Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, started his presentation at Disney’s D23 Expo on a high note. He presented to the audience a live musical performance of the song “I Can Do This All Day” from Rogers: The Musical, which originally appeared in the Disney+ series Hawkeye. Later, he announced an interesting slate of films and series from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that will release over the next couple of years.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Feige began by announcing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which is the final film in Phase Four of the MCU. A new teaser of the film was also released that had Angela Bassett’s Ramonda in some sort of a hearing with government officials. Then we see Wakanda’s Vibranium being attacked by some men but Wakanda’s women warriors take control of the situation and bring the men to their knees.
Bassett remembered Chadwick Boseman on the occasion and said, “It takes a lot of magic behind to make this come together and of course our spirited leader, Ryan, and Chadwick, who was with us every step of the way. We had to meet his level of excellence.” Letitia Wright, who portrays Shuri in the film, said, “Excited for you to walk out of the cinema and feel proud of what we brought to you.” Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will release on November 11.
Ironheart
The next title to be announced was the Disney+ series Ironheart which is currently under production in Atlanta. Dominique Thorne features as the new superhero Riri Williams in the series. The first teaser of the series showed him working on the Ironheart armour. The character Ironheart was first introduced in the Marvel comics in 2016. Feige teased that the show will be an amalgamation of magic and technology. The series will be released next year.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
The third film in the Ant-Man series, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, will hit the theaters on February 17, 2023. An exclusive look of the movie was shown to the audience at D23 Expo. Paul Rudd, who was there to promote his upcoming film, said, “This thing is bananas. And it seems like a bit of an oxymoron that something so small, we’re the small heroes, could do something so huge. This (Quantumania) is going to be unlike anything you’ve seen from us.” Peyton Reed has returned to direct the film. It also stars Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kathryn Newton.
Werewolf by Night
Feige announced MCU’s Halloween Special movie Werewolf by Night, starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Laura Donnelly. The first footage from the film had a bunch of monster hunters hunting for the monster among them. It has been shot entirely in black and white like a traditional monster movie. It is scheduled to hit the theaters on October 7.
Secret Invasion
Actor-filmmaker Don Cheadle teased the audience with two films, Secret Invasion and Armor Wars. While Secret Invasion revolves around shapeshifting aliens Skrulls who first appeared in Captain Marvel, nothing much was revealed about Armor Wars which will go on floors next year.
Loki 2
“Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off. Loki is having a difficult conversation and confrontation with Sylvie,” Tom Hiddleston said as he unveiled new footage of Loki season two at the D23 Expo. He added, “Loki is back in the TVA and Mobius doesn’t seem to know who he is.” Actor Ke Huy Quan has joined the series. Loki revolves around the misadventures of Tom Hiddleston’s antihero after the events of the Avengers: Endgame.
Thunderbolts
Marvel Studios had earlier announced that they are developing a movie on Thunderbolts, the anti-hero/supervillain team in Marvel Comics. Now, they have announced the A-list cast of the movie which includes actors Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster and Hannah John-Kamen. Kevin stated that the movie will start filming early next year.
Marvel also announced Echo which will star Alaqua Cox as the titular Marvel character, who was introduced in the Hawkeye series. D’Onofrio’s Daredevil: Born Again and Anthony Mackie’s Captain America: New World Order were mentioned at the event as well.