With the recent news that Deadpool 3 will be headed to theaters in September 2024, fans were immediately excited to hear the beloved character would make his first MCU appearance. Yet this was ramped up even more with the news that not only would Wolverine also make his MCU debut alongside Deadpool, but Hugh Jackman will be reprising the Wolverine role too. This takes place in Phase 5 of the marvel cinematic universe, yet we’re currently within Phase 4 of the MCU timeline. It has been the most divisive of all Marvel Studios phases so far. What is so sad about all of this is that, well, we can see why so many dislike it.
If you ask fans what they think about some of the films or shows in Phase 4, you’ll get a variety of answers. Most of the time, fans will want to talk about the things they loved about each film or show. However, when you ask people what they are most excited about…they won’t normally discuss Phase 4 content. Rather, they’ll want to discuss all the big stuff coming in Phase 5 of the MCU. Out of all of the Marvel Studios phases, this is the first time fans just wanted to move on from a specific phase entirely. While a lot of good stuff happened or is happening within it, there are legitimate reasons to despise this phase. Let’s dive into some of them below!
What Does Marvel’s Phase 4 Involve?
There are several movies and shows that are part of the Phase 4 system. The movies included in Phase 4 are The Eternals, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This is the first phase to include several television shows as well. Those in this same phase include WandaVision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Loki, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. The fact that the Marvel Studios phases will include shows going forward is great, but it can also become a problem too.
While Marvel Studios has used television in the past as part of their content, most of it was not really part of the major MCU. While it still existed and counted, with all characters still within the same universe, they simply did not matter. Therefore, shows like Inhumans and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were just “there” and did not add a lot to the larger universe. The same can be said for the infamous Marvel Netflix shows like Daredevil, The Punisher, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. None were part of a specific phase truthfully, but now EVERY show and movie outside animated projects will be part of the MCU’s Phase treatment.