‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ sequel will kick off the MCU’s Phase 4

It turns out that Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s sequel will be the first Marvel movie to hit post-Thanos Throwdown. Indeed, the flick is going to kick off Marvel’s Phase 4, and serves as a token for how much the Cinematic Universe has evolved. The character tasked with shepherding us through all the changes in the MCU after the climatic Avengers movies is himself a token to the evolution afoot, having not even been a part of Marvel’s repertoire when the MCU started.

/Film:

The last nine years and 16 films have been building up to the climactic face-off between the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Big Bad, Thanos. And it will all happen in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War and the mysterious Avengers 4 — two movies that are set to change the MCU as we know it. But what happens after that?

The movie dealing with the repercussions of the third and fourth Avengers film won’t be a sweeping Thor epic or another Captain America, but the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming, according to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. And as the only movie with a set release date after Avengers 4, the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel has the huge job of kicking off Phase 4 of the MCU. All in Peter Parker’s junior year.

In an interview with io9, Feige revealed that the Spider-Man sequel was “purposefully” set up to be released merely two months after Avengers 4, officially kickstarting Phase 4.

“So much happens in [the 3rd and 4th Avengers movies], as you can imagine, and so much is affected by it that we felt what better person to hold your hand and lead you into the next incarnation of the MCU, in a grounded, realistic manner, than Peter Parker? So, coming out two months after Untitled Avengers, [that’s what] much of what the next Spider-Man film will be about.

It was purposefully done like this. Like how the events of Captain America: Civil War impacted Peter as he was dropped off by Tony and expected to go back to continue his sophomore year, how the hell are the events of Infinity War and Untitled [Avengers] going to affect him as he, yes, goes back to his junior year?”