Marvel Comics Crossovers That Could Fuel Phase 4 Of The Marvel Movies


Marvel Comics, in the written format, are the inspiration for the hit Marvel movies that hit cineplexes every few months or so. There has been a concern of comic book movie fatigue by over-saturating theaters with too many superheroes. Some may have even wondered how long these comic book movies could continue.

According to Disney’s Bob Iger, via IGN, it was expressed that with the plethora of characters in the comic book universe, there would be enough to dazzle Marvel Comics fans for years to come.

“Marvel, you’re dealing with thousands and thousands of characters — that will go on forever. I don’t think [fans are] getting weary. But I think we keep raising the bar in terms of telling stories that bring them back, that excite them, that make it feel new and that is what we do for a living.”

Disney is already fueling its Star Wars franchise in kind with not only a new trilogy, but also with “in-between” solo anthology stories. That being said, it would stand to reason that the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be chock full of story telling opportunities.

Marvel movie directors Joe and Anthony Russo gave fans a tease that could tie into these possible crossovers by mentioning “a board with 67 characters on it,” according to a recent story on the Inquisitr. So who knows if some of these heroes may cross over onto the big screen? To clarify, the Russo brothers said nothing about these 67 characters crossing over, but with this amount of characters, anything is possible.

There is a Marvel Comics cross-over compilation put together by What Culture that could have potential to be worked into phase four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though, in phase three, there’s already a hinted Planet Hulk/World War Hulk arc influence in Thor: Ragnarok, according to the Inquisitr.

As far as the phase four Marvel movies go, there is the Original Sin series that entailed a major plot tragedy of The Watcher having been murdered. It would appear though The Watcher from the Original Sin story line could be worked into the movies in a abrupt fashion or teased either in Avengers: Infinity War, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, or Thor: Ragnarok. This could be just prior to phase four.

Avengers: Disassembled, a title that’s self explanatory, acknowledging the fragmentation of The Avengers. In this story line, Scarlet Witch was responsible for influencing the actions of the Avengers into becoming self-destructive. Would Marvel Studios be willing to tear them apart?

The Captain America: Civil War Marvel movie will mark Tom Holland’s introduction as the web-slinger, Spider-Man, who also will be appearing in his own solo movie in 2017. This is a nice launching point bringing forth a possibility of a Spider-Man cross-over, namely a story known as Spider-Island, where Captain America is transformed into a horrid beast at the hands of an evil nemesis. So perhaps this would be more of a duo movie than a solo movie?

What Culture suggests this Marvel Comics story line could be worked into phase four of the Marvel movies. Could an encounter with genetically cloned super spiders via the villainous Jackal allude to a second “Battle of New York”?

Then there is the Marvel Comics 2011 series Fear Itself, which ties into the World War II era. The series story line may also make a good phase four Marvel movie. Keep in mind, certain studio rights for the Juggernaut and The Thing would need to be addressed.

Dark Reign/Siege is yet another story which involves Norman Osborne as a government leader which could “help to introduce Osborn in 2017’s Spider-Man movie,” according to What Culture.

The list continues on with other Spider-Man crossovers of the Spider-verse entailing parallel universes. DC has their own Earth-1 and Earth-2 (and 50 others) versions, why not Marvel?

The next Marvel movie cross-over possibility would be the 2015 Secret Wars involving a whole reboot of the universe. The X-Men vs. The Avengers event would indeed make things interesting if Fox was able to crossover. Same goes for the Skrulls in the Secret Invasion as Fox owns those rights as well.

So with Marvel Comics partaking in crossover situations, there’s no telling how this could end up, but this does tend to support Iger’s statement about Marvel movie longevity.

[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Entertainment]

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