Avengers: Endgame may be a closing chapter for the MCU, but it’s not necessarily the end of Phase Three. Kevin Feige says that the Web-Slinger’s next film will end this current phase.
Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is shaping up to be quite different than some may have expected. Despite this week’s Avengers: Endgame being hailed as an ending to an 11-year saga, it isn’t being deemed the official end to the MCU’s Phase Three.
Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige revealed this late last week during Endgame‘s press tour in Shanghai, China. As ScreenRant reports, when a reporter at the event asked Feige about Spider-Man: Far From Home and the phases of the MCU, Feige quite matter-of-factly revealed: “It’s the end of the third phase,” — meaning Spider-Man: Far From Home will actually be the last movie in the MCU’s Phase Three.
Seeming almost surprised that he revealed that himself, Feige added, “You’re the first one I’ve told that to.”
Both ScreenRant and Uproxx mention that it’s not an anomaly for a phase to end on a movie that isn’t an Avengers film. But at the same time, based on what we know about Endgame, it seems like an odd move to have Far From Home close Phase Three over the fourth Avengers installment.
Avengers: Endgame has literally been marketed as the “grand conclusion to 22 films.” Fans have worried about characters dying, and even the movie’s celebrities have hinted that they’re reached their last days in the MCU (take Chris Evans or Gwyneth Paltrow, for example).
With Thanos (hopefully) defeated, and the snapped away Avengers finally back, it would make sense that Far From Home would mark a new chapter of the MCU. It’d be a fresh start, beginning with the new generation of heroes, and it would signal that the past was in the past.
Except, now that Feige claims Far From Home will end the phase instead of beginning it, that puts the movie into a new perspective. Will Far From Home really have that “clean slate” kind of feeling, or will there be something more linking this movie to Endgame? Phases One through Three have officially been called the Infinity Saga. So, with that connection, could it be possible that the Infinity Stones will play a small part in what happens in Far From Home? As of now, it’s not clear how the stones could fit into the narrative, but it’s one of the few ways that rationalizes Far From Home still being in Phase Three.
By now, some of us may be having Infinity Stone fatigue — and the good news is that the Infinity Saga is finally coming to a close. But knowing Spider-Man: Far From Home is still part of this saga, we know the story isn’t completely over just yet.
Avengers: Endgame will begin premiering in theaters this Thursday evening. Spider-Man: Far From Home will now be in theaters early on July 2.