mash-up featuring clips of Scarlet Witch and Vision with footage from The Dick Van Dyke Show. This sizzle reel helps set the tone for the series, as a wacky sitcom set within the MCU, but with something ominous hanging over the procedures given the nature of Scarlet Witch in the comics, and Vision being dead at this point in time.

The cast is another interesting question since it appears to be drawing supporting characters from various franchises who at this point have no connection to Scarlet Witch or Vision. It was first announced we would meet a grown-up version of Monica Rambeau, who audiences first meet in Captain Marvel. Now we know that Kat Dennings will reprise her role as Darcy Lewis from Thor and Thor: the Dark World (one wonders if she will reprise it in Thor: Love and Thunder) and also Randall Park is set to return as Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and the Wasp. That means supporting characters from Captain Marvel, Thor, and Ant-Man all show up in this series.

Kathryn Hann (Bad Moms, Private Life, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse) was also announced in a mysterious role, one that is described as Scarlet Witch and Vision’s noisy neighbor. Little else is known about the character, other than sinister-sounding word hints that Kathryn Hann might be a hidden antagonist who is manipulating Wanda. Could she be the MCU incarnation of Agatha Harkness? Could she be Nightmare, the rumored villain for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that would lead right into that film?

That was all the major Marvel announcements from the Disney+ series at D23. It appears Phase 4 has more content than originally disclosed, with a strong push forward on the television front. What do you think of these announcements? Are you excited about all these series? What do you want to see? Let us know in the comments below.