Kevin Feige talks Marvel Phase 3 movies

Phase 3 is a’comin’! Once Ant-Man wraps up at the box office, Marvel will be getting ready for their biggest phase of movies to date. Captain America: Civil War, Thor Ragnarok, Doctor Strange and a ton more will all lead up to the planned Avengers 3, a third act in two parts that has Earth’s mightiest heroes chasing after the Infinity Stones.

Speaking to io9, Marvel movie big cheese Kevin Feige outlined the current plans for the upcoming films, and beyond.

Kenneth Branagh won’t direct Thor 3: Ragnarok, but expect an announcement soon

We still posted a rumour about Kenneth Branagh pulling a full circle and coming back to direct the end days of the Thor franchise. Well Feige is here to bust a rumour nut, as he shot that news down:

I think towards the end of the summer there will probably be a filmmaker announcement and a writer announcement and maybe even some additional casting announcements. That won’t start filming until middle of next year.

Just who is the real Mandarin?

What we do know is that the real Mandarin is out there, thanks to Marvel’s All Hail The King one-shot, which left Trevor in a spot of trouble (BLOODY HELL!). What we also know, is that extras in Ant-Man were spotted with Ten Ring tattoos on their necks while hanging out with Martin Donovan. An actor whose role has yet to be revealed in that flick. So is he the true Mandarin?

“I guess anything is possible but that’s not necessarily what we were currently thinking,” Feige said. Then he added “But now that you said it…”

Marvel’s TV characters could jump to the big screen

Daredevil has been a big hit for Marvel, with season 2’s casting of Jon Bernthal as the Punisher being widely praised. Those are two iconic characters, who may soon grow too big for a small screen. And Feige agrees:

As those [shows] come out, as those get into the culture I think they’re, just like what happens in the movies, tools in the toolbox for some of those shows. And what happens on those shows could be tools in the tool box of the movies. I think that’ll happen at some point.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will have some big reveals

I’m very excited for it and excited that we and James are not resting on the laurels and just saying “Here’s another soundtrack and another space adventure.”There’s a lot of very surprising additions to the movie and reveals in the movie that if I were to tell you now you’d go “What!?!” But when you see the movie I hope it is just as surprising as Guardians 1 was the first time around.

Ant Man could get a sequel before Avengers: Infinity War

Ant Man may be another sleeper hit for Marvel. And if the money talks, we may see more of Paul Rudd’s tiny hero in the near future, before the Avengers go to war:

The answer is I don’t really know. We’re entering territory that’s an incredible problem to have, which is too many franchises to navigate. That’s a very very high class problem, and if we’re faced with that high class problem we will try to figure out a solution in a way that allows us to produce the movies in the way we have…. We’d never want to stretch ourselves too thin that we’re not able to make them in the way we believe they should be made.

A Phase 3 movie could feature an origin story in the past

There’s a very specific timeline in Marvel movies, that starts with the dawn of heroes in Captain America: The First Avenger and works its way through the decades. But good ol’ Cap may not be the only hero who operated during the World War Two time period:

Certainly we could [set another one in the past]. There are no rules. I think the majority of them will be chronological, but not all of them necessarily.

Civil War is a small story with big players

Civil War is currently shaping up to be a quasi-sequel to Avengers: Age of Ultron, thanks to an abundance of heroes and villains. That’s a massive cast, but one that’s being thrown into a simple story when you look at it:

Certainly at the end of Civil War it’s a whole new ball game….What’s fun about Civil War though is, as you know from the comics, it’s a very simple story. And it really has to be, to accommodate that many players. It’s very much a Captain America movie and it’s very much a sequel to the Winter Soldier in ways I don’t think people [will expect]…. It’s a very simple structure that allows you to have these amazing character interactions in a way that I don’t think becomes overwhelming. And it’s very much is a kick off to Phase 3 because it sets thedynamic for everything that follows.

Last Updated: July 1, 2015