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It turns out that sort of out-of-place Natalie Portman cameo in Avengers: Endgame was a little more important than anyone could have guessed. The actor, who hasn’t played a major role in any MCU movie since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, will be making a return to the MCU to reprise her role as Jane Foster in Thor: Love And Thunder–with one major caveat: she’ll be wielding Mjolnir.

Director Taika Waititi took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con during the massive Marvel Studios panel to surprise fans. Moderator Jessica Chobot prompted Waititi with a question about what comic book storylines had inspired him, which Waititi was quick to answer. “When we were shooting Ragnarok, I was reading Jason Aaron’s Mighty Thor, and it introduces female Thor [Jane Foster]. So, there’s only one person who can do that.”

Natalie Portman herself then took the stage to massive applause, before being handed her own replica Mjolnir to really drive Jane’s new MCU status quo home.

“This feels pretty good,” Portman laughed, “I’ve always had a little hammer envy.”

Jane’s turn as Thor came after Thor Odinson was rendered unworthy by a cosmically aware Nick Fury (don’t ask), who confirmed that a villain named Gor the God Butcher, who believed all gods in the universe were fundamentally horrible and wrong, was “right.” By whispering that simple phrase: “Gor was right,” Thor found himself experiencing such a crisis of confidence that he could no longer lift Mjolnir.

Thankfully, Mjolnir’s powers have some strings attached, if you remember its inscription–“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” During Thor’s crisis, Jane, who had actually been battling fatal cancer, was able to lift the hammer and become imbued with the powers. As a deity, Jane’s cancer was also “cured,” but only while she was in her Thor form, creating a dangerous catch-22 when she would revert back to her mortal self.

It’s unclear what the set up for Jane’s transformation in the MCU will actually be, since as far as we know she has been in perfect health, but with Doctor Strange 2‘s introduction of the multiverse, it seems like anything and everything is possible.

Thor: Love And Thunder will hit theaters on November 5, 2021.

Marvel’s big San Diego Comic-Con panel outlined lots of new plans for Phase 4, but a few notable omissions raised eyebrows. Specifically the panel didn’t make any major announcements surrounding Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Black Panther 2, or Captain Marvel 2.

But fear not, true-believers; all of them are still on the way. MCU boss Kevin Feige offhandedly joked near the end of the panel that they just didn’t have time to fit all their plans in, alongside a brief mention of the X-Men and Fantastic Four. None of those got a spotlight at this particular event, which largely focused on new franchises and surprise announcements.

The panel announced the Black Widow and Eternals movies in 2020, followed by Shang-Chi, Dr. Strange 2, and Thor 4 featuring Natalie Portman reprising her role as Jane Foster, who in this movie will become the Goddess of Thunder. The panel’s big surprise came at the very end, with the announcement of Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali as the title character in a new Blade movie.

All of these announcements came alongside more details for the MCU TV series that will be offered through the Disney+ service. Falcon and Winter Soldier will premiere in fall 2020, and then WandaVision and Loki in spring 2021. A “What If?” animated series is coming in summer 2021, and then a Hawkeye series in the fall.

It’s not clear if Guardians 3, Black Panther 2, or Captain Marvel 2 could fit around these plans, or if those films have been pushed into Phase 5.

It was an absolutely jam-packed Marvel Studios Hall H panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con including first looks at the recently confirmed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings, Thor 4, titled Thor: Love And Thunder, Black Widow, The Eternals, as well as Disney+ TV shows like Loki and Falcon and Winter Soldier. At the end, it felt as if there was no more news left in the Marvel Universe for fans to get.

But nothing in the MCU is ever what it seems. As the panel wrapped up for the evening, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige dropped a handful of playful teases that serve as confirmation for something fans have been clamoring about for years: the inclusion of not only the Fantastic Four, but “mutants” (you know, like the X-Men) in the MCU.

“We talked about so much tonight, it’s a shame we didn’t have time to talk about Black Panther 2, about Captain Marvel 2, about Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 […]” Feige joked, “We didn’t have time to talk about the Fantastic Four, or about the mutants.”

The recent Disney/Fox merger has made both additions to the shared universe possible, meaning that the confirmation isn’t exactly unexpected–but it is certainly more than welcome.

With D23, Disney’s own pop culture convention, just around the corner on August 23 through the 25th in Anaheim, California, we can certainly expect to hear more very, very soon.

Marvel outlined its upcoming plans for its the MCU Phase 4 during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, and it includes a way to slightly ret-con one of its most divisive villain choices. The company announced that the Mandarin is going to be represented as a villainous threat closer to his comic inspirations–and it’s even working the twisty Iron Man 3 plot in.

Essentially, Iron Man 3 established the Mandarin as a cover for the film’s real threat, the industrialist Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). Killian had been manufacturing a terrorist threat via a bumbling actor pretending to be the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). It was a clever take, but some fans voiced disappointment over a classic character being treated as a punchline. The next phase of the MCU will address that head-on.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings will bring on actor Tony Leung as the iconic villain. The ten rings is a reference to both a major part of the Mandarin’s character, and to references already made in the MCU.

“The 10 rings have been in the MCU from the very beginning,” Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige said during the panel. “There is a real Mandarin, and he was quite upset with the imposter in Iron Man 3.”

Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton added that now that he’s been given a peek behind the curtain, “incredible things have been thought out from the very beginning.” That suggests that the plot beats will at least feel like a natural fit with the rest of the MCU.

Shang-Chi is scheduled to hit theaters on February 12, 2021. It follows a kung fu master, and is the first film to feature an Asian lead in the MCU. For more on the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, be sure to check out all the Phase 4 plans revealed during the SDCC panel.

We just got a big bang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. During its panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, Marvel Studios laid out several new movies coming in Phase 4, starting with Black Widow on May 1, 2020, and including several other movies and TV series to build fan’s hype.

Panel-goers got a close look at Black Widow, the first standalone film for the Avengers character played by Scarlett Johansson. That movie is a prequel, filling in the backstory of the former Agent of SHIELD and Russian spy. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige filled fans in on the movie’s cast, and there was even a trailer that ran during the panel. Fans also heard about other movies coming in 2020, including The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and new information about previously announced series Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki.

We’ve got all the big announcements below to bring you up to speed instantly. You should also check out our Comic-Con hub for a rundown of all the news to come out of this year’s convention, including from Marvel, and beyond.

Release Schedule

Here’s everything that’s coming in 2020 and 2021 in the MCU, including movies and series, and when you can expect to see them.

Black Widow

The Avenger’s standalone film is a prequel that digs into her pre-SHIELD Agent past, and Marvel finally revealed when it’ll hit theaters.

Eternals

Marvel Studios boss confirmed Eternals is really, truly coming in Phase Four, and it’ll be “full Jack Kirby.”

Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

Marvel is digging up elements it introduced in the Iron Man movies, including terrorist organization Ten Rings and the Mandarin, the “real” version of the supervillain.

Doctor Strange 2: Madness In The Multiverse

Doctor Strange is coming back, with the MCU multiverse opening up a whole lot more mystical stuff for him to deal with.

Thor: Love And Thunder

Marvel revealed the title of Thor 4, which is helmed by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi and will see the return of Natalie Portman’s character, Jane Foster.

Blade

Yup, Blade is happening–and it’ll star Mahershala Ali as the half-vampire superhero.

Falcon And The Winter Soldier

Here’s what’s going on when Captain America’s best friends team up in the upcoming Disney+ show.

WandaVision

Wanda and Vision are bringing some romance to the MCU with their Disney+ series.

Loki

Marvel explained a little about the mischief and mayhem Loki is liable to get up to, now that he’s free in the universe post-Endgame.

What If…?

Marvel is exploiting the multiverse with What If…?, an animated series that sees heroes and villains thrown into strange situations.

Hawkeye

We finally learned a bit about the upcoming series starring the sharpshooting Avenger.

Fantastic Four and X-Men

Marvel also hinted that the Fantastic Four and mutants would make their way into the MCU, thanks to Disney’s purchase of Fox’s movie wing.

As if the avalanche of MCU Phase Four films and Disney+ show news from Marvel Studios’ San Diego Comic Con panel wasn’t enough already, the world’s biggest purveyor of superhero film and TV fare decided to save one of the their biggest announcements for last: Blade, the half vampire-half human last seen being portrayed by Wesley Snipes, is being rebooted for the big screen.

And while Wesley Snipes was amazing in the three Blade films already made in the early 2000s, the new Blade has serious acting chops: two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali will be our new vampire hunter.

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