Based on the seeds that the MCU and Kevin Feige planted in Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home, fans are pretty sure the Skrulls will be an important part of everything moving forward. This makes it appear that the Secret Invasion storyline will be the next major plot now that the Infinity Saga is wrapped up. Phase 4 is about to kick-off in just over a month when Black Widow hits theaters. From there, the MCU will drop Eternals, Shang Chi, and Doctor Strange flicks before circling back around to the Mighty Thor. Entitled Thor: Love & Thunder, the god of thunder is the only original Avengers member to get a fourth film. Christian Bale was recently cast in the movie, and Tessa Thompson (who stars in the film as Valkyrie) has confirmed his role in the franchise. 

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Thompson stated, “We’re gonna have fun. We’re gonna have fun. Taika is writing, directing. Some familiar faces, some new people into the mix. Christian Bale’s gonna play our villain, which is gonna be fantastic.” The bombshell of a revelation has fans frantically investigating who Bale could be. Many believe that he will be granted the role of Silver Surfer, a sometimes villain/sometimes hero much like Loki or Nebula. Thor: Love & Thunder touches down on November 5, 2021. 

Captain Marvel – starring Brie Larson as the first female lead in a Marvel film – dominated at the box office pulling in a whopping $1.1 billion worldwide. The movie arrived in theaters in March 2019 and The Hollywood Reporter now details how the sequel to the movie is in the works. The script is being helmed by Megan McDonnell, the women behind Marvel-based series WandaVision – a miniseries that follows Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and Vision.

Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

While details are at a minimum, the new movie will take place in the present day as opposed to the last movie. Marvel’s President Kevin Fiege hasn’t even shared too many details on the anticipated film but he did drop a hint at a Comic-Con back in July. “We didn’t even mention that we’re making Black Panther 2 and we didn’t mention that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is coming,” he said. “We didn’t even have time to talk about Captain Marvel 2, by the way. I didn’t even have time to talk about The Fantastic Four. And there’s no time left to talk about mutants.” Samuel L. Jackson also stars in the film set to arrive in 2022. 

“I find the character so inspiring that whenever I feel nervous and scared, I feel like I can turn to her and I feel like, No, I got this. And that feels really awesome,” Brie said her character. “I feel like I have the same awe over her that a lot of her fans do.”

The trailer for Sony’s Morbius should’ve been anticipated. Whether Martin Scorcese likes it or not, comic book movies are now an ingrained part of the cinematic world and the latest new property to come down the pipeline takes things into previously uncharted territory. Two years removed from their last attempt to expand their roster with the Tom Hardy-starring Venom, Sony is primed to return with another character that’s walked a very fine line between hero and villain.

Set to be unveiled this summer, Morbius’ forthcoming release will be Jared Leto’s second attempt at portraying a cherished comic book character. After his tattooed and toned interpretation of The Joker was met with a mixed response from fans and the studio itself, the actor/Thirty Seconds To Mars frontman has signed on to portray the infamous living vampire. Helmed by Swedish director Daniel Espinosa—famed as Child 44 and purported Venom prequel LIFE— its brief teaser trailer has left many entry-level Marvel fans wondering where this mysterious character ties into the world they’ve come to know.  

Created by former Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, Morbius’ origins date all the way back to 1971 in The Amazing Spiderman #101-102. Originally, the character was modelled after actor Jack Palance and hailed from Greece. Like other famed Marvel alter egos such as Donald Blake (Thor), Reed Richards and Otto Octavius, Morbius comes from a medical background as a world-renowned, PHD-sporting biologist that set out to find a cure for his rare blood condition. Brought about by combining electroshock therapy with the DNA of vampire bats, a make-or-break experiment went awry and resulted in him killing his lab assistant on the spot. Imbued with many of the powers and afflictions that are synonymous with the mythical beings, an important distinction is that Michael is a “pseudo” or “living” vampire and as such, his bite turns his victims into these same hybrid creatures. 

 Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images

After hopping on a ship to America and feasting on the blood of the entire crew, Morbius arrives in New York and finds himself entangled in a battle with not only Spider-Man, but Dr. Curt Connors’ The Lizard. Taking place shortly after Spidey had grown four extra arms, the arc is eventually resolved when one encounter sees the friendly neighborhood wallcrawler extracting a blood sample from the vampire and ridding himself of his new mutation.  Since then, Morbius has became a trusty staple of the comic book universe, flitting between both sides of the hero-villain divide and getting into skirmishes with everyone from The X-Men and Ghost Rider. The subject of his own 32 issue run from 1992-1995, he even sank his fangs into Blade back in 1999. Enlisted by Dr. Strange as a member of The Midnight Sons in order to wage war against the demonic Lilith, Morbius also had a hand in the comic book edition of Civil War, tasked with getting the aforementioned vampire hunter’s signature for the “superhero registration act” by S .H.I.E.L.D.

Although most Morbius-oriented storylines have played out across inked panels, Leto isn’t the first man to take on the role. The living vampire has been briefly brought to life in animated and live-action productions. Previously depicted in a deleted ending to Wesley Snipes’ Blade, this fleeting 1-minute scene—which can be seen on YouTube—was intended to set the “living vampire” up as the sequel’s central antagonist before the studio opted in favour of Jared Nomak and Damaskinos. Older viewers may also recall the character through his brief spell on the heralded Spiderman: The Animated Series. Rendered in a more Transylvanian vampire tradition, viewers witnessed his origin story take shape as a result of a bat interfering with a science experiment, leading the new and improved Morbius on a relentless hunt for “plasma” — not to mention in hot pursuit of Spidey’s love interest Felicia Hardy. While that was watered down for younger audiences, the new movie is not yet classified but the success of previous R-rated Sony outings such as Deadpool and Logan could lead them down a suitably gritter path.

Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Beyond altering his early years from living under the tyranny of an abusive mother to a horrific spell at boarding school, some of Morbius’ powers mapped out in the trailer are consistent with what we’ve seen in the comics. After a brief glimpse of the transformation that he describes as “not exactly legal,”  Leto cites increased strength, speed and the use of echolocation as well as the burden that comes with his newfound gifts— “an overpowering urge to consume blood.”

We also see Adria Arjorna in the role of Martine Bancroft, a fellow biochemist and, in the source material at least, Michael’s fiancé. On top of that, the film marks the first appearance of Tyrese as Simon Stroud. A CIA operative turned S.H.I.E.LD Agent within the comic books, the kinetic armor around his forearm would suggest that he could be acting on behalf of the shadowy organization from the outset. From there, the Fur Elise soundtracked teaser gives us a glimpse of Matt Smith. The third Doctor Who alumni to enter the MCU behind David Tennant (Jessica Jones) and Christopher Eccleston (Thor: The Dark World), he’ll be playing the role of Loxias Crown, otherwise known as Hunger. According to Marvel, Crown “benefits from experiments conducted on the Living Vampire Morbius and becomes the Vampiric Being known as Hunger, whose bloodlust may outweigh his unwilling maker.”

Although unconfirmed, Morbius’ previous storylines mean that these invasive tests could be conducted by comic book villain Doctor Paine, a sadistic physician that nurses a morbid fascination with Morbius and even held him captive to see what’d occur if he was deprived of blood. Intriguing as this all is on its own, the combination of a title card that stipulates “In association with Marvel” and a few subtle hints to the wider MCU has amplified the chatter surrounding the film. Towards the trailer’s final moments, fans were taken aback by the sight of Michael Keaton reprising his role as Adrian Toomes, otherwise identified as the shunted salvager-turned-malevolent Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming. Aside from inadvertently giving us the chance to see Batman and The Joker share the screen in a Marvel production, the appearance of the Chitauri-tech-powered villain implies that Morbius could have broader implications for the Sony universe/MCU relationship.

Beyond wild theorising from the fandom, an opportunity for further blurring of the lines between the studios was actually mentioned by Marvel’s cinematic mastermind Kevin Fiege himself. Amid his adulation over the deal they’d struck to keep Tom Holland’s web-slinger in the MCU stable, the acclaimed film producer suggested that the iconic character that would be crucial in fostering a gateway between the two on-screen worlds: “Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold.”

As if that wasn’t enough, we also get a fully-fledged Spider-Man Easter egg in the form of a mural on a wall that’s been underscored with the words “murderer.” An allusion to the post-credits scene g of Spider Man: Far From Home in which Mysterio incriminates Peter Parker from beyond the grave, the inclusion of these two characters and the rumored appearance of JK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson raises the question of whether this film will have a far more robust grounding in the MCU than Venom had. Although the likeness of Spider-Man bears a greater resemblance to Tobey Maguire’s time as the crimefighter than Tom Holland’s Tony Stark-crafted suit, Feige’s comments take on even greater significance when you consider that Mahershala Ali’s Blade reboot is in the works for MCU’s Phase 5.  Whether it comes in a subtle visual nod or reference in the dialogue, don’t be surprised to feel the presence of the sword-wielding half-vampire and long-time adversary of Morbius within the movie.

Months away from its scheduled release, it’s hard to predict whether this film will be a runaway success for Sony or another misstep in the vein of recent efforts such as X-Men’s Dark Phoenix. However, what’s clear is that its possible connections to the MCU and the insertion of a more macabre element to the comic book movie canon will have cinemagoers flocking to see Morbius in droves.

Kevin Feige, the chief creative officer of Marvel, has been talking a lot about the future of the fictional world and the many heroes and villains that reside in it. We recently posted that Shang-Chi will have a 98% Asian cast and how Doctor Strange will have a new character. The latest on what’s to come from Marvel will most likely be a new series on ABC since Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is coming to an end.

Jesse Grant/Getty Images

“We love our partners at Marvel and we’re sad to see [Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D] go, it’s been a big part of our history,” ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke told Deadline. “We’re looking forward to working with Kevin Feige and we’re at the very beginning of conversations with him now about what a Marvel and ABC show might look like. Right now, Marvel’s focus has been on Disney+, as it should be.”

While Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D sees its final days, the network ensures that the next project will arrive in due time as the network as always envisioned “at least one Marvel property on air on the broadcast network at any given time.” Wonder Woman writer Allan Heinberg previously developed a show with ABC, only time will tell if it finally comes to light. 

Reports circulated yesterday that Kevin Feige confirmed that a transgender character would be appearing in a Marvel movie “very soon.” Variety is now reporting that that information is false, according to two sources close to the studio.

Jesse Grant / Getty Images

During a guest lecture series for the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, Feige was asked about “on bringing more LGBT+ characters into the MCU, specifically the T, trans characters.”

“Yes — absolutely, yes,” Feige responded. “And very soon. In a movie that we’re shooting right now.”

Apparently, Feige only meant to respond to the first part of the question. Variety claims the studio sources say the trans character will not be joining the MCU “very soon.”

Feige also commented on diversifying the crew and writers’ rooms going forward saying, “We have three other shows we’ve announced, we haven’t announced the players yet, but spoiler alert — two out of three of them are women… It makes for better stories. I say, when you are sitting at a table and everyone looks like you, you’re in trouble. You aren’t going to get the best story out of that.”

Marvel’s Eternals is set to have the MCU’s first major gay character; however, it has not been confirmed who that will be.

When last we saw Marvel's Vision, he was being murdered by Thanos. This led to a dope fight scene one movie later where Vision's lover, Scarlet Witch, overpowers Thanos so badly in a fight that he reigns down missiles from the sky killing his own men just to escape her. Scarlet Witch, who is played by Elizabeth Olsen, is one of the most powerful figures in the MCU and she will be getting a spotlight very soon. Vision and Scarlet Witch will star in WandaVision, a new Disney+ Marvel series that was slated to debut in 2021 right before Doctor Strange In The Multi-Verse Of Madness hit theaters. WandaVision is supposed to tie directly into Doctor Strange, and Scarlet Witch will co-star in the film with the Time Stone wielding sorcerer. 

Disney+ recently released a preview of everything set to hit their streaming service in 2020, and surprisingly, WandaVision was included. That means fans will get the show earlier than expected, although an exact release date is still unknown. It looks like Kevin Fiege is trying to set up a cliff hanger that will keep fans guessing until Doctor Strange In The Multi-Verse Of Madness comes out to conclude that story arc. Teyonah Parris, Randall Park, Kat Dennings, and Kathryn Hahn will star alongside Olsen and Paul Battany in the series. 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will touch down next year and shake up the MCU like never before. The multiverse itself is an unlimited number of alternate universes and was teased in Spider-Man: Far From Home. We already know that Scarlet Witch will be co-starring in the film with Doctor Strange, but now, Kevin Feige is claiming that some other heroes will join the madness as well. 

According to CinemaBlend, while speaking at New York Film Academy, Feige told fans that surprise heroes would play a role in the sequel film. “Sometimes you’re choosing the title hero, you’re choosing which main character or main team you want to bring to the screen,” he began.”Oftentimes, it’s as you’re making and developing the movie [asking] ‘Who will come into it?’ and ‘Who will fit into it?’ The next Doctor Strange film, for instance, features some new MCU characters that will be making their debut in that movie you won’t expect or won’t guess who it is, but we found a cool way to make it work because we want to make a particular type of movie there and there was a character we always wanted to do something with who will fit really well there.”

“The multiverse is the next step in the evolution of the MCU, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is gonna crack it wide open in ways that will have repercussions for a Disney+ series just before it, that’s not WandaVision, and for movies just after it in a big, fun way,” he continued. This has fans speculating about Spider-Man 3, which comes out just after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The multi-verse can lead to Spider-Man leaving the MCU and joining his Sony pals such as Venom. We will have to wait and see.