Big news from Marvel Studios today: Black Panther and Captain Marvel are finally getting their own franchises! As are the Inhumans, but let’s be real, they’re not quite as exciting. Also, titles and release dates were revealed for nine more movies to be released between 2016 and 2019. Jeez.
These announcements were made at an extremely well-publicized press event at L.A.’s El Capitan Theater, which was liveblogged by Marvel reps and discussed by approximately a zillion people under the hashtag #MarvelEvent. Before we get into the gory details of this massive slew of announcements, here are the basics.
Final marvel release lineup #MarvelEvent pic.twitter.com/ddI2Igonhy
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) October 28, 2014
As predicted, the 2016 Captain America sequel will be inspired by Marvel’s famous Civil War comics storyline and will co-star Robert Downey Jr.
Captain America: Civil War was first announced as Captain America: Serpent Society, either because Marvel didn’t want to detract from other news by talking about such a big announcement first, or because they’re sadists who enjoy trolling their audience. Either way, the timeline for the next few years looks like this:
- Captain America: Civil War, May 6, 2016
- Doctor Strange, Nov. 4, 2016
- Guardians of the Galaxy 2, May 5, 2017
- Thor: Ragnarok, July 28, 2017
- Black Panther, Nov, 3, 2017
- Captain Marvel, July 6, 2018
- Inhumans, Nov. 2nd, 2018
- Avengers: Infinity War Part One, May 2018
- Avengers: Infinity War Part Two, May 2019
These sequels and release dates were already enough to get the #MarvelEvent audience screaming with excitement, but the big news was obviously the Captain Marvel and Black Panther movies.
Captain Marvel is Marvel’s first franchise to focus on a female superhero, while Black Panther (which has already cast its leading man, the relatively unknown Chadwick Boseman) is the first to star a person of color in the lead role.
Black Panther, or T’Challa, was the first black superhero in Marvel comics history, an African royal with superhuman strength, speed, and senses. The title of Captain Marvel has been held by various characters, but in this movie it will be the current incarnation, former Air Force officer Carol Danvers, who received superpowers after being injured by an exploding alien device. No news yet on who will play her, but the fan-favorite casting rumor is definitely Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff.
#MarvelEvent News: Marvel’s “Captain Marvel” (Carol Danvers) film | July 6, 2018 https://t.co/k5iRCO5RB0 pic.twitter.com/i9NZqI0kJT
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) October 28, 2014
BLACK PANTHER, CAPTAIN AMERICA AND IRON MAN! pic.twitter.com/uuBeu3zrlN
— Superhero Report (@SuperheroReport) October 28, 2014
Both of these characters have long been rumored for solo franchises (in fact, Stan Lee has been talking about a Black Panther movie for years), but it’s still very exciting to hear Marvel actually confirm them. Since Marvel Studios has been somewhat slow on the uptake when it comes to casting a more diverse range of characters in their movies, this is a belated step forward.
Here’s AMAZING concept art for #BlackPanther! #MarvelEvent pic.twitter.com/xUC8hLmrSn
— Ryan Penagos (@AgentM) October 28, 2014
The third and final new franchise announcement was Inhumans. This adaptation can be compared to Guardians of the Galaxy in that it’s a comparatively obscure branch of Marvel comics, and includes a wide variety of characters for the studio to choose from. The Inhumans are, predictably, a non-human race that exist in the same universe as most of the other Marvel characters. The comics typically focus on a specific superhero team that includes the Inhuman royal family, and they may be introduced in some kind of Easter Egg scene attached to another Marvel film.
Now all the fans watching the #MarvelEvent have had some time to calm down, everyone is buzzing with questions about the new Marvel Studios lineup. Most importantly, who will be cast in all these roles? By 2019, it looks like every actor in Hollywood will be locked into a superhero franchise.
Photo via Marvel/Twitter
