The faces of the MCU after Avengers 4 will be "surprising and refreshing." Over the last 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there's been a select group of characters leading the way. Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, Chris Evans' Captain America, and Chris Hemsworth's Thor have been the three pillars, but they aren't alone. As the universe has grown in popularity and output, so has the amount of heroes that now operate within. Fans have come to love most of these heroes, but a changing of the guard is coming.

Avengers: Infinity War was marketed as the beginning of the end and it will be Avengers 4 that truly serves as a culmination to everything Marvel's done so far. This approach has come with a warning that fans should be prepared to say goodbye to some of the biggest characters the MCU has to offer. But, their exits only open up the door for different heroes to take charge and even newer ones to be introduced.

Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore told us that what they have planned is quite exciting. Screen Rant spoke to Moore as part of Black Panther's home release and we asked him about what is coming next. Some characters are going to go and others will become more prominent, but it's the new properties that really have those at Marvel Studios excited, including Moore.

I think it's an opportunity for us to bid a fond farewell to characters that we've come to know for a while, but to also then introduce characters who are going to feel completely new and hopefully surprising to both our core fans and fans of our movies who aren't as well-versed in publishing. There are great ideas out there that we've talked about internally that I think and I hope will be surprising and refreshing to audiences while we still continue to explore characters we've come to love. The new ones always feel really exciting because they can be anything. We're at the point now where we're blue-skying, what are the best stories to tell, and in that blue sky there are ideas that I think all of us get really excited to share with people.

Marvel's so far done a great job at keeping a lid on their Phase 4 plans, even if some of what is coming next is starting to surface. The Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel is confirmed to follow Avengers 4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is all-but-confirmed to arrive in May 2020 and Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow shouldn't be too far behind. But, the new properties that Moore is referring to is still up for debate.

Most recently there have been reports of Marvel hiring a writing duo to start the script for The Eternals. Kevin Feige meanwhile has also indicated that Ms. Marvel is in their plans too. Nova is another character he sees as having immediate MCU potential, and there's even discussions about Moon Knight. None of these are believed to be what Disney's CEO Bob Iger referred to as a new franchise beyond Avengers.

The future of the MCU, while mysterious right now, is clearly still very bright. Whatever properties they decide to launch in the coming Phases will be paired up with sequels to properties fans already love. It isn't clear right now when we'll actually learn about everything that is coming next, and that could all change should the Disney-Fox deal close and Marvel Studios gain access to the X-Men and Fantastic Four too. Considering Moore's excitement for the future, hopefully it won't be too much longer before they start to clue us all in on what they're planning.

MORE: Every Upcoming Marvel Movie Infinity War Sets Up

Black Panther is now available on VOD, Blu-Ray, and DVD.

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