Top 10 Most Anticipated Phase 4 MCU Releases

If you were around in the late 1970s and 80s, you might be old enough to remember when the Hulk was last on television. Running for five seasons, “The Incredible Hulk” was a rare comic book adaptation for television that fans actually enjoyed. So when Marvel announced that “She-Hulk”' was coming to Disney+, fans were ecstatic to see some version of the green monster return to television. “Orphan Black”’s Tatiana Maslany is slated to play the titular character, with Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk also expected to be part of the main cast. We can’t wait to see more Hulks smash their way onto TV.

Clint Barton’s journey as Hawkeye from “Thor” to “Avengers: Endgame” has been one of ups and downs. From being possessed by Loki, to being jailed for siding with Cap, we’ve seen his dark and light sides sprinkled in between. Barton is an Avenger that has a story we have only seen bits and pieces of throughout the MCU films. And now thanks to Disney+, we’re getting more. Originally envisioned as a standalone movie, Kevin Feige shifted it to a streaming series focused on Barton passing the torch of Hawkeye to his protege Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Steinfeld.

Who doesn’t want more Paul Rudd? With a name like “Ant-Man”, you kind of expected the movie to be a little corny. Surprisingly, however, it had a perfect combination of comedy and action that sucked audiences in. Reappearing in a sequel, and “Avengers: Endgame”, we all hoped there would be another film to round out this trilogy. Jonathan Majors is expected to portray Kang the Conqueror who is likely to become the next major MCU villain. Given how well he did as a variant of Kang in the TV show “Loki”, we couldn’t be more excited to see him play this legendary villain.

For a moment, we weren’t sure if we’d get this sequel, at least with director James Gunn at the helm. At first, Gunn wasn’t sure what his role in the project would be after writing and directing the first two films of the franchise. Then shortly after he confirmed he would be back to write and direct, Disney fired him for some controversial tweets that had resurfaced. Rest assured Disney reversed course and reinstated Gunn. Not much is known about the plot, although Gunn did tease that we’ll just have to “wait and see.” We do know that the Guardians will appear in “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special,” so that should hold us over until Vol. 3’s release.

“Iron Man 3” gave audiences a bit of a fake out when we learned the Mandarin wasn’t real. Instead, we met Trevor Slattery, an actor who had been paid to portray the villain for Aldrich Killian. If you were lucky enough to catch the Marvel One-Shots short film “All Hail the King”, you would have seen a bit more of this story. Thankfully, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is set to give us the real Mandarin, as we get the first martial arts movie of the MCU. With any luck, this outing will finally give us the proper telling of this infamous Marvel villain.

The original “Black Panther” movie was a monumental success in so many ways. Concepts for a sequel started floating around shortly after its release in February of 2018. But when T'Challa actor Chadwick Boseman passed away unexpectedly of cancer, it put the future of the franchise up in the air. How could anyone replace Boseman in such an iconic role? Many fans wondered how Marvel would handle the turn of events. Eventually the decision to not recast him was made, and instead the film will focus on other characters and many subcultures in Wakanda while still paying tribute to Boseman.

With the Infinity Saga having come to a close with “Spider-Man: Far From Home”, the next phase of the MCU is beginning to see a shift towards far more mystical stories than we’ve previously seen. “Eternals” introduces an immortal alien race that have lived on Earth for thousands of years but have stayed clear of interfering in human development. They were created by Celestials, ancient beings whose origins are shrouded in mystery but we’ve come across one already, Ego, Peter Quill’s father. The Eternals opt to help humanity after the arrival of their counterparts, the Deviants. Given their history within the comics, the introduction of these characters will undoubtedly expand the scope of the MCU.

Until Taika Waititi’s outing with “Thor: Ragnarok”, the standalone films around this character had been a bit rocky. “Thor: The Dark World” has been described as the least favorite movie in the MCU. Waititi’s take on the character gave us a Thor we never expected and audiences loved it. Had it not been for him, there may not have been the upcoming “Thor: Love and Thunder”. With this film, the franchise welcomes back Natalie Portman as Jane Foster who gains the powers of Thor. Christian Bale is set to appear as the villain, along with several members of the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy.

With the mere title reveal of this movie, audiences immediately knew the multiverse was finally coming to the MCU. “WandaVision” gave us another taste of how magic was going to play out, and then “Loki” ignited a bomb with its handling of He Who Remains. Throw in the rumor-mill around “Spider-Man: No Way Home”’s possible universe crossovers and all roads lead to this Doctor Strange sequel. This movie will also explore a darker side of Strange as it will feature gothic and horror elements. Whatever they’re planning, we can’t wait to see it.



Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Fantastic Four” (TBD)
Will This Team Finally Get the Movie They Deserve?


“Moon Knight” (2022)
A New Disney+ Series Featuring Oscar Isaac

The last time we saw Peter Parker, the world had just learned he was Spider-Man. Exactly what has been going on since then? Thankfully, we’ll finally find out. No Marvel movie has had more speculation around it than the third solo outing of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Both Alfred Molina, and Jamie Foxx are expected to return as their characters from previous Spider-Man movies. This combined with a ton of rumours around Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s involvement have had fans clamoring for any details around the film’s plot. With the multiverse now a real thing in the MCU, only time will tell what Spidey’s latest adventure is all about.