Breaking Down All the Marvel Studios Announcements From Disney Investor Call

The MCU was forced to take 2020 off, but with a new year around the corner, Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios have made major announcements and future plans to get fans excited for the foreseeable future.

The Disney Investor Meeting has come and gone and after what felt like a year of no movie news, Disney decided to give the press a whole year’s worth of material to cover in two hours.

While this wasn’t an official ‘for the fans’ event like DC Fandom back in August, this was an event open the public could watch. And unlike many of the other panels that would sometimes cut out because it was footage exclusive for shareholders, the Marvel panel was for everyone to view. It brought to mind the Marvel Press Event they held in 2014 where they announced the Phase 4 slate. Or even captured that magic of Comic-Con weekend where big announcement after big announcement come rolling in. Given that there was no Big Hall H Panel at Comic-Con this year, it was a nice reminder and an early holiday gift for fans.

Kevin Feige spoke to investors (and fans) and showed them what is in store for the future of the MCU in theaters and on Disney+, and we are here to cover all the major announcements and tidbits, as well as provide a little speculation.

WandaVision– January 15th to February 19, 2021

While not planned to be the start of Phase 4 of the MCU, due to the delays from the pandemic this is now the official start of Phase 4. WandaVision will be the first in many installments of the MCU next year, and if things go according to plan there will be an MCU story for every month.

The trailer gave us a bigger hint at the scope of the series, showing how it can be both a classic sitcom while having the massive scope of the MCU. With the confirmation this kickstarts a story that continues into the next Spider-Man film and ends with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, expect a lot of big surprises and cameos from the multiverse.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier– March 19 to April 23, 2021

Originally planned to be the first Disney+ series, this now is set to arrive in March 2021. Many were assuming this might have to be delayed given that it was expected there would be plot points tied into Black Widow and couldn’t come out till that film hit theaters. Yet that doesn’t appear to be the case, and now fans have a much clearer idea of the plot and dynamic at play between Sam and Bucky.

Feige said this would feel like an epic Marvel film told over six hours, and based on the footage from the trailer and final action scene they mean it. It looks just as big and massive as any of the films. With the introduction of US Agent (Wyatt Russell) and the return of Baron Zemo, combined with Thunderbolt Ross appearing in Black Widow and a few other major villains returning, it seems Marvel might be setting up the Thunderbolts for Phase 4.

Black Widow– May 7, 2021

In the wake of AT&T’s massive announcement that all WB films on the 2021 schedule would go straight to HBO Max alongside theaters, many were worried Disney would follow suit. But aside from the announcement some films yet to begin filming like Peter Pan and Wendy and Pinocchio would premiere on Disney+, the only film Disney decided to do this with was Raya the Last Dragon, and that will follow the Mulan ‘Premium Access’ format of paying $30 to watch it on the app, with it still hitting theaters.

Black Widow on the other hand is sticking with the theatrical release of May 7, 2021. Fun fact: May 7, 2010 is the release date of Iron Man 2, which was Black Widow’s introduction to the MCU, so her solo film will arrive eleven years to the date of his first film.

Loki– May 2021

Black Widow isn’t the only installment in the MCU coming in May. Later in the month (one would assume Memorial Day weekend to give Black Widow three weeks to breathe), Loki will be arriving on Disney+. Unlike WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier, this series is still filming but they were able to still show off some footage.

The series follows Loki, from the reality in Avengers: Endgame where he escaped with the Tesseract, as he is caught by the TVA aka the Time Variance Authority. Marvel Studios likes experimenting with genre, and here it appears they are dropping Loki into a crime drama. The series will also feature cast members like Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sasha Lane, Wunmi Mosaku, Sophia Di Martino, and Richard E. Grant.

While this Loki is in an alternate reality, the fact that WandaVision, the untitled Spider-Man 3, and Doctor Strange will be dealing with multiverse shenanigans it is safe to assume to trickster god will find his way back in the MCU proper, probably in time for a surprise cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder.

What If…?– Summer 2021

For Marvel’s first animated series, Uatu the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) guides viewers to help explore alternate realities within Marvel’s vast multiverse. We will see classic stories from the MCU in ways that could have gone differently. What if Peggy Carter was given the super-soldier serum? What if Captain America came back as a zombie? What if T’Challa was picked up by the Ravengers instead of Peter Quill? Numerous questions and numerous possibilities and worlds to explore. If some concepts really break out, they have an explanation for them coming to the MCU.

This will also be Chadwick Boseman’s last proper appearance in the MCU as he recorded his dialogue before his passing.

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings- July 9, 2021

Shang Chi wrapped filming recently, and while Marvel didn’t give us a look at Simu Liu in his suit, they did confirm the cast line up.

Tony Leung is confirmed to be playing the Mandarin, whose real name appears to be Wenwu. Awkafina (who is also cast in Disney’s The Little Mermaid reboot and Raya the Last Dragon) will play Shang Chi’s friend Katy. Michelle Yeoh is Jiang Nan, and this is her second MCU character as she previously appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 as Aleta Ogord. Rounding out the cast is Fala Chen as Jiang Li, Ronny Chieng as Jon Jon, Meng’er Zhang as Xialing, and Florian Munteanu as Razor Fist.