by Karen Kohler
In the past year or so, Marvel Studios has released a long line of new projects in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and there is still more coming in the next few months.
Most notably and also soonest is “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,”
which comes out in theaters on May 6. This is Doctor Strange’s second title film in the MCU and will also star Wanda Maximoff and introduce America Chavez, also known as Ms. Marvel. This film will follow the consequences of messing with the timeline and other universes that occurred in “Loki” and “Spiderman: No Way Home,” both of which you should make sure to see before this movie if you haven’t already! I would also recommend seeing Wandavision first to understand where Wanda is coming from, since it’s being widely theorized that she could be a villain or at least serve the role of an anti-hero.
Coming even sooner, at the end of this month, is a Disney+ series called “Moon Knight,” starring Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke. This series will introduce a new character to the MCU, whose real name is Marc Spector and who is hearing voices and struggling with separating his dreams from reality. This show looks like it will be some kind of psychological thriller, centering on a character experiencing a supernatural type of dissociative identity disorder in that there are multiple personalities within his one body.
Playing multiple personalities, and doing justice to the mental illness by not portraying it in a harmful manner, takes a skilled actor — and judging by his previous roles and even just his performance in the trailer, Isaac seems perfect for the job. His powers include enhanced strength during full moons, prophetic visions and being able to drain people’s energy through physical touch. The plot of this show is independent from other Phase Four projects and involves solving a mystery surrounding Egyptian gods.
Looking further into the future, “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Thor’s fourth title film, will be released in July. We don’t know a ton about this film yet, since there has not been a trailer, but we’re pretty sure Thor will still be with the Guardians of the Galaxy and that Jane Foster will make a return as some version of Thor herself. Even further down the line is a Disney+ “She-Hulk” series and a “Black Panther” sequel as well, both set for later in 2022, so there’s plenty to look forward to!
