Marvel tilted the dump truck and dropped a small pile of coming-soon on us over the weekend. While the intended schedule beyond 2025 aims to have 2 movies and 3 tv shows per year, there is a LOT more than that for Marvel content in the next 14 months. These next big titles feel quite connected as well, starting with the 70’s-style political spy thriller Captain America: Brave New World in February, followed by the gritty espionage action flick team-up Thunderbolts* in May. That attention-grabbing asterisk, combined with the close release dates, makes me suspect that something in the first movie will cause a title change for the second. Mark my words. But that’s enough set-up, let’s watch some trailers.

Many people are pointing to the big oceanic set piece in these trailers at the site of Tiamat’s eruption (from the less-than-loved Eternals movie) and saying “Finally! They’re addressing the GIGANTIC plot hole!” But this movie actually reaches back way farther into the MCU than that. All the way back to the very second movie The Incredible Hulk. Samuel Sterns gets gamma-radiation lab juice on his head in the chaos of the third act, teasing his return as The Leader somewhere down the line. Only we haven’t heard a peep of that character since, save for some loose reference in the She-Hulk tv show. Sterns is back in THIS movie as the quintessential shadowy figure pulling strings from behind the scenes. But then…

Yelena’s going through a bit of a funk these days. She’s done misadventuring with Kate Bishop in New York and isn’t feeling the joy from the job anymore. Marvel could take her story to the “newfound family” place, but I’m not sure it’s all going to be that simple. We’ve still seen very little about Bob – aka Sentry – but his arrival in the MCU is going to have some sizeable shockwaves. And again, stand by for a big last-minute title change stunt come February that will give this film more context.

BONUS: A fresh trailer for the final season of the Marvel Animation series WHAT IF…?

As much as the superhero movie fatigue is in full force these days, I have to say that this paring of theatrical releases does look really good. It’s a side of the MCU we haven’t had a good look at in quite a long time – thanks to the flop that was Secret Invasion.. What are you most excited to see?