July 22, 2019, 06:22 PM 
Marvel President Kevin Feige appeared at San Diego Comic-Con on Jul. 20, 2019 to announce the much anticipated Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
He announced a total of five movies and five Disney+ series to be released in the next two years, and also hinted at some upcoming movies beyond this timeline.
The 90-minute presentation contained many announcements, so here is a summary.
Warning: there will be many MCU spoilers.
1. Black Widow (Movie)
May 1, 2020
Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Black Widow, and given her character's death in Avengers: Endgame, the movie is predictably a prequel.
The movie will be partly set after the events of Captain America: Civil War, but the bulk of the story will take place in Budapest, something that has been hinted at since the original Avengers.
Production has already begun, and comic-con fans were treated to footage of a fight scene involving Johansson, a montage of scenes from the MCU past and the film itself, and a look at one of the main villains of the film, Taskmaster.
2. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Series)
Autumn 2020
While Marvel already has Agents of SHIELD and various other Netflix shows, they have always been isolated from the greater MCU, apart from the occasional crossover or reference.
The upcoming Disney+ streaming will change all of that, and the shows from now on will fit directly into the main Phase 4 story.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the first of these shows, featuring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan as the Falcon and the Winter Soldier respectively. It will be set after the events of Endgame, where Sam Wilson, a.k.a the Falcon, becomes the new Captain America.
Baron Zemo, played by Daniel Brühl, the main antagonist of Civil War, will also return as the villain of this series.
3. The Eternals (Movie)
Nov. 6, 2020
Marvel's The Eternals will boast one of the MCU's most star-studded lineups of recent times, featuring Richard Madden, Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie, among others.
Along with the Guardians of The Galaxy trilogy, this will be one of the MCU's more cosmic movies, as the characters were described to be "a race of immortal aliens sent to earth by the celestials to protect humankind from the deviants."
4. Shang-Chi and the legend of the Ten-Rings (Movie)
Feb. 12, 2021
Newcomer Simu Liu will star as Shang-Chi, and will be the first Asian lead in an MCU movie.
The Ten Rings organisation was first introduced in the Iron Man trilogy, but has dropped off the radar ever since the end of Iron Man 3. Although no further details were announced, this movie will presumably reveal the organisation's role within the MCU.
Awkwafina, of Crazy Rich Asians fame, is starring in a yet unknown role, while Hong Kong star Tony Leung is confirmed to star as the (real) Mandarin.
5. WandaVision (Series)
Spring 2021
One of the most anticipated Disney+ streaming shows features Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany returning as Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff and the artificial being Vision.
Since Vision supposedly died in Avengers: Infinity War, and was not among the revived heroes in Endgame, it is still unclear how he will return for this series.
6. Loki (Series)
Spring 2021
Fan favourite Loki will also be returning to the MCU despite multiple deaths and revivals, played by Tom Hiddleston. The story will pick up after Avengers: Endgame, where he picked up the Space Stone and vanished under the noses of the Avengers.
The series will explain where Loki went, and his adventures from that point onwards. Hiddleston emphasises that the Loki in this series has not yet gone through his redemption arc, namely the events of Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok.
This will be particularly interesting for fans who prefer to see the God of Mischief in his true villainous form.
7. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Movie)
May 7, 2021
Benedict Cumberbatch is confirmed to reprise his role as Dr. Stephen Strange. The new Doctor Strange movie will take place several years after the events of both Endgame and Spider-man; Far from Home.
Although plot details still remain a mystery, it is slated to be the MCU's first horror story, although it will still remain PG-13.
Elizabeth Olsen will also be appearing in the movie as Scarlet Witch, hinting that fans need to keep up to date with the above mentioned WandaVision before watching the Doctor Strange sequel.
During one of Doctor Strange's post credit scenes, Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo was teased to be the next villain, but it is still unclear whether he will reprise his role in the upcoming sequel.
8. What If? (Series)
Summer 2021
The MCU's first animated series will explore odd questions and situations in the Marvel universe. What if Spiderman joined the Fantastic Four? What if Jane Foster picked up Mjonlir? What if the Hulk retained Bruce Banner's intellect?
As fans will realise from previous MCU movies (and upcoming ones), some of these ideas have already been explored.
This series will retain the voice talent of many established actors in the MCU, including Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Paul Rudd and Josh Bralin, among many others.
Sadly, Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans, who portrayed Iron Man and Captain America respectively, were not listed in the initial cast, although one can hope.
9. Hawkeye (Series)
Autumn 2021
The last Disney+ series to be announced features Jeremy Renner reprising his role as Clint Barton, a.k.a Hawkeye. Renner's character Barton has retired many times during the MCU, only to come out of retirement in times of need.
This series might be a way for him to finally hang up his bow, as it also features a young woman named Kate Bishop, who was a successor to Hawkeye in the comics.
No casting was announced yet for the character of Bishop.
10. Thor: Love and Thunder (Movie)
Nov. 5, 2021
After Ragnarok's astounding success, fans cannot get enough of Thor, fit or otherwise. The announcement of Thor: Love and Thunder, however, contained several surprises.
Firstly, Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson, is confirmed to be the MCU's first LGBTQ character. Feige also confirmed that there will be a number of these characters across the new movies and shows.
Then, Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, who was last seen in The Dark World, was revealed to be a new, female Thor.
Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in the MCU, is still confirmed to be in the upcoming movie — which means he will not be entirely replaced just yet.
However, this does hint at the possibility of him sharing the role of Thor with Portman, or possibly passing the mantle to her.
11. Blade
TBD
Academy award winner Mahershala Ali was also announced to play Blade, a human-vampire hybrid who hunts vampires.
The character was previously brought to screen in 1998's Blade, played by Wesley Snipes.
No further details were announced.
Others
Feige also mentioned several upcoming projects, confirming that there will be a Black Panther 2, a Captain Marvel sequel, and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, although the timeline for these projects are unclear.
He also hinted at the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, giving confirmation that they will indeed be added into the MCU, although once again, there is no official timeline yet.
Disney's own convention event, D23, is scheduled for Aug 23-25, 2019, so fans can hopefully expect more news then.
Top image from @natalieportman and @andyparkart on Instagram
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