One of the key elements in running a film studio is release date management. If you have a slate of films, you want to capitalize on the momentum of a hit, but you don't want to flood the market with nothing but sequels. And when it comes to Marvel, who exclusively makes superhero films, you don't want to alienate people who want to avoid seeing the same product over and over again. People generally like sequels, but not all of them are popular, and following the same formula over and over again can create a stigma. This is a stigma that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige plans to fully avoid, however.
Speaking with IGN recently,, the Marvel Studios head proposed to that the format they have planned for coming their upcoming film slate currently involves one sequel and one new film coming out each year. He says,
"[Guardians of the Galaxy] fulfilled our desire to do something different, to start producing, each year, a film that was the sequel to a pre-existing, successful franchise and do something new. We're doing that next year with Age of Ultron, with Ant-Man, and hope to maybe continue that model in the coming years. I don't know that we'll keep to [that model] every year, but what we're doing this year and what we're doing next year is: existing franchise, new franchise, existing franchise, new franchise. So I think it would be fun to continue that sort of thing. I don't know that we will [do that] all the time, but as a general model, I think that would be fun."
This year, Marvel continued the adventures of Captain America in Captain America: The Winter Solider, while introducing the Guardians Of The Galaxy . Next year brings us Avengers: Age Of Ultron but also allows fans to meet the brand new cinematic heroAnt-Man. And in 2016, we'll be getting Captain America 3, with the second 2016 release date likely being Doctor Strange. Meanwhile, 2017 has three release dates, and we can probably assume that one of those is a sequel (Thor 3?).
While this suggests that sequels will be a big part of Marvel Studios' plans for years to come, it also means we're about to meet a whole bunch of new characters - guys like the aforementioned Doctor Strange as well as Black Panther, and Captain Marvel. This in addition to the new Netflix shows - which will introduce Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones - means that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get crowded - and one begins to wonder exactly how many people are going to be in the cast for Avengers 3.
As things stand for the potential Avengers second sequel, the potential roll call includes Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Ant-Man, the Falcon, War Machine/Iron Patriot, Doctor Strange, and possibly the members of the Defenders Oh, and there's also potentially more to be seen from the Guardians Of The Galaxy, not to mention the other new Phase Three characters. You'd also need screen time for villains, which will include Josh Brolin's Thanos, with maybe even appearances from Ultron, Red Skull, Loki, Baron Von Strucker, a digital Arnim Zola and maybe even Benicio Del Toro's The Collector... all in addition to the bad guys we haven't yet met. Good luck with all that!
