Marvel Announces Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

 
Three years after announcing Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige returned to Hall H at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con for the presentation of Phase Five and a little tease of Phase Six.

Marvel's Phase Five of MCU movies and Disney+ TV series will begin February 2023 with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and end in July 2024 with Thunderbolts. Feige also gave fans a taste of Phase Six, which will kick off in November 2024 with Fantastic Four and wrap up with the second of two Avengers films, Avengers: Secret Wars, in November 2025.

So, with these announcements, the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe schedule looks like this:

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania arrives in theaters on February 17, 2023. Directed by once again by Peyton Reed, the movie features the introduction of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), who meets Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) in the Quantum Realm after Scott is mysteriously brought there along with his daughter Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). Bill Murray has a cameo as an old acquaintance of Janet’s from within the Quantum Realm, and there will also be an appearance by another Marvel Comics supervillain, MODOK.

Secret Invasion is scheduled to debut on Disney+ in Spring 2023. Cobie Smulders will return as Maria Hill in dark and gritty thriller, which stars Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Ben Mendelsohn as Talos), Don Cheadle as James Rhodes), and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross). Joining them will be Kingsley Ben-Adir (seen multiplying into several identical forms in a confrontation with Fury), Olivia Colman (seen telling Fury he’s past his prime), and Emilia Clarke (seen brandishing a gun).

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 arrives in theaters on May 5, 2023. Director James Gunn returns for the third and presumably final installment that was hinted at revealing how Rocket became a sentient, walking raccoon. Chukwudi Iwuji will play the High Evolutionary, and introduced himself to Hall H in character and teased that he played a role in Rocket’s transformation.

Echo is scheduled to debut on Disney+ in Summer 2023. Spinning out of the Hawkeye TV series, Alaqua Cox will return as Echo/Maya Lopez and the series is also expected to feature the return of Charlie Cox as Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio as The Kingpin/Wilson Fisk. Following the events of Hawkeye in New York City, Maya Lopez returns to her hometown, where she must come to terms with her past, reconnect with her Native American roots, and embrace her family and community.

Loki returns for its second season on Disney+ in Summer 2023 as well. Season 2 will also be six episodes. Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki, with Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Eugene Cordero, Owen Wilson, and Sophia Di Martino also starring, reprising their roles from the first season.

The Marvels finally arrives in theaters on July 28, 2023. The film will be a sequel to 2019's Captain Marvel, and continuations of WandaVision and this year's Ms. Marvel TV series. Brie Larson returns as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers along with Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan.

The MCU reboot of Blade arrives in theaters on November 3, 2023. Directed by Bassam Tariq, Blade will introduce Mahershala Ali as Blade/Eric Brooks, taking over the role from Wesley Snipes.

Ironheart is scheduled to arrive on Disney+ in late Fall 2023. After making her debut in the Phase Four movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart/Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) will receive her own six-episode TV series.

Originally announced as Agatha: House of Harkness, Agatha: Coven of Chaos is scheduled to arrive on Disney+ sometime in Winter 2023/2024. This spinoff from WandaVision features the return of Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness and WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer will write and executive produce the show.

Daredevil: Born Again, the MCU continuation of the Netflix series Daredevil starring Charlie Cox as Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Vincent D'Onofrio as The Kingpin/Wilson Fisk, will arrive on Disney+ in Spring 2024 with 18 episodes, essentially three seasons' worth of other MCU TV shows.

Captain America: New World Order arrives in theaters on May 3, 2024. Spinning out of the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie gets his own feature film as Captain America/Sam Wilson.

Phase 5 ends with Thunderbolts, which arrives in theaters on July 25, 2024. Based on Marvel Comics' team of antiheroes, this film will presumably feature the returning Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Wyatt Russell as USAgent/John Walker, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, and Daniel Brühl as Baron Zemo.

Phase 6 begins with Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four arriving in theaters on November 8, 2024. Jon Watts recently stepped down as director and there's been no announcement if John Krasinski will play Earth-616's version of Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards as he did in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the first of the two Avengers films concluding Phase 6, is slated to arrive in theaters on May 2, 2025. At the very least, Jonathan Majors should be reprising his role as Kang the Conqueror.

Phase 6 ends with Avengers: Secret Wars arriving in theaters on November 7, 2025. It seems likely this will be an adaptation of Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic's Secret Wars limited series event from 2015, which involved an incursion between the main Marvel universe (Earth-616) and the Ultimate Marvel universe (Earth-1610), leading to the destruction of both. In its wake, many variants of Marvel characters found themselves living in a post-apocalyptic planet called Battleworld. This could be a way for Marvel Studios to integrate the Fantastic Four and the X-Men into the MCU, or perhaps bring other multiverse characters into the main MCU Earth.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 Casts Will Poulter as Adam Warlock

 
And men shall call him...Warlock!

Deadline reports that the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has cast Will Poulter as Marvel Comics' cosmic messiah Adam Warlock. 

Returning director James Gunn confirmed the reporting on Twitter, stating "As you guys know I often strike down false rumors, so...um...Welcome to the Guardians family, Will Poulter. He's an amazing actor and wonderful guy. See you in a couple weeks. #AdamWarlock #GotGVol3."

Adam Warlock was first teased in a post-credit scene at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, when Ayesha, played by Elizabeth Debicki, reveals to her chambermaid the perfect Sovereign she created to help destroy the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Poulter, 28, is an English actor best known as Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Gally in The Maze Runner and Maze Runner: The Death Cure. His other films include We're the Millers, The Revenant, Detroit, and Midsommar. His TV appearances include Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, The Fades, and the upcoming miniseries Dopesick.

Initially created as the character Him by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1967's Fantastic Four (vol.1) #66, Adam Warlock was revamped by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, first appearing in 1972's Marvel Premiere #1. Scientists on Earth calling themselves the Enclave created an artificial, perfect human who initially called himself "Him". After rebelling against his creators, and having a conflict with Thor, Him decided to leave Earth and traveled into space. He encountered the High Evolutionary, who gave him the name "Warlock". The High Evolutionary requested Warlock's help in saving the artificially created planet Counter-Earth from the evil Man-Beast and gave Warlock the green Soul Gem (also referred to as the "Soul Jewel"), which allowed Warlock to capture souls of other beings. When he arrived on Counter-Earth, Warlock was given the name "Adam" by four teenagers who befriend him. After the Man-Beast's defeat, Warlock left Counter-Earth to find a new purpose.

In his travels through space, Warlock encountered the Universal Church of Truth, an intergalactic religious organization led by the corrupt Magus. Warlock became allies with Pip the Troll, the assassin Gamora, and Thanos of Titan to oppose the Magus. Eventually, Warlock discovered that the Magus is a future version of himself who traveled back in time after being driven insane by the Soul Gem's use. Warlock chose to alter his timeline by visiting himself a few months into the future and stealing his own soul to prevent the Magus from ever existing. Warlock then continued his journeys, knowing he has seen his own death but not knowing exactly when it will happen.

When the Stranger attempted to steal Warlock's Soul Gem, Warlock learned about five other related gems. Thanos gained possession of these gems with the intention of destroying Earth's sun. When Thanos caused mortal harm to Pip and Gamora, Warlock took their souls to end their suffering. Warlock then enlisted the aid of the Avengers, Captain Marvel and Moondragon to stop Thanos. During the battle, Warlock's younger self appeared and took the older Warlock's soul. Inside the gem, Adam was reunited with Pip, Gamora and others in a utopia known as Soul World. Warlock's soul was temporarily freed from the Soul Gem, allowing him to turn Thanos to stone and save Earth.

After being resurrected, Thanos once again collected the Infinity Gems, placing them in the Infinity Gauntlet, capturing the Silver Surfer and Drax the Destroyer in the Soul Gem for opposing him. In the Soul Gem's world, the Silver Surfer met Adam Warlock and convinced him that his help was needed again to defeat Thanos. Warlock agreed, with Pip and Gamora deciding to accompany him. Warlock sent himself and his two friends into new bodies and led a group of Earth's superheroes, defeating Thanos.

Warlock obtained the Infinity Gauntlet, becoming a near-supreme being of the universe. The cosmic Living Tribunal, whose power and authority exceeded Warlock's, decided that Warlock could not be trusted to keep the Infinity Gauntlet and instructed him to divide the gems among other beings of Warlock's choosing. Warlock kept the Soul Gem for himself and gave one gem each to Pip, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Moondragon, and the reformed Thanos. Warlock named the group the Infinity Watch.

Poulter will be the first actor to portray Adam Warlock in live-action, although the character has appeared in various animated projects, including Silver Surfer (voiced by Oliver Becker), The Super Hero Squad Show (voiced by Dave Boat), The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (voiced by Kirk Thornton), and the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series (voiced by Eric Bauza).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently expected to be released on May 5, 2023.

Marvel Announces New Movies & Disney+ Shows at Disney's 2020 Investor Day Presentation

 
There's no escaping Marvel in 2021.

Marvel Studios was one of the big highlights yesterday from The Walt Disney Company’s 2020 Investor Day presentation.  Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer of Marvel, revealed a number of new series coming to Disney+, along with new details of their upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 films.

Feige remarked, "The Cinematic Universe weaves storylines, heroes and villains across 23 feature films to date.  And with Disney+, we’re able to extend this way of storytelling to a new format — creating series that are connected to our theatrical releases, making the MCU more immersive than ever."

Here's the rundown of big reveals during the presentation:

WANDAVISION (Disney+, Premieres January 15, 2021)

The second trailer for the series was revealed, which you can check out HERE.

Wanda Maximoff and Vision are two super-powered beings living the idealized suburban life, but begin to suspect everything is not as it seems. The series has Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany returning to their roles as Wanda and Vision, respectively. Also joining the series are Kat Dennings, who reprises her role as Darcy Lewis from Marvel Studios' Thor and Thor: The Dark World; Randall Park, who reprises his role as Agent Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and The Wasp; and newcomers Kathryn Hahn, who plays their plucky neighbor, and Teyonah Parris, who plays the adult Monica Rambeau, who was introduced in Captain Marvel.

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER (Disney+, Premieres March 19, 2021)

A First Look trailer for the series was revealed, which you can check out HERE.

Anthony Mackie returns as Sam Wilson a.k.a. The Falcon, and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes a.k.a. The Winter Soldier. Sam and Bucky, who came together in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame, team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities—and their patience.  The six-episode original series also stars Daniel Brühl, reprising his role as Baron Zemo, Emily VanCamp, reprising her role as Sharon Carter, and newcomer Wyatt Russell as John Walker.

LOKI (Disney+, Premieres May 2021)

An Exclusive Clip trailer for the series was revealed, which you can check out HERE.

The God of Mischief is back — and now Loki is stepping out of his big brother’s shadow. Marvel Studios’ Loki takes place after the events of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame with Tom Hiddleston returning as the titular character.  Joining Hiddleston in the series are Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku and Richard E. Grant. Loki is directed by Kate Herron with Michael Waldron serving as head writer.

WHAT IF...? (Disney+, Premieres Summer 2021)

A First Look trailer for the animated series was revealed, which you can check out HERE.

Space. Time. Reality. It’s more than a linear path.  What If…?, which takes inspiration from the comic books of the same name, flips the script on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reimagines famous events from the films in unexpected ways.  As revealed last year, each episode will explore a pivotal moment from the MCU and turn it on its head, leading the audience into uncharted territory, such as “What if Peggy Carter was the one who became a super soldier?”  What If…? focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who will reprise their roles, such as the previously announced Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter. The series will star Jeffrey Wright as the voice of The Watcher.

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (Film, Scheduled for July 9, 2021)

Opening Summer 2021, Simu Liu stars as Shang-Chi in Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.  The film’s cast also includes Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy, and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan. Additionally, Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu and Ronny Chieng appear in the upcoming movie, which is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.

MS. MARVEL (Disney+, Premieres Late 2021)

A Sizzle Reel for the series was revealed, which you can check out HERE.

Ms. Marvel, a newer character to Marvel Comics, has grabbed the world’s imagination and Kevin Feige, president, Marvel Studios, and chief creative officer, Marvel, was excited to announce during The Walt Disney Company’s Investor Day presentation that newcomer Iman Vellani will star as Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel in the series, Ms. Marvel, set to arrive on Disney+ in late 2021!  The Marvel Studios original series centers on fan-favorite Kamala Khan — a 16-year-old Pakistani-American growing up in Jersey City. A great student, avid gamer, and voracious fan-fic scribe, Kamala has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel.

However, Kamala struggles to fit in at home and at school — that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life is easier with super powers, right?  Joining Vellani in Ms. Marvel, the cast also includes Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Laith Naki, Azher Usman, Travina Springer and Nimra Bucha.  Fans will get to meet Ms. Marvel in her series before Iman Vellani joins Brie Larson (Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel) and Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau) in the upcoming feature film, Captain Marvel 2, directed by Nia DaCosta, which will open in theaters on November 11, 2022!

HAWKEYE (Disney+, Premieres Late 2021)

Marvel has confirmed Hailee Steinfeld will join Jeremy Renner, who reprises his role as Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye, in his series Hawkeye, as the well-known archer from Marvel Comics, Kate Bishop.  Rounding out the cast of the original Marvel Studios series are Vera Farmiga, Fra Fee, Tony Dalton, Zahn McClarnon, Brian d’Arcy James, and newcomer Alaqua Cox who will star as Maya Lopez.

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (Film, Scheduled for March 25, 2022)

Currently in production, the Sam Raimi-directed sequel stars returning cast Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Benedict Wong (Wong), Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Mordo), as well as the addition of Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff) and newcomer Xochitl Gomez who will portray America Chavez, a new fan-favorite from the comics.  The Marvel Studios adventure, set to debut in theaters March 25, 2022, will connect the events of next month’s WandaVision, the original new series debuting on Disney+, and the upcoming Spider-Man film.

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (Film, Scheduled for May 6, 2022)

With Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), and Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie) returning to their roles, they will be joined by Christian Bale, who will portray the villain Gorr the God Butcher.  The fourth film in the Thor franchise, Waititi previously revealed, "When we were shooting Ragnarok, I was reading one storyline by Jason Aaron, called THE MIGHTY THOR. And for those of you that don't know that storyline, it's incredible and full of emotion and love and thunder. And it introduces, for the first time, a female Thor,” confirming that Jane Foster, played by Portman, will become the Mighty Thor, Goddess of Thunder.

BLACK PANTHER II (Film, Scheduled for July 8, 2022)

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther 2 will continue to honor the legacy of Chadwick Boseman and his portrayal of King T’Challa, and will not recast the character. The sequel will continue to explore the incomparable world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.  Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, who was behind Black Panther, the film will be released on July 8, 2022.

CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 (Film, Scheduled for November 11, 2022)

Returning to her role as Carol Danvers in Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel 2, Brie Larson will be joined by Iman Vellani, who makes her debut as Ms. Marvel in the Disney+ series of the same name. Additionally, joining the cast is Teyonah Parris, who portrays grown-up Monica Rambeau — a character introduced as a child in Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel — in Marvel Studios’ WandaVision.  The film, directed by Nia DaCosta, is slated to open November 11, 2022.

THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL (Disney+, Premieres December 2022)

A ragtag bunch of misfits. The holidays. James Gunn. Do we really need to say anything else?  Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to write and direct The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special for Disney+!  Before Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot hit the big screen with the next Guardians of the Galaxy film in 2023, watch the Guardians engage in some spirited shenanigans in an all-new original special, created for Disney+, during the 2022 holiday season.

SHE-HULK (Disney+, Premiere Date TBD)

It’s time to dive into the world of superhuman-oriented legal cases with Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk, a brand new comedy series coming to Disney+. Tatiana Maslany stars in the show as Jennifer Walters — a.k.a. She-Hulk — a lawyer who specializes in this specific kind of legal case.  Additionally, the show will welcome a bevy of different Marvel characters to the series, including the Hulk, once again played by Mark Ruffalo, along with the Abomination, with Tim Roth returning to the role.  She-Hulk is directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia, with Jessica Gao serving as head writer.

MOON KNIGHT (Disney+, Premiere Date TBD)

The Marvel Studios original series for Disney+ centers on the character Marc Spector a.k.a. Moon Knight, a complex vigilante who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. These multiple identities who live inside him are distinct characters in the series and will appear against a backdrop of Egyptian iconography.  The action-adventure Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight series, created for Disney+, is directed by Mohamed Diab.

SECRET INVASION (Disney+, Premiere Date TBD)

They might have gotten off to a rocky start in Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel, but now Nick Fury and Talos are back!  Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion, a new series coming to Disney+, has Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn reprising their roles as the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director and Skrull, respectively.  The crossover comic event series showcases a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls who have been infiltrating Earth for years.

IRONHEART (Disney+, Premiere Date TBD)

Marvel Studios’ Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne as genius inventor Riri Williams who creates the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man himself, Tony Stark.

ARMOR WARS (Disney+, Premiere Date TBD)

What happens if Tony Stark’s tech falls into the wrong hands? Find out in the newly announced series, Marvel Studios’ Armor Wars, coming to Disney+.  Don Cheadle returns to the role as James Rhodes — aka War Machine —  who must face these tech consequences in this classic Marvel story.

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (Film, Release Date TBD)

It’s a family affair! Kathryn Newton joins the cast of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania as Cassie Lang, the daughter of Scott Lang. Paul Rudd reprises his role as Ant-Man, alongside Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/Wasp. Joining them are returning cast members Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne — aka, Hope’s parents.  Additionally, Jonathan Majors will portray Kang the Conqueror, with three-time repeat Ant-Man director Peyton Reed returning behind the camera.

FANTASTIC FOUR (Film, Release Date TBD)

Make way for Marvel’s First Family — Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (The Thing)!  Closing out The Walt Disney Company’s Investor Day presentation, Kevin Feige revealed the studio will bring one of Marvel’s most iconic families to the big screen with the release of Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four! Spider-Man veteran Jon Watts is on board to direct.

DAMN Good Movies -- AVENGERS: ENDGAME

You guessed it, I'm back once again with another movie take, this time on the movie Avengers: Endgame, the 22nd film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  As always, if you haven't seen the movie yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now.  If, however, you're wise enough to know that movie reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...time to assemble!

One year ago, Marvel Studios shocked the world (Well, the part of the world that doesn't read comics) by having big bad Thanos use his spiffy Infinity Gauntlet to snap half of the universe's population out of existence at the end of Avengers: Infinity War.  Fans gasped in horror as one by one, major MCU players like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch and more crumbled into ash and blew away in the gentle wind.  At long last, we had a superhero film where the supervillain actually won.

Twelve months of Thanos Snap internet memes later, directors Anthony and Joe Russo are back with a massive three-hours-long Part Two, with the surviving members of the Avengers and their allies working to reverse the damage and also bring what is essentially a 22-film saga to a resounding conclusion.  It's an incredible achievement of coordination that Marvel Studios accomplishes here, but one with a sense of finality as we say goodbye to some of our favorite heroes.

The film opens with Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, still under house arrest at his homestead after the events of Captain America: Civil War.  As he trains his daughter Lila in archery, his wife Laura prepares a picnic while the couple's two sons play catch.  However, while retrieving an arrow, Clint turns his back for a few seconds and when he turns back around, his entire family is gone, having disintegrated in The Snap.

This somber tone fills the entire First Act, as we jump ahead three weeks after Avengers: Infinity War.  New player Captain Marvel, somehow still looking as youthful as in her solo film set in the 1990s, rescues Nebula and Tony Stark from being stranded in deep space. They return to Earth and join the remaining Avengers—Black Widow, Bruce Banner, Captain America, Rocket, Thor, and War Machine.  Using Nebula's knowledge, they find Thanos on an unguarded planet, intending to retake the Stones to reverse his action.  Once there, they learn whoops, he already destroyed them to prevent further use, severely burning himself in the process.  After this horribly awkward moment, an enraged Thor finally goes for the head and decapitates Thanos.

We jump ahead FIVE...YEARS...LATER, with the resulting fallout of the Avengers not being able to reverse The Snap.  No longer operating as superheroes, Steve Rogers now heads a support group for Snap survivors, Natasha Romanoff coordinates updates from Nebula and Rocket, Okoye, Captain Marvel, and War Machine, and Tony Stark seems content living in a cabin with his wife Pepper and their young daughter Morgan Stark.  All of them seem to have reached the Acceptance stage about their new status quo.

Thankfully, we head into Act Two with Ant-Man finally escaping the quantum realm and learning that his daughter Cassie is now five years older.  He joins Steve and Natasha at the Avengers' compound and explains he lived through a duration of five hours instead of five years, theorizing that the quantum realm can let them time travel.  Desperately needing the smartest guy left on the planet before Mr. Fantastic joins the MCU, they go to Tony to help them retrieve the Stones from the past so they can reverse Thanos' actions in the present, but he refuses out of fear of losing Morgan.  

Still in desperate need of a big brain, Steve, Natasha and Scott Lang meet up with Bruce at a restaurant, where we learn Bruce has managed to merge his intelligence with the Hulk's body.  An hour of hopelessness finally gives way to some much-needed humor, with Bruce enjoying his newfound celebrity before agreeing to help the others as best as he can with his limited knowledge of quantum physics.  Bruce experiments with trying to send Ant-Man back in time using the quantum realm, turning him into a kid, then an old man, and finally a baby before finally restoring him to normal.

After getting a pep talk from Pepper, Tony finally shows up and agrees to help, under the condition that reversing The Snap won't reset what's happened since, keeping Morgan from being erased.  With Tony back in play, Bruce goes off with Rocket to the Asgardian refugees' new home in Tønsberg, Norway, now known as New Asgard, to recruit Thor, who has become embarrassingly overweight and alcoholic after sliding into depression and watching The Big Lebowski way too many times.  Natasha, meanwhile, heads to Tokyo to recruit Hawkeye, who has turned into a Zack Snyder version of himself, killing Yakuza members as a ruthless vigilante.

Hawkeye rejoins the Avengers and agrees to road test Tony's tweaked time machine, proving that it works.  The team figures out when and where to retrieve the Infinity Stones from the past, and the movie lays out its version of time travel rules -- affecting the past won't change the present like in Back to the Future, but creates an alternate universe instead.  And because of this, they have to bring the stones back to their original times and places after half the universe is restored.  Oh, and by the way...They only have a limited amount of trips because Hank Pym isn't around to make more Pym Particles.

So, somehow, Back to the Future is nonsense but Back to the Future Part II is perfectly cool.  Bruce, Steve, Tony and Scott travel to New York City in 2012, during the Chitauri invasion from the first Avengers movie.  Bruce visits the Sanctum Sanctorum before the Doctor Strange movie and convinces the Ancient One to give him the Time Stone, promising to later return the stones to their original place.  Steve successfully retrieves the Mind Stone, but Tony and Scott fail to retrieve the Space Stone after Loki escapes with it. Quickly needing a backup plan, Steve and Tony travel to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in 1970 and steal an earlier version of the Space Stone along with more vials of Pym Particles from younger Hank Pym, then return to the present.

Everybody got that?

Rocket and Dude Thor travel to Asgard in 2013, during Thor: The Dark World, to retrieve the Reality Stone from Jane Foster, and Dude Thor swipes his former hammer, Mjolnir.  On Morag in 2014, during the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Nebula and War Machine steal the Power Stone before Star-Lord can.  War Machine returns to the present with the Power Stone, but Nebula is unable to return due to her cybernetic implants interfacing with those of her 2014 self.  Through this connection, the 2014 Thanos learns of his future success and the Avengers' attempts to undo it.  Ruh-roh!  Thanos captures Good 2023 Nebula and sends Bad 2014 Nebula to the present to replace her because shenanigans.  Meanwhile, Black Widow and Hawkeye travel to Vormir in the same year and learn from the Soul Stone's keeper, the Red Skull, that it can only be acquired by sacrificing someone they love.  (Remember, like Thanos did to his adopted daughter Gamora?)  After a brief battle to see who can sacrifice themself first, Black Widow commits suicide in the film's first big death, allowing Hawkeye to claim the stone.

We head into the film's third hour and Third Act with all of the Infinity Stones obtained, and Tony, Bruce and Rocket create a new Infinity Gauntlet to hold them.  Bruce is the only one able to use the Gauntlet and stay alive, but he's able to snap his fingers just in time to restore half the universe's population, who should be really surprised to find out they've jumped ahead five years.

While this is going on, Bad 2014 Nebula uses the time machine to transport Thanos, 2014 Gamora, and the Black Order to 2023, and he destroys the Avengers' compound.  In the resulting chaos, Bad 2014 Nebula tricks Hawkeye into giving her the Infinity Gauntlet, until 2014 Gamora and Good 2023 Nebula team-up and kill Bad 2014 Nebula, which should make things really awkward for Good 2023 Nebula.

The Big Three go after Thanos, who easily defeats them then realizes his plan to wipe out half the universe wasn't that great, because the survivors were too busy thinking about what was lost instead of making the most of the "opportunity" they were given.  So now he has a new plan -- wipe out all life in the universe and then rebuild it in his own image, with no one having any idea about what happened before.  Thanos is about to kill Dude Thor with his own Stormbreaker hammer, until the audience-cheering moment when Captain America becomes worthy enough to use Mjolnir to pound on Thanos' big purple face.

The cheers continue when the restored Doctor Strange arrives with the restored Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and assorted other heroes, as well as the armies of Wakanda, Asgard, and the Ravagers.  Captain Marvel checks back into the film and together, they fight Thanos' army in an epic and insane battle sequence that works in a special shoutout to all the female MCU superheroes.  Eventually though, Thanos seizes the Gauntlet and is about to snap himself another victory...but nothing happens.  It turns out Iron Man stole the Infinity Stones back and snaps Thanos' army, the Black Order, and in a very satisfying moment, Thanos himself into dust in the wind.

Unfortunately, Iron Man is mortally wounded from using the Gauntlet and dies in the film's second big death.  Following Tony's funeral, Thor appoints Valkyrie as the king of New Asgard and goes off to join the Guardians of the Galaxy in their third movie.  Star-Lord begins searching for 2014 Gamora, still in love with her even though she has no idea who he is.  

And in the film's final moments, Captain America is tasked with returning the Infinity Stones and Mjolnir to the original places in time.  After doing so, however, he apparently goes rogue and ignores all the previous time travel rules, choosing to remain in the past and live out the rest of his life.  Now in 2023, he returns as Old Man Rogers, passing on his shield to Sam Wilson, The Falcon, and making him his official successor as Captain America.  Anyone familiar with Captain America: The First Avenger will start reaching for the tissues in the closing flashback scene, where Steve is shown reunited with his time-lost love Peggy Carter, finally getting his dance that he missed all those years ago.  An absolutely perfect ending.

As expected, the film's ginormous cast once again give great performances, with some entertaining and emotionally powerful character moments.  Here are just some of the dozens and dozens or characters that stood out:

IRON MAN/TONY STARK -- Robert Downey, Jr. launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2008's Iron Man, so it was only fitting to have Avengers: Endgame be the end of his time as Tony Stark.  Over the past eleven years, the actor became the character and vice versa, and as impossible as it is right now to picture someone else as Tony Stark, Iron Man will return...someday.  For now though, let's stop and appreciate everything Downey helped build as the invincible -- and definitive -- Iron Man.

CAPTAIN AMERICA/STEVE ROGERS -- In presumably his final outing as Cap, Chris Evans swings for the fences in action scenes and saves his best work as the character for his final scene as Old Man Rogers.  Captain America is more than just a superhero, he's inspirational, and it's a credit to Evans that he was able to embody that so well on screen and in real life.  More than all the other Avengers, Cap is the one who deserved a happy ending and I'm so glad that's what he received. 

THOR ODINSON -- Unlike Downey and Evans, Chris Hemsworth doesn't seem quite ready to let go of his character yet, especially if the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 tease is any indication.  Unfortunately, after the success of Thor: Ragnarok, it feels like Marvel wants to keep playing Thor for laughs and that's exactly what happens here.  With his comically excessive fake beer gut, Hemsworth looks more like Volstagg the Voluminous than the God of Thunder, so let's just hope this wasn't his last appearance as Thor.

HULK/BRUCE BANNER -- After being somewhat marginalized in Avengers: Infinity War, Mark Ruffalo returns in a Hulk-sized way here, with Bruce having merged his brain with the Hulk's brawn as if he was taken right out of Peter David's Incredible Hulk comic book run.  It seemed a bit odd to have the dangling plot thread of the Hulk's fear of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War completely abandoned as a result of the five-year time jump, but obviously the story had more important things to worry about.

BLACK WIDOW/NATASHA ROMANOFF -- The death of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow gets completely overshadowed by Tony Stark's death, but knowing that a Black Widow solo movie is finally happening, the big question here is, did Natasha's death even matter?  Will the solo movie be a prequel, or did Cap do some more tweaking to the timeline that somehow allows Black Widow to return?  Keep watching those upcoming MCU post-credit scenes...

HAWKEYE/CLINT BARTON -- And just to complete the set of the original six movie Avengers, Jeremy Renner returns as Hawkeye, albeit more like his Ronin persona from Brian Bendis' The New Avengers series.  Renner gets a powerful opening scene as Clint's entire family are snapped out of existence, but Clint's silly edgelord haircut and arm tats make it harder to take his major personality change seriously.

THANOS -- Once again, Josh Brolin kills it as the voice and motion-capture model of Thanos.  Even though his Thanos is just a big CGI special effects creation, Brolin brings a ton of gravitas to the character and his interactions with others. Thanos will be remembered fondly as one of the best movie villains ever, although I'm wondering since 2014 Thanos was taken off the board by Tony in 2023, how was everything Thanos originally did from 2014 to 2018 affected?

ANT-MAN/SCOTT LANG -- Paul Rudd's Ant-Man steps up in a big way in this film, after being rescued from the quantum realm by the Ratus Ex Machina.  Scott brought a lot of humor that was definitely needed to offset all the sadness and hopelessness caused by The Snap, but Rudd's best moment has to be when Scott is reunited with his daughter Cassie after fearing her dead, only to take her sudden five-year age increase in stride.

CAPTAIN MARVEL/CAROL DANVERS -- After being teased as Nick Fury's paged ace in the hole to stop Thanos, it's was really surprising that Brie Larson only got a few scenes here and there as Captain Marvel.  And I'm not sure how much sense it made to have Carol fly right back into space, when there obviously was a huge need for someone of her strength and power to help get Earth back on its feet.  At least she got a few good punches in on Thanos.

NEBULA -- It's kind of amazing that Karen Gillan got more to do here as Nebula than she did in two Guardians of the Galaxy films combined.  As two versions of the same character from 2014 and 2023, Gillan was able to showcase her character's development from Thanos' compliant minion into an independent positive force and unofficial Avenger.  Like Thanos, however, the death of her 2014 self poses some serious timey-wimey questions that still beg to be explained.

ROCKET RACCOON -- Bradley Cooper returns as Rocket, who still delivers one-liners with the best of them and even serves as a new Science Bro along with Tony and Bruce.  Regardless, as the only survivor of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team, his pain and survivor's guilt is often heartbreaking.

DOCTOR STRANGE/DR. STEPHEN STRANGE -- As one of the returned heroes, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange does his thing with his sling ring and brings everyone in for the final battle with Thanos and his forces.  He's also key for inspiring Tony to sacrifice his life to stop Thanos once and for all.  And now, we wait for his solo movie sequel.

SPIDER-MAN/PETER PARKER -- Tom Holland also returns as his character Spider-Man, but since his second solo movie is right around the corner, there was no need to make Spidey a major player here.  He's there for Tony's death scene though, bringing their mentor/student and surrogate father/son relationship to a touching close. 

THE FALCON/SAM WILSON -- Anthony Mackie's Falcon returns for the final battle, but obviously Steve passing the shield on to Sam is his character's big moment.  Will there be a fourth Captain America movie, this time with Sam as the new Cap?  All I know is, Disney Plus' upcoming Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV series just got a lot more interesting...

SCARLET WITCH/WANDA MAXIMOFF -- After losing the Vision and being dusted in Avengers: Infinity War, Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch definitely deserved some payback on Thanos.  She got her chance in the final battle, smacking Big Purple around pretty good for a little while.  And her upcoming Disney Plus series, WandaVision, also has my attention after this film.

GAMORA -- After 2018 Gamora was killed off in Infinity War, Zoe Saldana is back to start playing 2014 Gamora.  And now that 2014 Gamora has become 2023 Gamora, with no memory of her adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy because they hadn't happened yet, her relationship with Chris Pratt's Star-Lord is now awkward as hell.  But hey, James Gunn is back to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so she's got that going for her, which is nice.

RESCUE/VIRGINIA "PEPPER" POTTS -- Gwyneth Paltrow got a taste of armor in Iron Man 3, but here we finally see her in her Rescue armor from the comics.  With Tony dead, will Pepper continue as Rescue in future Avengers movies or is this the last we see of her as well?

VALKYRIE -- After joining in on the final battle, Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie is named king of New Asgard by Dude Thor before he completely bails on them.  Will Valkyrie take Thor's place on the Avengers?  Here's hoping...

HANK PYM CAMEO -- Michael Douglas has a brief cameo as the 1970s Hank Pym, during the Pym Particles heist scene.  It's interesting that he used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. back in the day.

LOKI LAUFEYSON CAMEO -- Despite being killed at the beginning of Infinity War, Tom Hiddleston has a great 2012 flashback cameo, as if we were watching deleted scenes from the Avengers Blu-Ray.  And relax, Hiddlestoners, Loki's also getting a Disney Plus series.

RED SKULL CAMEO -- Ross Marquand reprises the Red Skull from Infinity War, this time as the 2014 version who watches as Black Widow and Hawkeye try to out-suicide one another.  We still have no idea how the Red Skull ended up on Vormir, so maybe he needs a Disney Plus series, too.

NICK FURY CAMEO -- Samuel L. Jackson returns for Tony Stark's funeral, just to remind everyone that he's back and that he'll probably be in the Captain Marvel sequel.  But where's Goose?

THE ANCIENT ONE CAMEO -- In one of the more unexpected cameos, Tilda Swinton returns as the 2012 Ancient One, who magically knows somehow that Doctor Strange will become her successor as the Sorcerer Supreme.  A really fun scene with her and Mark Ruffalo's Incredible Brulk.

PEGGY CARTER CAMEOS -- After being teased earlier in the film as 1970s Peggy, Hayley Atwell returns as 1940s Peggy for the superb final scene of Steve and Peggy finally sharing their long-awaited dance and bringing their characters full circle.  And now I want Agent Carter Season 3 on Disney Plus.

POSTHUMOUS STAN LEE CAMEO -- In his final Marvel Cinematic Universe cameo, Stan "The Man" turns up digitally de-aged as a car driver in 1970.  It's not one of his greatest cameos, certainly not for being his last, but it was nice to see Stan looking in his prime once again before we said goodbye.

JIM STARLIN CAMEO -- Thanos' creator turns up as one of the people at Steve's support group for Snap survivors.  You would think he'd be feeling really guilty about that.

All in all, Avengers: Endgame is an immensely satisfying conclusion to the past eleven years of Marvel Cinematic Universe films.  It's not perfect though, and has some noticeable issues with timey-wimey story logic, but you have to give a lot of credit to the Russo brothers and the screenwriters for giving Marvel fans the big payoff to all their invested time and ticket purchases.  And even though we know this film franchise is nowhere near close to ending, Endgame is an ending for this moment in time, with this particular group of talented actors portraying some of comics' greatest heroes and legends.  And that's okay.

One important question remains, however.  What happens next?

And for those who may be wondering, here's the updated list of my Top 20 Comic Book Films:

1. Superman (1978)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)

3. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
4. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

5. The Avengers (2012)

6. Batman Begins (2005)

7. Logan (2017)

8. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

9. Black Panther (2018)

10. Man of Steel (2013)

11. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

12. Doctor Strange (2016)

13. Wonder Woman (2017)

14. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

15. Spider-Man (2002)

16. Aquaman (2018)

17. Iron Man (2008)

18. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
19. Watchmen (2009)
20. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

James Gunn to Write & Possibly Direct SUICIDE SQUAD 2

Looks like Marvel's loss is DC's gain.

Deadline has revealed that Warner Bros. has hired James Gunn to write and possibly direct the sequel to the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Suicide Squad. 

According to the article, Warner Bros. had director Gavin O’Connor lined up, but he's now directing Ben Affleck in the drama Torrance, which is also at the studio.  Reportedly, Warner Bros. has been in talks with Gunn to step in and develop Suicide Squad 2, and the deal was made after he settled out of Disney/Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.  

Disney let him go in July, following a series of old, controversial tweets compiled by alt-right journalists and sent to Disney.  Fans and various Guardians actors lobbied Disney to have Gunn reinstated as the director for Vol. 3, but Disney remained adamant in their position.

Gunn, 52, is best known as the director of the hit Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which made $773 million and $863 million worldwide, respectively.  In addition, he's directed the films Super and Slither, and has also written these four films, along with Dawn of the Dead (2004), Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, The Specials, and Tromeo and Juliet.

The first Suicide Squad film, written and directed by David Ayer, made over $746 million worldwide with a reported budget of $175 million, so a sequel was inevitable.  However, the film was critically panned, receiving a 28% approval rating based on 341 reviews.

In the meantime, Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie will be reprising her character of Harley Quinn in a film adaptation of DC Comics' Birds of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan.