The new announcements of Marvel’s soon-to-be released movies, which will be labeled as “Phase Four” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), are shrouded in mystery and have people curious as to what will come next.

Many plans for Phase Four have yet to be set in stone, but as of right now, there are six movies that have planned release dates and will all come out within two years of each other. Marvel Phase Four has no planned Avengers movie or Captain America movie, which leaves some wondering who might step up to fill in for the absence of some of Marvel’s biggest and most recognizable characters.

“I think [the exclusion of an Avengers movie] is great, because Marvel’s very character driven,” junior Lexi Gallagher said. “[In Endgame] everyone came together and a bunch of people just died and the world was destroyed a little bit. So I think everyone’s just trying to cope at the moment. I think it’s very fitting that [Marvel] would take time for solo films.”

Black Widow is one of the original avengers and after ten years, her story is finally being told on the big screen. The movie is being produced by Scarlett Johansson, the actor for Black Widow. Although the film has been a long time coming, some fan reactions are mixed about seeing her in her own solo movie.

“I think it’s an interesting choice,” teacher Justina Davitz said. “I don’t know much about her backstory, so I don’t know how it’s going to turn into a full movie. But I think that [Black Widow] has a lot of potential to make a movie and it’ll be great to have another female lead in a Marvel movie for sure.”

Another big surprise to fans is the two newest additions to the MCU with the introduction of new characters from “The Eternals” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”

“I’m excited about the new movies,” junior Alli Merz said. “I think they’re going to take it in a new direction. I think that they’re expanding it to make it a little more fun for everybody, and make it more interesting for themselves as filmmakers, instead of replaying the same storyline, just with different characters.”

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” dives deeper into the Ten Rings terrorist group as well as the Mandarin, who was the villain in the first Iron Man film. Although Marvel revealed that the man behind the Mandarin was in reality an actor paid to play the part, this new movie will feature the real villain behind the name. Shang-Chi is also the first Marvel movie to be centered around the martial arts and star a majority Asian cast, including it’s lead actor.

“It’s good that Marvel is starring more people of color because then they have more diversity,” sophomore Kaleigh Jarret said. “[Having a movie about martial arts] would be really cool to see the art of it on screen. [Including different genres in Marvel is] good because then it’s not just like one type of movie and you can get more people interested in them.”

“The Eternals” movie will have characters based off of Greek mythology and will have new villains called the Deviants which Thanos is descended from. It will possibly give more information about the infinity stones and talk about the Celestials, beings comparable to gods that have made appearances in the MCU through “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

“It would have been really nice to have the backstory of the infinity stones,” Davitz said. “I wish it would have happened sooner. I think the “Eternals” characters will be really interesting to explore.”

“Thor: Love and Thunder” will be taken in a drastically new direction as this time around the thunder god will be played by a woman. Natalie Portman, who in previous Thor movies played the thunder god’s romantic interest, Jane Foster, will now be taking the helm away from Chris Hemsworth. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Valkyrie are both going to appear in the film and the movie will possibly feature LGBTQ plus representation.

“I like the idea of a female Thor and I like the storyline in the comics,” Merz said. “But if they use the Natalie Portman version, I won’t be a fan because she’s tiny. Thor, I think she’s called Woman Thor in the comics, is a very built woman and I think that having someone like that would also help younger generations of girls now and show them that you can be a muscular woman and still be beautiful. I think [the LGBTQ plus storyline is] going to be Valkyrie and I think that’ll be very helpful for the Marvel Universe because it’ll bring in even more fans and also open people’s minds, hopefully.”

There are many wondering how Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will proceed after the destruction of the time stone in Marvel’s Endgame. Scarlet Witch is said to be making an appearance in the movie and a new concept might be introduced, called the Nightmare Dimension, which has the possibility of being the source of the movie’s antagonist.

“Having Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange, I think is very interesting and weird,” Gallagher said. “I think there are some theories about how she’s going to be a villain, which I think would be very cool to explore. But I’m excited to get into the multiverse in the more magical realm of Marvel.”

Fans of Marvel will have to wait until the official release of the Phase Four movies in order to hopefully get answers to all their questions and see their favorite characters in theaters, as well as the addition of some new ones.

“I hope some good people step up and take their place,” Gallagher said. “I just I hope Marvel didn’t shoot themselves in the foot with Endgame. I hope that they continue to do what they do well, and that is make good compelling stories about good compelling people.”