One of
Marvel Studios‘ biggest achievements is the meticulous planning that has gone into its cinematic universe right from the start. It’s why other studios’ attempts to replicate that success have failed (RIP Dark Universe), and why Marvel is going strong even after it reached its, well,
Endgame.
Already, Marvel has the next few years lined up with theatrical releases and Disney+ shows. But with the pandemic throwing a wrench in the carefully curated works, how much of a buffer could Marvel Studios have? At least 5 to 6 years worth, according to Marvel chief
Kevin Feige.
In a recent interview with
Collider, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige revealed that Marvel has always followed a formula for planning its slate of film and television, and that formula will carry them through the foreseeable future
“To varying degrees of specificity, it’s always about 5 to 6 years out versus what we’ve announced,” said Feige. “So whatever that takes us to.”
Which means that Marvel is already developing projects that we won’t even get to see until 2025 or 2026 (or maybe even later, if the ongoing pandemic gums up the works). We already know what Marvel has in store over the next few years, with 2021 already stacked with titles in both streaming and theatrical: the upcoming Disney+ series
WandaVision,
Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and the theatrical films
Black Widow and
Eternals. Further down the line we have Taika Waititi’s
Thor: Love and Thunder, the third
Spider-Man film starring Tom Holland, a MCU take on
Fantastic Four, and more. And of course, there’s the wealth of Marvel Disney+ shows for which
WandaVision will act as a test run.
Of the announced shows, Feige was able to reveal to Collider some of the expected runtimes for episodes of the upcoming slate.
WandaVision is a 9-episode miniseries comprised of half-hour episodes, but that format will change with each show, ranging from hour-long to somewhere in between.
“Well, we’re looking a little differently. We’re looking at it as developing them as either six hour-episodes, or nine or 10 half-hour episodes,” Feige explained. “So, for instance, WandaVision started that way […] as 30 minutes, but because it’s streaming, it’s Disney+, and the rules have blurred over the years, yes. Some can be 23 minutes. Some can be much longer than that. But She-Hulk, for instance, is being developed as 10 30-minute episodes. Some will be longer and some will be shorter. Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier is being developed as six 40-50-minute episodes.”
Feige didn’t mention runtimes for upcoming shows like
Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, or
What If, but he does expect
Moon Knight to fall in the six, 40-50 minute episode range.
So there you have it: Marvel will be a continued presence in both movie theaters and Disney+ for the foreseeable future, and Marvel Studios has everything down to episode runtimes planned to a tee.
Madame Gao needs to be retconned as being alive through multiverse fukkery and my man Nobu Nobu Nobu Nobu
