Recently a new trailer was released for an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Univers (MCU) movie - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which comes out in 2021. Over the course of 2020, we all got used to a lack of theatrical movie releases in general. Like many other movie producers and studios, the MCU pushed movie releases out of 2020 and instead focused more on their streaming series for Disney Plus. But, as we get deeper into 2021, big-time blockbuster feature films are making a comeback.
Let’s look at 4 movies we can expect to see from the MCU in 2021.
Black Widow (July 9)
The first feature film dedicated to Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow character was the most impacted by all the film release delays in 2020, as it was initially scheduled to come out last year. But, after multiple scheduling changes, it is now settled on July 9, 2021. To settle any confusion, the film takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War and before the last two Avengers films (Infinity War and Endgame). So, viewers will need to do a bit of a chronological rewind to get back into the right time and place for Black Widow. From what we know, it involves Johannsson’s character dealing with some unfinished business (some red in her ledger?) that involves her spy ‘family’. Rumors are it will also involve her handing off the mantle of the Black Widow to her ‘sister’ who will pick up the role going forward in the MCU.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (September 3)
The is the trailer that just came out that kicked off the idea for this article. The trailer doesn’t give us a full story yet, but the rumor is the film will introduce the ‘real’ Mandarin villain, possibly as Shang-Chi’s father. The movie looks like a great mix of standard MCU movies with classic kung-fu films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The cast includes some well-known martial arts actors like Michelle Yeoh and Tony Leung and Simi Liu as the title character. Where will all this fit into the existing MCU? Still TBD, but it feels like it may fall in between Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther. One open question is whether it meshes with Netflix series, Iron Fist at all since that was also based on martial arts and a certain amount of magic. The fate of all the characters from the various Netflix series remain open questions, with rumors we might see Daredevil make an appearance in Spider-Man.
Eternals (November 5)
We probably know less about this film than any of the upcoming MCU features. The teaser trailer reveals very little. So, what we know mostly comes from the cast and the comics themselves. From the comics, we know the Eternals are a powerful race of proto-humans created by the Celestials. So, the Eternals are extremely old (immortal?) and incredibly powerful beings that include Gemma Chan (Sersi), Salma Hayak (Ajak). Angelina Jolie (Thena), and Kit Harrington (The Black Knight). Beyond this, we don’t know much, but expect more trailers to come out soon.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (December 17)
The rumors around the third (and possibly last?) film in the current Spider-Man run have been rampant. As soon as Doctor Strange was confirmed as a part of the film and with the success of the animated Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse, some of the hottest rumors involved integrating the idea of the multi-verse into this movie. That immediately brought to mind a mashup of Spider-Men past, where Toby Mcquire and Andrew Garfield would show up as alternate versions of Peter parker from other parts of the multi-verse. These types of rumors were further fueled when Alfred Molina was spotted on set, reprising his role as Doctor Octopuss from Spider-Man 2. Outside of all the rumors, what do we know? Since it picks up the story immediately following Spider-Man: Far From Home, we can assume that Peter is going to be dealing with his public unveiling as Spider-Man.
