Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige says Marvel's Disney Plus series will intersect with the next phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. The MCU is about to enter a new era, in more ways than one. This month's Avengers: Endgame will bring Phase 3 to a close (and with it, the Infinity Saga), setting the stage for Phase 4 and fresh properties like Shang-Chi and The Eternals. Meanwhile, the franchise is gearing up for a massive expansion on the small screen, courtesy of the shows that Marvel is developing for Disney's streaming service.
So far, Disney has confirmed series about Loki, Falcon and Winter Soldier, and Scarlet Witch and Vision (aka. WandaVision) for Disney Plus. It's also been reported that Marvel is working on a Hawkeye series in which Clint Barton will pass the torch (quiver?) to his protege, Kate Bishop. And in case there was any doubt that these shows would be interconnected with the overarching narrative in the MCU movies, Feige has now come out and put those concerns to rest.
As part of an interview with Variety to promote Endgame, Feige talked about Marvel's Disney Plus series and their relevance to the MCU's Phase 4 movie slate. Here's his comment on the subject:
“These episodes will intersect with the movies in a very big way. It’s a totally new form of storytelling that we get to play with and explore".
While it's been assumed the Marvel Disney Plus series would intersect with upcoming MCU films, it's good to get some confirmation from Feige on the matter. MCU TV series past became somewhat infamous for referencing major events from the movies, but never being fully integrated into the films' narrative (if at all). Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. especially tried to connect with the MCU's Phase 2 and 3 releases throughout its first five seasons, but the movies never returned the favor for multiple reasons (the division between Marvel TV and Marvel Studios being one of the primary culprits). S.H.I.E.L.D. veteran Clark Gregg has even said he feels the show improved when it gave up on trying to tie-into the MCU films and started doing its own thing - a sentiment shared by many of the series' fans.
With the Disney Plus series, however, Marvel has the chance to embrace comic book-inspired long form storytelling, while simultaneously incorporating major characters and events from the MCU movies. The shows will also give the franchise at large the chance to finally zero in on the secondary Avengers and/or characters who have rich mythology in the comics, but have too often gotten the short end of the stick in the films. If all goes according to plan, the MCU may finally succeed in living up to the promise of the "It's all connected" tagline it's been hanging onto for the past decade.
Disney Plus launches in the U.S. on November 12, 2019.
Source: Variety