At this point, 12 years in, if a new fan wanted to get completely up to date with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they would have to watch 23 two-hour-ish movies, well over 400 hours of television, a handful of digital shorts, and most importantly, thatGuardians of the Galaxymusic video.
Marvel Studios seems to have suddenly become aware of that as, after a year-long pandemic break, it finally prepares tospin up its next programming block, code-named Phase 4. Announced last week,Marvel Studios: Legendsis a streaming show on Disney+ that “revisits some of the most iconic moments from the MCU, one character at a time.”
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The actual format of the show has yet to be officially revealed. Given the short time between its announcement and planned debut, however, it’s probably safe to assume thatLegendswill be what’s sometimes called a “clip show,” which edits together old footage and dialogue in a new package to create what’s nominally a new work.
The first two episodes ofLegendsare said to be about Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), presumably as a setup forthe forthcomingWandaVisionDisney+ series, which debuts exactly one week afterLegends.
Not much is currently known about the upcoming project. It would make sense if more episodes ofLegendswere planned to come out a week or two ahead of the next handful of series andfilms in the MCU, as a refresher or starting point, but nobody outside Disney knows for sure if that is going to happen. However, there is currently no real way to tell what the show will look like from what little Disney has said.
This year ended up being the first since 2009 to not have at least one new Marvel movie being released.Black Widow,a prequel starring Scarlett Johannsonin what might be her last performance as Natasha Romanoff, is planned as the first installment in a new plot arc for the MCU. This will also include sequels toDoctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Ant-Man,andSpider-Man. Due to lockdown orders forcing theaters to close worldwide, and Disney’s apparent reluctance to release the film on VOD services,Black Widowhas been repeatedly delayed and iscurrently scheduled for wide release on June 14, 2025.
The first two episodes ofMarvel Studios: Legendsare slated to premiere on Disney+ on January 8.
