Marvel Announces Phase 3 Release Dates

Marvel has claimed the spotlight once again, two weeks after DC announced their movie roster, during a special event for the press Marvel announced their entire Phase 3 slate. The internet was about to break with these announcements and people are going to be talking and speculating about it for a while. Here is the movie lineup that Marvel revealed:

• Captain America: Civil War (May 6th, 2016)
• Doctor Strange (November 4th, 2016)
• Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (May 5th, 2017)
• Thor: Ragnarok (July 28th, 2017)
• Black Panther starring Chadwick Boseman (November 3rd, 2017)
• Captain Marvel (July 6th, 2018)
• Inhumans (November 2nd, 2018)
• Avengers: Infinity War - Part I (May 4th, 2018) Part II (May 3rd, 2019)

Like the DC, announcement, this is a lot to take in as well, specially because Marvel usually doesn't reveal so many films that far ahead. Lets go at it by year, but before that let me mention a few things that stand out. One of the obvious points that came up was that there were no Hulk, Black Widow, nor Hawkeye standalone films, and this to me makes perfect sense because Hawkeye and Black Widow I consider to be more supportive characters rather than main characters being able to take on a solo film, and Hulk I think is a bit complex to put in a standalone film so I prefer they take their time and do it right. Another thing to point out is that in the wave of superhero films coming our way from 2015 to 2020, Marvel will be putting out three films per year in 2017 and 2018, so if you love superhero films, it is a great time to be alive and you and I will be spending quite some money in theaters from 2015 to 2020. But now lets talk about these reveals.

Starting Phase 3 in 2016, we will get to see Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange. This announcement confirms the reports that the third Captain America film will be based on the Civil War storyline and that Robert Downey Jr. will appear in the film, which is great news and definitely something to look forward to when it hits theaters on May 6th, 2016. We also now know that Doctor Strange is coming, which is fantastic because fans had been asking and expecting the introduction of this character for a while, there was no confirmation that Benedict Cumberbatch will have the leading role so for that we will have to wait, the film opens on November 4th, 2016.

In 2017, we will see the return of familiar characters with Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Thor: Ragnarok, plus the introduction of a new one with Black Panther. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 had already been announced at Comic-Con with a different release date so that was the stand-out there, the film is now set to be released on May 5th 2017. Thor: Ragnarok starring Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston will follow, and the word "Ragnarok" for the film will refer to a storyline in the comics about the end of days in Asgard, it will hit theaters on July 28th, 2017. The film that pops out from the rest in 2017 is definitely Black Panther starring Chadwick Boseman, this was also a character that fans were waiting to see and will be the introduction of the first black superhero in the MCU, which is a great move, hitting theaters on November 3rd, 2017. 

Continuing in 2018, we will see Captain Marvel, Inhumans, and Avengers: Infinity War - Part I. I really don't know much about Captain Marvel and the Inhumans, but from what I have read about it's great to know that Marvel will have their first female led superhero film with Captain Marvel on July 6th, 2018, and a new team-up film with Inhumans on November 2nd, 2018. Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 will finally see the Avengers taking on Thanos as he tries to collect the infinity stones, this fight has been teased long enough and we will see the first part of it on May 4th, 2018.

Finally, closing Phase 3 in 2019, is Avengers: Infinity War - Part II. Infitiny War was described as "the culmination of everything that has come before" and it sounds epic, we will see the conclusion of the two-part event on May 3rd, 2019.

Marvel you have done it again. Like I said, people will be talking about this for a while and there is plenty to talk about and speculate. All of these announcements make me look forward to the years of superhero movies that are coming our way, and not just from Marvel, but from the other studios. Hat's off to Marvel for the great work they do, and hopefully they will continue to do so.