Obviously, it goes without saying that the biggest implication for Ant-Man is that his first film - a relatively muted success - was deemed to be enough of a success to classify Ant-Man as a financially viable property. While Captain Marvel fans might think that that revelation only damages their heroine's potential to make it to the big screen, it should be classed as a good thing for the creative diversity of the MCU. And it eases pressure on the likes of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man to release more sequels in search of increasingly large box office hauls. Yes, it might have been nice to hear something concrete about Captain Marvel or the other forgotten property of phase 3 - The Inhumans - but no good news should ever be classed as a bad thing. And there are a lot of significant implications of the announcement that should shape how fans think of the MCU going forward. Mostly positively...
11. Black Panther Moves To Black History Month 2018
Because Marvel are shifting the rest of the Phase 3 slate around to accommodate the new movie, Captain Marvel has been moved back to 2019 and Black Panther has been pushed up to February 2018. As good publicity moves go, having the MCU's first African lead making his stand-alone debut during Black History Month in America is about as good as it gets. Yes, there will probably be accusations of manipulation and cynical sentimentalism, but there's no avoiding the fact that having Black Panther on the slate is a political statement (or at least one that will be politicised). Making something of that with an agenda to raise awareness and challenge "the norm" is a good move.