The Marvel Cinematic Universe (As of March 2013)

I can't very well talk about the DC films, can I?  Right now the only thing definite is this summer's "Man of Steel," and all of those "Justice League in 2015!" rumors have fallen by the wayside.  We'll see, we'll see...

1. Iron Man 3 (May 2013)

Early reports on this movie liken it to a superhero version of "Patriot Games."  The trailer looks promising, and it will be good to finally see The Mandarin (what?  No Fin Fang Foom?).  This movie looks darker than the first two films, and they seem to have amped up the drama.

There is speculation to the effect that Tony will be suiting up and traveling into space at the end of this one, and once there encountering The Guardians of the Galaxy.  There is also speculation that Wasp will make an appearance in the film, or that it will be Ant-Man instead of The Guardians at the end.  I would prefer Ant-Man.

2. Thor: the Dark World (November 2013)

This movie, like "Iron Man 3" has concluded filming.  Still no trailer yet, but many on-set photos have surfaced on the Net.  In this installment, Thor travels around the Nine Realms and squares off against Melekith, Kurse, and the Enchantress.  Too early to say what the end credits might reveal, but I would love it if Beta Ray Bill's ship showed up somewhere.  That, or Surtur's presence was hinted at.  I didn't like the first "Thor" all that much, even though it was better than I expected.  I think this one will be good.

3. Captain America: the Winter Soldier (April 2014)

Kevin Feige has described this as a "70's political thriller masquerading as a superhero movie," so I imagine the tone will be quite different from "Captain America: The First Avenger."  The title suggests that Bucky, his sidekick from the first film, will return from the dead as an assassin.  The Falcon is also in this one, as is Crossbones.  Many of the supporting characters from The Avengers also reappear.

I can't understand why they wanted to include The Falcon in this movie.  Yeah, I realize that he has a long history with Captain America, but he's got to be one of the gayest black superheroes ever.  Seriously, The Falcon?  The guy that talks to birds?

4. Guardians of the Galaxy (August 2014)

There are still very few details available, though some promotional art has been released.  The Guardians are Drax the Destroyer, Groot, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, and Gamora.  James Gunn is directing, and it begins filming in June 2013.  No one has been officially cast as yet.

Kevin Feige has stated that this film and "Thor: The Dark World" will take the brunt of the cosmic events in the MCU, so perhaps the two films will tie together.  As Thanos appeared at the end of "The Avengers," and The Guardians are known for their battles with Thanos, it seems likely that Thanos will also appear in this movie.

I'm still not sure how this film is going to work.  It does, after all, feature a talking raccoon (anyone remember "Howard the Duck"?).  It could be that it is aimed more at kids.

5. The Avengers 2 (May 2015)

The first "Avengers" was the third highest-grossing film of ALL TIME, and set numerous other records.  This said, the sequel is inevitable.  Even if Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, and Scarlet Johannson ALL died in a plane crash tomorrow, you can be certain that we would see CGI versions of them bantering their way through "Avengers 2."

No news on the plot yet.  Still too early to say.  I'm assuming Thanos will be the villain, though I would love it if the Red Skull found his way back through that wormhole.

6. Ant-Man (November 2015)

This movie has taken its sweet time, but it seems more likely now than it has ever been.  Edgar Wright will direct, and the film will feature both Scott Lang and Henry Pym.  Test footage has been shot, the release date has been set, so one would assume that Ant-Man will indeed kick off Marvel's "Phase Three" in 2015.

7. And Later On....?

Kevin Feige keeps dropping hints that a Doctor Strange movie is in the works.  I would freaking love to see Doctor Strange.  I am tempted to think that after focusing on the cosmic stuff in "Phase Two," the more magic-oriented characters will get their day in "Phase Three."  Not, of course, that an Asgardian thunder god is scientific in any sense of the word.

But beyond Strange, what other characters might we see?  I'm hoping that "Phase Three" won't be too sequel-heavy, and a few of the untried, less recognizable characters will get their own films.  I could do without "Iron Man 4," "Thor 3," and "Captain America 3."  Marvel needs to give other heroes a chance.

As a comic book character, Spider Woman has considerable assets.

More minority and/or female superheroes would be a welcome change from the usual run of white males.  I'd like to see a Spider Woman film, even though that seems unlikely and there may also be issues with Sony over the use of the word "Spider".  Luke Cage would make a great movie, and Ms. Marvel could be interesting.  The Black Panther would be my first choice among the "second tier" heroes, both because he is, well, black, and also because his backstory is significantly different from heroes we've seen already. 

Despite what I said about sequels above, I would like to see another Hulk movie.  Ed Norton's Hulk is still my favorite of the Marvel films, and the Hulk is my favorite Marvel character bar none.  "The Incredible Hulk" set up the Leader as his next adversary, and they could truly go places with that idea.