HOT TAKE: Phase 4 should've been the end of the phase gimmick
Because to me, each phase was slowly telling a larger story and post-endgame, it feels like that story has concluded. I can understand the need to make Marvel films, but I would've proposed an epilogue Phase, focusing on concluding as well as hinting at future Marvel films, while sending off the Phase Gimmick to its sunset
Essentially:
Part 1 of Phase Four would've been directly focused on Earth and its consequences post-blip
(Black Widow, Captain America: Brave New World and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with **Spider-Man: No Way Home** as a send-off, and a hint of what to come in the near future)
Part 2 would focus on the outer space, as well as a sliver of the multiverses
(Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Thor: Love and Thunder, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Deadpool & Wolverine with **Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness** to fully cap it off)
In total, there would be **Nine Movies**
There would only be three shows:
What if? (meant to be a test for Marvel Animation as well as future writers, directors, etc.)
Loki (as an expansion of certain story elements from Deadpool & Wolverine)
as well as Wandavision, not only as a test to see if certain Marvel projects (that are more experimental) would fit in a TV Show format
And after that, the movies would not necessarily be connected, only with The Marvels and Thunderbolts being the two films that connect the films, before slowly becoming more interconnected by future films (with the Disney TV shows becoming actual films)
Essentially:
Part 1 of Phase Four would've been directly focused on Earth and its consequences post-blip
(Black Widow, Captain America: Brave New World and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with **Spider-Man: No Way Home** as a send-off, and a hint of what to come in the near future)
Part 2 would focus on the outer space, as well as a sliver of the multiverses
(Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Thor: Love and Thunder, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Deadpool & Wolverine with **Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness** to fully cap it off)
In total, there would be **Nine Movies**
There would only be three shows:
What if? (meant to be a test for Marvel Animation as well as future writers, directors, etc.)
Loki (as an expansion of certain story elements from Deadpool & Wolverine)
as well as Wandavision, not only as a test to see if certain Marvel projects (that are more experimental) would fit in a TV Show format
And after that, the movies would not necessarily be connected, only with The Marvels and Thunderbolts being the two films that connect the films, before slowly becoming more interconnected by future films (with the Disney TV shows becoming actual films)
Commentaires
Don't introduce any of the new stuff, only after Phase 4
It's meant to be an epilouge
Because now it feels like there should be an expectation that there should be a story already instead of letting the new generation of movies slowly build an identity
I get where you are coming from but I feel like, it's sorta chaining the marvel movies brand to something
Phase 1 = Introductions and building up to the Avengers teamup.
Phase 2 = Character growth and build up to Age Of Ultron.
Phase 3 = New characters, Civil War and character arcs of OG Avengers concluding with IW & Endgame.
Phases 4 to 6 = Shrug. I guess some multiverse building for Doomsday but mostly just a lot of standalone adventures that take ages to tie into anything.
As an example Dr Strange is name dropped in Phase 2 before being introduced in Phase 3 with his debut movie. His powers and world are then nicely worked into IW and Endgame.
In comparison Shang Chi appears in his movie in phase 4... And then him and the plot threads of his arc have been shelved since then. They elaborated on Abomination in She Hulk and Tony Slattery will turn up in Wonder Man but those were just cameos separate from the actual plot. Despite people enjoying his movie nothing has been done with his corner of the MCU since his first appearance.
What the MCU needed was for phases 4 to 7 to be constructed similarly to phases 1-3 where each phase had its own mini arc that lead to an avengers team up that rounded off a bunch of threads whilst establishing some new ones for the next phase.
Phases 4-7 didn't have that. They just meander into each other with no clear dividing line or consistent arcs. Most casual fans could probably vaguely identify phases 1-3 and which films went where even if they hadn't seen them in a while. They'd get some wrong but mostly they'd know "oh that film went before civil war" or "that was after the first Avengers but before Ultron". I think most casual fans would struggle to place most of the Post-Endgame movies in their specific phase because there are very few landmark events to establish where the phases begin or end.
Now it’s like 6-7 years of random movies and shows that haven’t tied into a single team up movie. I suspect the only movies/shows that will have any real impact on Doomsday from 4-6 are Thor 4, Dr Strange 2, Deadpool, Loki and F4.
2. This is always a disingenuous argument to me. Because whether or not they were "listed" as a part of the phase, there was still a lot of "canon" television (or at least marketed as canon television) going on at the time with SHIELD and the Defenders shows. A lot of people watched them and were even holding out hope that they would tie in in Infinity War and Endgame.
Especially now with, at least, the Defenders shows being confirmed canon, there's just as much content in the last saga than this one.
To throw my ‘2cent’ in
P4 - Introduction like p1 but more after math of Endgame and its saga leading to an avenger like film but not necessarily a defined team just a ‘team up’ showing need of an avengers/structure etc.
P5 - Character Growth as show in @moon_beams1 post but focus on multiple teams Thunderbolts (gov/sponsored) and Avengers (Independent), with the start Wakandans/Atlantans battle with each other and rest of the world, leading to semi Avenger film/Civil War while in the background hinting of multiverse/Loli/Kang making the teams oblivious to the real threat looming.
P6 - Dissuasions and split options/teams/friendship, then the major builds or Multiverse and being caught of guard by Kang, a big lost mid point during P6 and then after there lead into Secret Wars after getting their sh*t together
I may throw in Enterals during p4, maybe the reason of a team up but not done well and fooling people into Celestials Judgment being the sagas main big bad but have this lead to start of p5 for this new ‘Brave New World’, dealing after Endgame and Celestial/Eternals giving reason to different teams and thus a civil war.
Doom can still be the surprise villain as originally planed leading to p7-9 dealing with xmen and celestials etc.
Note: might not written it well at work on mobile lol
As it stands even Doomsday is going to have characters left out because of how large the cast is
But yeah an alternative i've had in my head for a while now is that okay you don't wanna do "small scale" Avengers movie anymore?, then use that chance to give other teams their time to shine, Something i stand by to this day is that Thunderbolts should had been the end of Phase 4, cause if you think about it most of the set up towards that film was in Phase 4 than Phase 5, and i would had Phase 5 end with Champions, lets just move VisionQuest to Phase 5 and we have the entire lineup ready to go.