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It is no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has an absolute behemoth in the entertainment world. The wait for Phase Four has been made longer thank to the year-long delay of Black Widow, but the franchise will finally give us new content in the form of Disney+'s WandaVision. This is only the first piece of new content hitting the streaming service over the next few years, and it turns out that Kevin Feige actually views Disney+ as a storytelling game changer.
Shortly after its start, Disney+ quickly became a hub for exciting content from both Star Wars and the MCU. And as various Marvel projects were delayed, the streaming service was still the home of the Infinity Saga, and had special content Marvel Studios: Legends which recapped characters' tenure on the big screen. In the video above Kevin Feige spoke with CinemaBlend's own Sean O'Connell, and revealed how he believes Disney+ can help further expand the shared universe. As he put it,
It's a gigantic game changer, and it's one that we've been living with and working towards for the past three years, since Bob Iger brought me into his office telling me about what would become Disney+ and the streaming service and him asking Marvel Studios to be working on projects for it. That coincided perfectly with soul searching that I was doing, personally, and that I think many of us at the studio was doing about what was next after the Infinity Saga. We had spent so long, for so many years, building towards those two (Avengers) posters behind you, that what would come next? What would we do next? And how would it be… not bigger, because there are a lot of characters on those posters. It's not about bigger. It's about a different and unique and continuing to grow, as we had from Iron Man to Endgame, the definition of what an MCU project can be. It was perfect timing. The notion of being able to start working on long-form narrative and series for Disney+ … that brought in just a wave of enthusiasm and creativity into the studio, just as we needed it. WandaVision is the perfect example of that. That’s something we never could have done.
Well, there you have it. It looks like Kevin Feige and the powers that be at Marvel Studios have been planning for ways to change up the shared universe after the wild events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. And as they continue to create new content and try to keep the general public interested, long-form stories like WandaVision allow the movie characters to be even further fleshed out.
The Infinity Saga is currently streaming on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
Kevin Feige's comments to Sean O'Connell show how far out the planning goes for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Before we even go to see Thanos fight The Avengers in Infinity War, they were already planning exactly how the studio would continue in the shadow of the Mad Titan. What's more, Disney+ offers the opportunity for a longer and deliberate storytelling.
Phase Four also will also be unique because it'll be lacking the presence of franchise protagonists like Iron Man and Captain America. Instead, the supporting characters like Scarlet Witch and The Falcon are expected to have a more significant presence. WandaVision will be the most screen time that Elizabeth Olsen's hero has ever gotten, and it'll make her return to the big screen with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness all the more satisfying.
With small screen content like WandaVision coming out on Disney+, the crossover possibilities with the film franchises are fairly endless. Plenty of characters are making their way to the small screen, before eventually connecting back to Marvel's movies. The sky's the limit, and something tells me Kevin Feige and company have plenty of surprises up their sleeves.
WandaVision debuts on Disney+ January 15th, and Black Widow will hit theaters on May 7th. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.
