MCU Producer Reveals The Central Theme Of Marvel’s Phase 4

As Marvel Cinematic Universe pushes through Phase 4, it is serving a bunch of mysterious surprises to the fans. Along with ‘Thor: love and Thunder’ in its full swing, this chapter of MCU has witnessed the return of a few Avengers back in their form. Meanwhile, Marvel hasn’t forgotten to bring all-new heroes on screen.

The uniqueness of Phase 4 has definitely caught the eyes of the Marvel fans as this phase seems way too different from Infinity Saga. Though, the bag of reviews for Marvel’s latest creations includes quite a few criticisms. However, studio head Kevin Feige recently assured the fans saying that Phase 4 will surely feel “unique” and “different.”

Marvel Producer Comments On The Uniqueness Of Phase 4

Fans have started receiving a hint of the uniqueness of the current phase through MCU’s effort to bring new stories and heroes to life. For example, Taika Waititi’s ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ served fans with the first superhero rom-com from Marvel. On the other hand, fans got the chance to experience deep horror with ‘Moon Knight’ and ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.’

Although, the disparity in genres is quite confusing for fans. Marvel producer Richie Palmer thinks otherwise. Speaking to Chris Hewitt on Empire’s ‘Spoiler Special‘ podcast, Richie, who is the development head of all of Marvel Studios’ Phase 4 projects, discussed the unity in variety in the case of Marvel phase 4.

When asked whether Phase 4’s main theme is about “guilt” and “consequences,” Palmer confirmed that is the case. “100%. Cause Phase 4 is all a reaction – and I don’t mean on our part as filmmakers, I mean the characters – it’s a reaction to the trauma of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. We’re still feeling those effects in these movies years later,” he said.

The producer also discussed how Phase 4 explores a lot of the characters’ reactions to “what happens when you lose everything.”

He said, “I also saw a meme the other day, it was comparing her to Peter Parker. ‘What happens when you lose everything?’ You know, some people handle it differently than others. Peter Parker dove into the persona of Spider-Man at the end of No Way Home, he’s completely let the Spider-Man persona take over as a response to his loss and his trauma. For Peter, of course, being Spider-Man means going and being the biggest hero of all time.”

Richie Explains The Fate Of Wanda Maximoff

Palmer said they had a talk with Elizabeth Olsen regarding Wanda’s journey through the universe. They wanted the character to explore “a moment of accountability.” He added, “It’s also something we spoke to Elizabeth Olsen about every step of the way, that for her, Wanda’s full journey is leading to a moment of accountability. And we think she’s gotten there.”

But, in the end, it turned out really different with the character becoming the “worst villain of all time” and falling into the Scarlet Witch persona.

He said, “Wanda’s version was leaning solely into being the Scarlet Witch, which what we found out from Agatha and the Darkhold, through Wanda’s self-discovery, that that’s the opposite: [she becomes] the worst villain of all time, the destroyer of worlds. She’s aware now, ‘Oh, I’m supposed to be this god. I’ve always known this kinda, under the surface, but it’s now been told to me. Now, my way of dealing with my loss and trauma is just going full-in to what I am, which is the Scarlet Witch, so I’m going to be that.’ Of course, in our movie, she’s like, ‘I don’t want to be that, I want to go be with my kids. So leave me alone, but I’m just letting you know that I am the Scarlet Witch, so don’t mess with me.’”

Palmer concluded, “But it’s interesting, whether it’s Spider-Man or the Scarlet Witch or Black Widow after Civil War, this phase does feel like it’s about our heroes coming into their own, on their own, all figuring out their places in the world, and a lot of them are lonely now because of the losses suffered during those Avengers movies.”