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Credit: D23Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is finally coming to theaters on September 3, 2021, and Marvel Boss Kevin Feige really wants MCU fans to focus on the first film following an Asian superhero hero – Shang-Chi (Simu Liu). Everywhere he goes, everyone wants to know where Marvel’s Phase 4 is headed, and many are hinging their bets on Secret Wars but Feige recently may have dashed those hopes.
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Marvel Studios President recently sat down with CBS-owned Comicbook.com and addressed the seemingly endless rumors that Secret Wars is in the works for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Producer Kevin Feige said:
“I’ve seen those rumors as well. Why is everyone talking about that now? That’s what I want to know. I think one person writes about it, and then another person writes about it, and then everybody’s writing about it, and then it’s happening.”
The rumors began as soon as the Marvel Cinematic Universe started becoming the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse. The Marvel Comics Secret Wars events – of which there are two – both involved characters from different comic book universes coming together in an epic crossover. It is definitely a fitting follow to the Infinity Saga’s conclusion.
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The first Secret Wars was written in 1984 by Jim Shooter, who recently fueled these rumors when he revealed Marvel had approached him to write a novel based on the 1984 comic book storyline, which took Avenger characters like Tony Stark/Iron Man and Peter Parker/Spider-Man to Battleworld, a planet made by the Beyonder out of chunks of other worlds.
However, when the Marvel Comics former editor Shooter reviewed his contract it seemed clear to him that Marvel Studios was actually working on a Marvel movie with the Secret Wars Plot. According to Shooter, he straight-out asked Marvel Publishing VP David Bogart, “This means you’re making a movie right?” and Bogart reportedly responded with “What? I’m not allowed to tell you that.” Which fans have basically taken as a confirmation.
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Kevin Feige hinted that there are still many other directions Marvel Studios could take the Avengers besides Secret Wars saying:
“Secret Wars is a great, giant crossover. There are a lot of great, giant crossovers that we could [adapt] — it’s the ongoing embarrassment of riches of Marvel Comics. Which really is, I think, unprecedented in an ongoing fictional narrative.”
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Even if a movie based on either Secret Wars event is in the works, Marvel fans have a long wait for it to come out. Marvel’s Phase 4 and 5 have countless new stories to cover between movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home (December 17, 2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (March 25, 2022) and so many more. Plus, the plethora of new Marvel original series streaming on Disney+ including WandaVision, Loki and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
And Kevin Feige does not want Marvel fans getting too distracted by what has not been announced yet and instead focuses on the upcoming slate. He said:
“We can sit here with our 25th film release, ‘Shang-Chi’; we’ve already started filming our 31st and 32nd MCU features [‘The Marvels’ and ‘’Quantuamnia’], not counting that we’re going on seven, eight Disney+ series, and you can still be asked about other things that you haven’t [touched] yet. And that is remarkable.”
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Marvel certainly has been generous with its audience, so perhaps fans can spend a little time being grateful for everything that they have been given. The next film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has already been somewhat overshadowed by the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home. Let’s all just take it one story at a time.
Let us know in the comment where else Phase 4 could be headed if not Secret Wars.