This may be the first time you've seen this image, but it's fairly doubtful if you're geeking out enough to read yet another person's ideas on the future direction of Marvel's movies. If you look closely at this image you will notice that all of the release dates attatched to the coming Marvel movies that we know about are spot on. We now know that RDJ has signed on for Cap 3, and Fallen Son is one of two titles being decided upon. The casting of Dr. Strange is the hot topic online, and Fiege himself has confirmed a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel soon. That is enough connection so far for me to wonder why no one has used this skeleton to predict the story points that Marvel has already laid out.
One basic point that I think this movie was intended to show the rift between Stark and almost everyone else introduced, the best way to explain a lack of Iron Man in future plans is that he won't be liked in the universe very much for the next while. Stark is going to carry a heavy burden for the aftermath of Ultron's destruction, this has been one of his defining character traits in the MCU. This devastation could even be what drives the Super Hero Registration Act to initiate. Banner is holding some serious guilt through Hulk's actions in this movie, and this was on display in the trailer.
In order to explain the World War Hulk movie later on in this slate, let's assume that the rumours of Hulk being tasked to hold Ultron down while they shoot him into space are true. Tony could convince Banner that THIS is what Hulk 'saved his life for', but Cap wouldn't like this decision and splinters from Tony. Thus creating the team he's supposed to assemble at the end of this movie.
I'm thinking that this whole decision to take the next phase into Civil War was established around the same time the afforementioned slate was released. Inclusion of it into Ant-Man could easily be the adjustments that Wright didn't want to concede. The script isn't said to have altered too much, so we can assume the total rift of Civil War hasn't occurred yet.
This movie will have the introduction of the Super Hero Registration Act. We could see this divide center around Bucky and the sins he committed while The Winter Soldier, but the truth is that the why doesn't matter as much as the fact that it exists. This could be a great way to tie Agents of Shield, the Netflix series, and the MCU together quite tightly.
Keeping away from too much speculation, these four heroes as well as those we've been introduced to in Agents of Shield will all fall on one side of the issue or the other. When you combine the Defenders with the hero of the next movie, you end up with a team that closely resembles an incarnation of the New Avengers.
This movie could either tie into the Infinity Stones/Cosmic storytelling thread of the MCU, or it could use the Eye of Agamotto as a distinct power cell. I once thought that the Inhumans would be birthed in the MCU by exposure to Infinity Stone power, but the Obelisk or Diviner is decidedly Kree. As Thor introduced us to the various realms, this movie will introduce us to various dimensions. The stinger could end up being Strange detecting troubling developments in Asgard Space.
Loki's climb to power in order to hide from Thanos and possess the Tesseract if he does come knocking will have initiated Asgard's prophesized End Times. Thor will give his life to save the rest of Asgard, and we can see a reawakening like Strazinsky's comic run in the stinger. They could go with another actor at this time if the contract negotiations require it. This wouldn't be done for some time though, as Thor needs to be out of the picture for Civil War now that Hulk is already removed. They are simply too powerful to have on the board.
There are certain things that Gunn has promised in this sequel, and it will likely involve Adam Warlock and the Soul Stone and very possibly Thanos wiping Xandar off the map in his collection of the stones. These won't likely be the central story points, and neither will Hulk. More likely is that the Guardians run into Banner, Ultron, and the ship in the stinger and head back to Earth to bring Hulk home.
While Wakanda, Klaw, and Black Panter are likely to be introduced in Age of Ultron, we won't get a proper look into the culture of the Panthers until this movie. It could be very cool if the meteorite that landed in Wakanda providing the nation with their Vibranium was a containment vessel for the Time Stone, and this advantage is what allowed Wakanda to develop their technology so much further than the rest of the world.
This will likely have some major moments that change the landscape of the MCU moving forward, but the main plot point for the grander scheme will be to show the massive divide among these heroes. This will make the next assembly a bigger deal to show the magnitude of Thanos' coming.
This movie will have Quill return to Earth with Banner. Hulk isn't going to have many happy feelings toward his fellow Avengers, and fresh after the hero-on-hero fights of Civil War, we will get to see Hulk take on the champions. This brings Hulk back into the fold, and has the Guardians of the Galaxy on Earth for the defense of what's around the corner...
Whether we have a Secret Wars type of showdown between Thanos and the heroes of the MCU or an all-out invasion, the added firepower of the Inhumans and Black Bolt will be necessary to bring Thanos and his minions down. We could also learn that the Kree were responsible for hiding the Tesseract on Earth, and planted the Inhuman seed in human DNA as a defense system that could be activated upon necessity. Now the MCU is finally ready to reveal its largest movie event yet...
This event could be split into two movies which will be filmed at the same time. With the combination of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Netflix heroes, Inhumans, and the ever-expanding roster of Avengers, this will be the MCU event that has people looking back at the money the first Avengers made like watching a baby take their first steps. If he hasn't been reintroduced before this, we could finally discover that Thanos found Red Skull just as he found Loki and our introduction to the Masters of Evil could be as Thanos' henchmen.
Tuesday's announcement could make this all pointless, or it could all come together and be revealed to be close to true. I've tried to keep my wishes out of this article, and just keep to the story points that can connect these films together. My biggest wish would be that Marvel ups its output to 3 films a year so that this will all get to us sooner, but Marvel is balancing between over-saturation and burn out. I just hope they have marketing experts who know exactly what they are doing with this.
Give a thumb if you agree, I'd love to hear your comments whether you agree or not, and continue to Make Mine Marvel.