10 Things To Expect From Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4

Daredevil joins The Avengers?

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Marvel & Marvel Studios

Though Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has only just kicked off with Captain America: Civil War, thanks to the ramped up release schedule, 2019's Infinity War Part 2 will be with us before we know it, bringing the "Thanos trilogy" of the MCU to a close.

It's clear from observing the first three Phases so far that they function much like the three acts of a movie: Phase 1 laid the groundwork and established the threat, Phase 2 added layers of complexity and set up the end-game, and Phase 3 will be the epic payoff.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has even said that Phases 1-3 will be a contained trilogy of sorts and the inevitable Phase 4 will be distinctly different, yet almost certainly in the service of another three Phases of movies.

Sure, there are so many unanswered questions about how Phase 3 will conclude, and what implications it may have for the future, but using a combination of guesswork, logical deduction and comments from the studio honchos themselves, one can discern what fans should probably anticipate for 2020 and beyond.

Here are 10 things to expect from MCU Phase 4.

10. Recasting/Replacements

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Marvel Studios

By the time Phase 4 kicks off (again, presumably in 2020), some of the longer-tenured MCU actors are going to crave an exit from the franchise. For one, Robert Downey Jr. will be in his mid-fifties by then, and may be considered too old to play Tony Stark, and Chris Evans has expressed a desire to hang up the Captain America uniform down the line to pursue a directing career.

Whether it's these two specifically or other actors, there are inevitably going to be re-casts down the line, and while the principal players are all locked in until the end of Phase 3, beyond that is anyone's guess.

It'll be an incredible trick for Marvel Studios to pull off, but in Phase 4 we will almost certainly end up with a few core heroes being played by new actors. Could this end up bursting the bubble as audiences reject a replacement for Downey, for instance? At least Captain America can easily be replaced with either Bucky or Falcon, and fan reception should be just fine.

It's going to be fascinating to see how it's all handled either way.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.