Just in time for the release of Black Widow, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige joined Rotten Tomatoes for an interviewing shedding more light on phase four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After discussing Black Widow itself, Feige dived into the rest of what’s coming for phase four, starting with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. While he acknowledged fans’ disappointment regarding the Mandarin fakeout back in Iron Man 3, Feige confirmed that the villain in Shang-Chi is indeed the real Mandarin; “Just because that version wasn’t real didn’t mean there’s not a leader of the Ten Rings organization and that is who we meet for the first time in Shang-Chi,” he explains before revealing his delight to work with Tony Leung, a Hong Kong actor best known for his work with Wong Kar-Wai.
With the Venom sequel right around the corner over at Sony Pictures, Rotten Tomatoes also asked Feige if Tom Hardy‘s Eddie Brock would ever join the MCU, to which he answered in his usual fashion never to dismiss anything. “I wouldn’t rule anything out completely,” he remarked. When and how and where remains to be seen. Any rumor that you read online could happen anytime between tomorrow and never.”
Continuing with the Spider-Man theme, Feige also commented on Sam Raimi‘s return to Marvel after directing the Tobey Maguire trilogy: “It’s just exciting to get to watch Sam work again and to see Sam Raimi put his Sam Raimi stamp on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And for people who know what that stamp is, they can be very excited.”
Before wrapping up, the studio boss also spoke of the upcoming Black Panther sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, touching on the unfortunate and emotional death of Chadwick Boseman and the difficulties the franchise will face moving forward without the iconic actor. “Our first thought for many weeks afterwards had nothing to do with the movie, it had to do with him and his family and his wife and his legacy,” Feige began. “And really we were looking to Ryan Coogler for guidance.” He continued explaining that Marvel wanted to continue “the legacy of Wakanda” and that despite the difficulties they face, the sequel looks “remarkable” and “will be extremely emotional across the board.”
Elsewhere in related news, Margot Robbie hopes to take a break from her role as Harley Quinn after calling the character “exhausting.”
