Kevin Feige, the president of production at Marvel, has confirmed that the film company has its long-term plans set out, and that they have planned their slate of superhero adventures up until 2021.
Feige told Wired magazine, “”Five years ago, looking at our plan, we knew that if Avengers was going to work, the movies had to stand alone. Now we have to prove to the studio that we’re more than just these five characters, these five franchises.”
Feige then added, “”I could arguably say what we’re planning for the year 2021. Will that happen? I don’t know. But what we planned for 2015 in 2006 is happening.”
Marvel has three untitled movies planned for 2016 and 2017, and Feige has alluded that these efforts will be the beginning of various other franchises, and they will see the company’s cinematic universe expand even further.
Guardians of the Galaxy , which will be released next summer, is expected to be a key movie in this development, and at 2013 Comic Con in San Diego last month, Feige confirmed that Thanos, an integral character than links various characters in the comic books, would be involved in the adventure.
Feige stated in July, after the announcement, “I think somebody on the Guardians panel let loose that Thanos is a part of the movie, which he is. Thanos plays a part in Guardians, as the mastermind.” He went on to add, “He very much exists on nearly another plane from any of the other characters and we have big plans for him over a long long time.”
At the panel, Gunn confirmed “We have Thanos. Thanos is the thing connecting us to the rest of the Marvel Universe at this point. And in the future we’ll see what happens after this, but for right now, we’re connected to the rest of the Marvel Universe because we’re resetting the end of The Avengers.”