Time Contributor | Gummies bears
Don't walk gently into that good night.
After more than 3 years, "Black Panther 2" is back.
Mainland audiences can finally see Marvel movies in cinemas!
After "Avengers 4" and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" in 2019, all other works of Marvel's fourth phase of works have not reached the mainland big screen.
Black Panther 2
In the past three years of absence from the Chinese market, both Marvel itself and the tastes of mainland audiences have already undergone complex and subtle changes.
"Black Panther 2" is the last film in the fourth phase of the MCU, and it is also the longest single film in the MCU, with a length of 161 minutes, second only to "Avengers 4".
After the death of the star, how will Marvel continue to tell this new story? How will the new characters relate to the fifth stage?
More importantly, can Marvel win back the hearts of mainland audiences?
"Black Panther 2" new story
Previously, many audiences' expectations for "Black Panther 2" stemmed from the success of the previous game around the world.
With a global box office of $1.34 billion, it broke the industry's entrenched rules and proved to the world that black cast movies that are not dominated by white people can be very popular.
It was because of its success that Marvel decided to launch more projects with African Americans as protagonists from the fourth stage, such as "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", "Armored War", "Heart of Steel", "Blade" and so on.
Among these many future plans, the most valued one is "Black Panther 2".
As we all know, Chadwick Boseman, the actor of "Black Panther", died on August 28, 2020 due to worsening cancer.
In the end, with six rewrites of the script, Marvel chose to let the character of T'Challa leave with his actor.
In the new story, T'Challa's half-sister, Princess Su Rui, will become the second generation of Black Panther.
In the previous game, Su Rui has shown her super high intelligence and personal ability.
But it is not easy to gain the recognition of the people of Wakanda, to recover the "heart-shaped grass" that has been burned out, and to become the real new black panther.
In the film, due to the death of T'Challa, Wakanda, who has lost its king again, is plunged into turmoil and unrest.
The focus of the competition is on the rare resource here - "vibranium".
At the same time, Lily Williams, a talented girl studying at MIT, was used by her mentor, Dr. Graham, whose "vibranium" detection device was used as a weapon of mass destruction to slaughter the people of the underwater kingdom of Taroken.
King Namor of Taroken mistakes Lily for the culprit and takes revenge.
T'Challa's mother, Ramanda, believes that there are powerful countries coveting Wakanda's vibranium resources, and many forces are complicated and entangled.
Namor entered the territory of Wakanda by sea and tried to destroy it.
Princess Su Rui, who lost her loved ones, joined forces with Lili, who was wearing high-tech armor, and prepared to fight Namo.
The tension between traditional and modern technology has become an important clue for the growth of Black Panther.
The war between the two countries is imminent.
Where will this dispute, which has been provoked by people with intentions, end up going?
After losing T'Challa, people naturally pay the most attention to the two new heroes who debuted in the new film -
Namor and Lily the "Heart of Steel".
In the comics, Namor is not a simple villain, he is a superhero who fought alongside Captain America, the original Thunderfire.
Namor in the movie also inherits the complex character characteristics of the characters in the comics.
As for the trigger for the war between Wakanda and Taroken - "Heart of Steel" Lily Williams, her position in the MCU is much more important than Namo.
The solo series "Heart of Steel" has now been filmed and will air next fall. She will also appear again in the movie "Armored War", which features War Machine.
Different from the past Marvel works, the memory of "Black Panther" in this film is more restrained and moving.
In order to show respect for Boseman, Marvel abandoned the use of CG technology in "Black Panther 2" and created his avatar.
The subsequent plot also focuses more on the impact of his noble character on everyone, rather than just the lines or Easter eggs that put this longing on the surface.
The future layout of the MCU
For domestic audiences, the fourth stage of MCU seems to be the most distant stage from us.
Many audiences' memory of Marvel's screen is still stuck in the highlight period of "Avengers 4" in 2019, which once won 4.25 billion yuan at the mainland box office, and is still the box office champion in imported mainland film history.
"Black Widow", released in North America in July 2021, is the first film in the fourth phase of the MCU that did not reach the mainland.
Subsequent "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", "Eternals", "Spider-Man: Homeless", "Doctor Strange 2" and "Thor 4" were all absent without exception.
At the same time, it is also known as the stage of Marvel's word-of-mouth controversy: unattractive characters, weak visual effects, and seething online war of words... So much so that few films have won full acclaim.
In terms of box office, among the seven works in the fourth phase, only "Spider-Man: Homeless" has sprung up, with a global box office of $1.92 billion, and the global box office of the rest of the films has not exceeded $1 billion.
"Black Panther 2" announced the end of the fourth phase of the MCU, and the length of 2 hours and 41 minutes shows that Marvel is full of expectations for this final work.
In the past three years of absence, Disney began to bet more on Disney+, and a series of Marvel series were launched one after another.
Throughout the fourth phase of the MCU's works, unlike the rules of the movie, Marvel has made various experimental innovations in TV series, but many series have been well received.
For example, the retro sitcom-style "WandaVision", the dark and mysterious "Moonlight Knight", the legal light comedy "Female Hulk", etc., various "very non-Marvel" operations make them watchable far better than movies.
Dramas such as "Loki" and "Hawkeye" with old acquaintances take on the heavy responsibility of carrying on the upper and lower.
These dramas not only relive feelings, but also lead to the next stage of important characters, which belong to the genre that must be watched.
Kang the Conqueror in Loki
From the currently known news, it can be seen that after entering the fifth phase of the MCU, Marvel will continue the dual-line development model of "movie + TV series".
The paving of the fourth stage will also begin to bear fruit at this time.
In the fifth stage of the MCU, what is there to look forward to?
The first film of the fifth phase, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Frenzy, will continue the content of Loki and tell the story of the villain "Kang the Conqueror", who is said to be more powerful than Thanos.
However, the official invasion of the MCU by "Kang the Conqueror" may not wait until the release of "Avengers 5: Dynasty of Kang" in 2025.
This is followed by "Guardians of the Galaxy 3", which is the legacy of James Gunn, the new head of DC Pictures, in Marvel.
The series has always been popular, and the protagonist group has also made a cameo appearance in "Thor 4", which may have a good box office gain.
"Captain Marvel 2" will appear three Captain Marvel, in addition to Carol, the spectrum in "WandaVision" and the heroine of "Ms. Marvel" Kamala will also join the battle.
The newly rebooted film "Blade", like "Werewolf of the Night", will focus on the dark side of the MCU.
The male protagonist Eric Brooks is a vampire hunter, and his appearance means that more mysterious forces and creatures will be introduced into the movie universe.
As for "Captain America 4" and "Thunder Agents", it is difficult to say what the final quality will be due to the lack of support from popular characters.
In terms of new works of film and television dramas -
"Secret Invasion" was downgraded to a TV series, the second season of "Loki" will continue to explore the mysteries of the multiverse, and it is interesting to see if Wanda can return in "Agatha: The Witches of Chaos".
After "Heart of Steel" debuted in "Black Panther 2", it will also usher in its own independent series of the same name.
Daredevil Mark Murdoch and Kim will both reappear in the new drama "Echo".
After Marvel retracts Daredevil copyrights, Mark's personal series "Daredevil: Returns" will also air in the spring of 2024.
"What if...?" After its great success, the second season was also scheduled.
"X-Men 97" and "Spider-Man: Freshman Admission" will also be broadcast one after another, and it is reported that these three animations will develop more multiverse stories to find possibilities for the future development of the MCU.
It is foreseeable that the fifth phase of the MCU will still be a paving stage, taking back some of the fourth stage of the line, but introducing more new problems.
All mysteries will eventually be solved in the sixth stage of "Avengers 5: Dynasty of Kang" and "Avengers 6: Secret War".
However, the problem now is -
Will the fans, who have been consumed by the fourth phase of a lot of passion, still hold the Marvel scene as always?
Perhaps "Black Panther 2" is just a test of the waters, and the real test of Marvel's mainland box office appeal is "Ant-Man 3" released on February 17.
As the debut work of the fifth phase of Marvel, it shoulders the mission of breaking the fatigue of superheroic aesthetics.
This time is another simultaneous release between China and the United States, whether it can reverse the "disconnected" impression of Marvel by Chinese audiences in the past three years, this is a key battle.
To some extent, its story color and visual style are also the weather vane of the fifth stage.
Time Jun speculates that "Ant-Man 3" and the unfinalized "Guardians of the Galaxy 3", the reputation of these two new works, may establish the overall level of the fifth phase of Marvel.