Marvel’s Phase 4 is all about “guilt and consequences”
By Ashley Hurst
We’re currently deep into Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the first phase to bring us a slate of Disney+ TV shows on top of the usual blockbuster movies. That’s a lot of superheroes. With so much going on, it can be tough to define the unifying theme of Phase 4, but at least one producer thinks they have it.
Throughout Phase 4, the franchise has branched out in several different directions. The vast multiverse has been explored in projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, What If…?, Loki, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. And we’ve seen a variety of new genres, most notably horror, as seen in Doctor Strange 2 and Moon Knight.
But what’s the unifying thread? Production and development executive Richie Palmer thinks it’s all about “guilt and consequences” in the wake of the epic Infinity Saga. “Cause Phase 4 is all a reaction – and I don’t mean on our part as filmmakers, I mean the characters – it’s a reaction to the trauma of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. We’re still feeling those effects in these movies years later,” he said on Empire’s Spoiler Special podcast.
"Whether it’s Spider-Man or the Scarlet Witch or Black Widow after Civil War, this phase does feel like it’s about our heroes coming into their own, on their own, all figuring out their places in the world, and a lot of them are lonely now because of the losses suffered during those Avengers movies."
Wanda Maximoff is leading the charge into Marvel’s Phase 4
Perhaps the best example of this is Wanda’s arc. The writers worked very closely with Olsen to develop her character. Wanda loses her family in WandaVision and the trauma leads her to ultimately become the Scarlet Witch. “It’s also something we spoke to Elizabeth Olsen about every step of the way, that for her, Wanda’s full journey is leading to a moment of accountability. And we think she’s gotten there.”
It’s fair to say that Kevin Feige and the team at Marvel have done a great job at reinventing the franchise in Phase 4. But considering that they are already planning out projects for the next decade, how long can they continue to strike the right chords? Things don’t look like they’re slowing down anytime soon.
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