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'Ant-Man' & 'Doctor Strange' Confirmed as Part of Marvel's Phase Three

by Ethan Anderton
January 25, 2013
Source: MTV

We've been hearing about Marvel bringing lesser known characters like Ant-Man and Doctor Strange to the big screen for years with little to no development. Thankfully, this year's Comic-Con brought news and test footage of Edgar Wright's take on the pint-sized superhero with a release scheduled for November of 2015. Now we have a little bit more of a frame for these new Marvel films and how they fit in with the cinematic universe as Kevin Feige talked to MTV and revealed that Ant-Man is the start of Phase Three and that Doctor Strange will definitely be one of the other new characters being introduced in that phase.

Feige talked about Ant-Man and how it stands on its own but also ties in with their universe:

"'Ant-Man' is definitely part of Phase Three. Like 'Iron Man 3,' it's certainly set in the Marvel Universe, but it's also through the lens of Edgar Wright — which is the only reason we're making the movie.

I've known Edgar since our first lunch together at Comic-Con in 2004. He asked me what Marvel was doing with 'Ant-Man' — we weren't even a studio then; what a difference eight years makes! It's very much an 'Ant-Man' origin movie from the perspective of Edgar Wright and his co-writer Joe Cornish. It will of course be firmly planted in the MCU, but a different corner than we've seen before."

Does that mean Phase Three won't have any major ties to our characters in The Avengers? After all, these characters start to get a little more cosmic and strange (no pun intended), so they might not fit in as well with the superhero ensemble. Plus, the roster for The Avengers can only be so big before the films start to feel bloated. However, the way Feige talks about Phase Three and even Phase Two, it sounds like The Avengers might evolve to allow for the more outlandish comic book elements from other stories to come through in the Marvel cinematic universe. Feige says:

"So much of the stories we're telling [right now] is about the core 'Avengers' characters we've now met, and they'll be evolving in big, surprising ways, in Cap's next movie and Thor's next movie and of course in 'Iron Man 3,' as we get them all into the next 'Avengers' film. Beyond that… 'Ant-Man' is the only one officially announced, but you probably don't have to look too far to guess at the next list of characters we're toying with and beginning to develop. 'Doctor Strange,' which I've been talking about for years, is definitely one of them. He's a great, original character, and he checks the box off this criteria that I have: he's totally different from anything else we have, just like 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' He's totally different from anything we've done before, as is 'Ant-Man,' which keeps us excited."

It sounds like Marvel is going to be even more bold in the coming years by giving the spotlight to their lesser known characters and having The Avengers give them a bit of a boost. At this point, if a film is going to be part of this big Marvel universe, fans are probably going to have quite a thirst for these new heroes. However, much of that success will depend on the directors bringing them to the big screen. If unique and gifted names like Edgar Wright can board these project and give them a style all their own, this should work out just fine. What do you think about Ant-Man and Doctor Strange movies in Phase Three?

Filed under Development, Movie News

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