Avengers Phase 2 is already underway and picking up steam as the release date for Iron Man 3 approaches nearer. But Disney / Marvel of course have this uncanny habit of seeing long into the future, beyond what they show us indeed! So while Phase 2 is only kick-starting for us, the audience, the studio seems well on track to keep the anticipation and excitement raging for Phase 3, by planning to release its next set of movies soon after The Avengers 2 is released in 2015. That is what you call 'being prepared'! First of all, what do we have for Phase 2? We have the popular ones of course, sequels to the Iron Man, Thor and Captain America movies and adding to that is the entrance of Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. So there is a lot of familiarity for The Avengers 2. But what about Phase 3?
From the stories circulating so far, Phase 3 of this Marvel superhero-themed film series is supposed to have loads of new characters, each having their own backstory films as well, as was the case for The Avengers. So who are they? These aren't the most popular of heroes, neither was Iron Man such a giant of a superhero until the movies released, though they would still be quite familiar to the avid comic readers and even if you read an occasional Marvel story every now and then. The first official movie for Phase 3 to be announced is Ant-Man featuring a superhero with the same name (duh!), scheduled for a November 2015 release as of now. There have been no more official confirmations yet, but certain names are being openly declared, twitted and buzzed around. With such sources, what I could gather is that Doctor Strange is said to be high on the priority list for the Phase 3 project. And the latest internet buzz is on Black Panther after an actor posted a tweet mentioning the superhero's name. It takes only a little to get the net buzzing (and people blogging!) when it comes to the Avengers series.
So with so many new and relatively less popular names being thrown into the ring, it is but a sensible thing to acquaint ourselves with the traits of the new set of superheroes who may grace the large screen. And even though 2015 is quite a distance away, we will be hearing a lot on the Phase 3 superheroes even in the period prior to The Avengers 2. So here's a brief on the possible future superheroes of this movie series, based on what they accomplished in the comic world.
Ant-Man: Biochemist Dr. Henry Pym (that's his real name!) discovers a chemical substance to alter his size and voila, soon becomes the superhero called Ant-Man. He reveals his identity to his girlfriend and lab assistant, Janet van Dyne, who later also has an alter-ego called Wasp. Now, here's the most interesting aspect. Ant-Man and Wasp are actually the original founders of the Avengers (with the first roster also including Hulk, Thor and Iron Man)! That now seems unlikely to have a bearing on the storyline of the movie series though it shows the close connection that Ant-Man has to the Avengers. More interestingly, I located this trivia, that Henry Pym was referred to in the film Thor as a friend to whom Dr. Selvig emails, but this scene was later deleted from the final cut. The Ant-Man seems to have every right to be in an Avengers film!
Doctor Strange: Strange is a character which opens many new realms in the Marvel universe, for his stories step away from the science loving themes of many other superheroes and into the worlds of mystic and magic. Originally Dr. Stephen Strange, he was a neurosurgeon who met with an accident and sought out the aid of a hermit called the Ancient One to heal his wounds, eventually himself becoming a sorcerer. Doctor Strange is part of a group called Illuminati which deals with future threats to the earth and also joins the New Avengers, whose roster currently consists of Iron Man as well. With Marvel Studios president announcing early on that Doctor Strange would be featuring in some capacity in Phase 3 of the movie series, get ready for the moments of sorcery to be brought on screen!
Black Panther: This one got some really amazing facts behind it! Black Panther is said to be the first black superhero in mainstream comics. T'Challa, that's his real name, is a warrior king of the African nation of Wakanda. Guess who he married? Storm! Yep, the one from the X-Men series. He's also part of Illuminati, as is Doctor Strange and Iron Man, and has been a member of the Avengers team too, from quite early on in fact. His usual problem has been to safeguard his technologically rich nation, Wakanda, from invasions and maybe that is what the film on Black Panther (if there is to be one) would be dealing with.
Interesting characters, enough material to bring them on screen, though their integration with the storyline that The Avengers 2 will take would be the most interesting and eagerly awaited aspect. Though with so many new characters planned, and the actors of the existing superhero movies not getting any younger, one does wonder where the fate of the latter lie! Could we be seeing the end of some of them in Phase 2? Would be hard to digest. Wish that some things in life could just remain as they are... and not age and fade with time...
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