Disney announces 2 new Marvel Avengers films

SAN DIEGO • Disney announced a slew of Marvel superhero movies, including two new Avengers films, last Saturday at Comic-Con, as it offered screaming fans an emotional first glimpse at its upcoming sequel to Black Panther (2018).

The record-breaking Marvel movies have dominated Hollywood and global box offices in recent years, with Avengers: Endgame (2019) briefly becoming the highest-grossing film of all time at more than US$2.79 billion (S$3.88 billion).

"I wonder if you guys wouldn't mind looking ahead a little bit?" studio president Kevin Feige asked the wildly cheering hall of die-hard superhero fans towards the end of a raucous hour-plus presentation at a San Diego convention centre.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars will hit cinemas in 2025, he then announced.

The films will aim to follow in the footsteps of Avengers: Endgame, which built unprecedented hype by rounding off storylines presented in all the preceding Marvel films.

The two new Avengers titles will conclude the next "saga" of more than a dozen interconnected films and television shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), said Mr Feige. "That will complete the second saga of the MCU, which, of course, is The Multiverse Saga."

The Marvel franchise in recent films and shows has explored the "multiverse" concept popularised by superhero comic books, in which infinite universes - and infinite versions of each hero and villain - exist in parallel realities.

The Marvel presentation capped off the biggest day at Comic-Con, and drew the week's loudest and most frenzied cheers in the 6,000 capacity Hall H, where many had camped in line for days to gain access.

It ended with the first trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, a sequel to the first comic book film to win a best picture Oscar nomination, set to premiere on Nov 11.

Returning director Ryan Coogler, taking to the San Diego stage with a colourful troupe of African drummers and dancers, paid an emotional tribute to the first film's star, the "late, great Chadwick Boseman".

Boseman died from cancer at age 43 in August 2020, and his role is not being taken over by another actor in the new film.

"I promise you, I can feel his hand on me right now," said Coogler, 36. "Chad is no longer with us physically, but his spirit, his passion, his genius, his pride in his culture, and the impact he made on this industry will be felt forever."

He then presented new characters in the franchise being played by Michaela Coel and Tenoch Huerta.

Coel, who won an Emmy for black comedy-drama I May Destroy You (2020), praised the unique energy of the first Black Panther film, which was widely seen as a breakthrough for black representation in mainstream Hollywood movies.

She said: "I think it's got something to do with a black superhero, padded out a clan of black superheroes and what that kind of does for black people," she said.

Meanwhile, the upcoming prequel to HBO's Game Of Thrones (2011 to 2019) will explore the origins of the Targaryen dynasty, starting at the time of the family's greatest power, the cast and creators told fans at Comic-Con last Saturday.

House Of The Dragon, which debuts on Aug 21, takes place 200 years before the events of Game Of Thrones, a mediaeval fantasy series that became a global phenomenon during an eight-season run.

The new 10-episode series tells the story of a "generational war" among the Targaryens, executive producer Ryan Condal said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS