Source: Kevin Winter / Getty
For years Marvel fans have been screaming for the return of the legendary Day Walker to the big screen. Last night (July 20) in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studio’s chief, Kevin Feige made dreams come true. While announcing the MCU’s 4th Phase which will be — the most inclusive, diverse and outright craziest one yet,— he announced Blade is coming back. BUT, he also revealed to the surprise of the crowd, 2-time Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali will be wielding the vampire hunter’s legendary sword.
The announcement of Ali becoming Blade came at the end of the 90-minute presentation that was jam-packed with announcements. Feige revealed that Phase 4 will include 10 films plus original Disney+ series that will tie-in with the movies.
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty
When it launches next year, fans can look forward to these films and shows:
Black Widow (May 1st, 2020), Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Fall 2020), The Eternals (November 6th, 2020), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (February 12, 2021), WandaVision (Spring 2021), Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (May 7th, 2021), Loki (Spring 2021), What If (Summer 2021), Hawkeye (Fall 2021), and Thor: Love and Thunder (November 5th, 2021).
Scarlett Johansson will reprise her role as Natasha Romanoff, with Stranger Things’ star David Harbour playing the villain, Taskmaster. Black Widow which will serve as a prequel. The Eternals based on Jack Kirby’s comics of the same name will follow a group of beings who use their powers to protect humans in the future. The film boasts an impressive cast with Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie all being confirmed.
Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings which will be the first Asian superhero film will star the titular character played by Canadian-Chinese actor Simu Liu. In it, he will face-off against The Mandarin (Tony Leung), the ten ring wearing villain who was supposed to be in Iron Man 3 but turned out to be a fake played by Sir Ben Kingsley. Awkwafina will also be in the movie in a yet-to-be-revealed role.
MCU fans also learned that Natalie Portman will return in the Taika Waititi directed Thor: Love and Thunder, the follow-up to Ragnarok. This time around, Jane Foster won’t just serve as the Lord of Thunder’s love interest but will be wielding the mighty hammer, Mjolnir and will become Thor. Another groundbreaking moment in the film will be Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) becoming Marvel’s first LGBTQ superhero. In the upcoming movie, she will be looking for her queen in the sequel.
The next Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) movie will see the master of magic and martial arts team-up with Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). In the film which is interestingly described as Marvel’s first horror film, Strange will explore the Multiverse first hinted at in Spider-Man: Far From Home. The film will directly follow the events of the Disney+ series WandaVision. The original show will see the return of the Bruce Banner and Tony Stark’s (RIP) creation Vision, who was killed by Thanos in Infinity War.
Feige before closing things out also revealed that the Fantastic Four and The X-Men are on the way. He dropped the surprise announcement stating he didn’t have enough time to squeeze them in. Expect to learn more about the upcoming Marvel Studio’s slate at the D23 Expo.
For reactions to the big Blade announcement, you can hit the gallery below.
Photo: Kevin Winter / Getty
Mahershala Ali Takes Over As Blade Plus Other Marvel Announcements was originally published on cassiuslife.com
