Marvel studios head Kevin Feige confirmed last month at San Diego Comic-Con that the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the TV event The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special would be the final installments of the franchise’s Phase 4. The franchise’s Phase 5 of storytelling will kick off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023, and as we head into new storytelling avenues for the franchise, many fans are looking back at the themes of Phases 1, 2, and 3, with each narrative arc having more obvious objectives. With Phase 4 seeing the debut of TV series on Disney+ to tie into the theatrical releases, this presented exciting new opportunities to expand the mythos of the MCU, especially in the fallout of the momentous Avengers: Endgame. While an obvious Phase 4 theme might not immediately be apparent, with its closure just around the corner, it becomes clear that Phase 4 of the MCU was meant to explore trauma, loss, grief, and how those things impact not just individual characters, but the universe (and multiverse) as a whole.
