Disney held its Investor Day Meeting on Thursday, Dec 10, where they revealed their plans across all platforms under the Disney Umbrella. This four-hour presentation consisted of unveiling upcoming projects to interest any seeking investors of the Disney company.  Marvel Studios was one of the branches that revealed new and exciting information during the live broadcast meeting. Loyal viewers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) were treated with an abundance of updates for phase four and four brand new movie trailers.

Marvel has begun to diverge outside of the movie format and venture into the land of television.

The first property to kickstart phase four is ‘WandaVision’, where it will begin streaming weekly episodes on Disney+, starting Jan 15. While promotional material has begun to circulate, this new trailer has given the biggest glimpse into the wacky journey audiences will partake on. The show is a combination of sitcom styles throughout various decades and the grandeur of Marvel films. This trailer takes viewers through multiple decades, but it seems that Wanda’s created reality each begin to falter; perhaps that is why viewers see Wanda and Vision molded into different decades to keep up her facade. Mysteriously, it seems like someone is controlling Wanda and her pocket reality, since she doesn’t always seem fully in control with what is happening around her. Fans have speculated that it could be the demon, Mephisto, as the orchestrator and who has been quickly teased in the Loki trailer. Whether it is him or not, Wanda will not be able to cope with the fallout of her false reality since her and Vision are going to fight for their home in her pocket world. With just about a month before viewers take a dive into the multiverse, fans can take a peek in the trailer for more hidden clues.

Regarding WandaVision, junior Cynthia Matos said, “I’m really excited for it to come out so we can finally see this fake reality that Wanda has made. This is something new and fresh from the MCU, which makes it all the more exciting.”

The trailer for ‘Loki’ debuted during Kevin Feige’s presentation, giving viewers their first glimpse at the Tesseract-stealing God of mischief. Fans last saw Loki as he escaped with the Tesseract in the 2012 timeline after the Avengers saved New York. There has been a long wait to see what happened to Loki after he vanished with the Tesseract and the trailer has given viewers plenty to uncover. Loki has gotten himself contained by the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a bureaucracy of timeline monitors who aren’t pleased by Loki’s escape. Loki’s escape is a by-product or happy accident from Tony and Scott’s plan going awry when trying to gather the space stone in ‘Avengers: Endgame’. At some point, it appears Loki has escaped the TVA or is permitted to leave the TVA and is once again on a journey that is very intriguing to audiences. In a sequence of frames, viewers see Loki donning a suit and slicked-back hair as he charms a flight attendant before jumping out of the plane with a duffel bag full of cash (this is a reference to D.B. Cooper, a mystery man who extorted a 200,000 ransom and hijacked an aircraft before parachuting and vanishing without a trace). After he jumps out of the plane, he is sucked into the Bifrost, presumably by a likely alive Hemidall, from a different timeline. The final clip leaves viewers with Loki who appears to be running for president, yet he is surrounded by sharp weapons pointed at his throat. Loki is supposed to begin streaming weekly episodes in May with an unspecified exact date. 

After a long-anticipated wait, viewers were treated with ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ trailer. There has been little content in regards to the show and many fans have been eagerly waiting for any type of promotional material. The trailer showcased Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes as they buddy up for an action-packed adventure. It seems they aren’t exactly pals, but more so enemies to frenemies as they embark on this journey together. While Bucky doesn’t have a problem with Sam taking up the title of Captain American and donning the shield, it seems like the government has other plans for a new Captain America that isn’t Sam. Now that Steve has passed on the mantle, the legacy bears a heavy weight- one that Sam does not take lightly. This series will most likely revolve around Sam becoming Captain America by the end of the show’s final episode. Viewers see that Sam and Bucky will have their fair share to fight as not only Zemo returns, but as the U.S. Agent is introduced and a new group called the Flag Smashers are make their havoc-wrecking debut. There is a perfectly choreographed shot of Sam weaving in and out of missiles in a mountain range that leads viewers to many questions, especially one with reasoning behind Sam’s plan of attack. The final shot leaves viewers with a taste of the banter between Sam and Bucky that the show is sure to be filled with; it even calls a drawback to ‘Captain American: Civil War’. Fans will be able to start their journey with Sam and Bucky on March 19, as it begins streaming weekly episodes. 

Regarding ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’, Matos said, “I’m most excited to see the banter between Bucky and Sam because I think it’s going to be hilarious. I’m looking forward to seeing a heartwarming friendship grow between them.”

In addition to those three trailers, Marvel debuted the ‘What If…?’ trailer that gave viewers the first real look as what is to be expected from the show. Each episode of the show will focus on a different scenario that could have potentially happened within the main timeline in the current MCU. Viewers will get to see their favorite characters in situations they never thought they would see them in. It seems like the perfect show for Marvel fans to sit back and relax as they watch.

More announcements were made about other phase four projects both including film and television. ‘Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness’ will be released into theaters on March 25, 2022 and will tie into the third ‘Spider-Man’ film. Fans will have to wait a little while longer as ‘Black Widow’ keeps its theatrical release date of May 7, 2021. ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ also keeps its summer theatrical release for July 8, 2021. Fans will be introduced to newcomer Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan in ‘Ms. Marvel,’ and her story arc will be carried into ‘Captain Marvel 2’. Brie Larson will reprise her role as Carol Danvers alongside Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau. ‘Eternals’ has kept its November theatrical release date for November 5, 2021. Feige confirms Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop in the new ‘Hawkeye’ series with Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye being a mentor to young Kate. Tatiana Maslany was confirmed by Feige to be playing Jennifer Walters in ‘She-Hulk,’ alongside many other hulks. ‘Moon Knight’, ‘Secret Invasion’, ‘Armor Wars’, ‘Ironheart’, and ‘Blade’ are all in early development stages. ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ has a theatrical release date for May 6, 2022 and Christain Bale is confirmed to be playing Gorr the God Butcher. Scott Lang’s third movie is titled ‘Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania’; Jonathan Majors is confirmed to be playing Kang the Conqueror; Kathryn Newton has been confirmed as the recast for Cassie Lang. Marvel Studios has made the decision to not react to Chadwick Boseman’s role as T’Challa, but are moving forward with the development of ‘Black Panther 2’. Most surprisingly to MCU fans, Kevin Feige announces they are in development for a ‘Fantastic Four’ movie directed by Jon Watts. 

Marvel fans have a lot to look forward to, as the next two years will be jam- packed with MCU films and television. Some have said the MCU would be dead after Avengers: Endgame, but it appears Marvel Studios has just gotten started.