by The lead writer of Avengers 5 recently highlighted why he doesn’t focus much on the Phase concept as the MCU transitions from Phase 4 to Phase 5.
With the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the MCU’s Phase 5 officially began, launching a slate of at least 12 new motion pictures and television programmes that will premiere by the year 2024. At the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, Phase 6 will house both Avengers 5 and Avengers 6, which will be the first time the MCU concentrates on Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as a group.
Marvel produced a film commemorating the beginning of Phase 5 as part of the Ant-Man 3 promotional tour, following an MCU record 18 live-action projects that made their Phase 4 debuts between 2021 and 2022.
Although the concept doesn’t necessarily have much of an impact on those creating the MCU’s next entrants, this new Phase is already generating a lot of attention.
Writer of Avengers 5 Discusses MCU Phases
Writer Jeff Loveness of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty talked about his most recent project, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in an interview with Gizmodo.
Loveness said that he genuinely “[doesn’t] know what phase we’re on” at all when asked if he knew he would be directing the first film of Phase 5.
Loveness stated that he had heard the term “Phase 5” “more in the last two months” than he did throughout the production of Ant-Man 3: The Last Stand.
“I have heard the term ‘Phase Five’ more in the last two months than [the entire time making the movie.] [Laughs] No, I think that’s more of almost a thing for the internet than anything.”
Even while he is aware of how many Marvel films there are and how fans want them to interact, he also acknowledges his own upbringing in a tiny village with few people around him:
“Like, obviously there are 30 Marvel movies. You want them to connect. You want to propel them into the next phase, which this is the beginning of. We’ve got a plan and it’s going to be very exciting with Avengers. But in the back of my head, I’m a kid from a small town of like 200 people. We didn’t even have a movie theater in my town. So in the back of my head I thought ‘My cousin’s going to go watch this. Who knows if he’s seen Loki? Let’s just make a fun movie.’ Even if you just know who Paul Rudd is, you kind of get what’s going on. Context clues will help you out with the rest.”
Loveness emphasised in his interview with SlashFilm that he “could care less about what phase we’re in,” preferring to give viewers “a fun family adventure comedy” that people will want to watch in theatres instead:
“You know, I just tried to focus on writing this movie, and then you can kind of fish-food a couple of things to go forward. I could care less about what phase we’re in. It’s more about just making this fun family adventure comedy with a great villain. I think, at the end of the day, that’s what people want to watch, and if you do your job right, it gets people excited going forward.”
His primary concern was making sure “to close out the Scott Lang story,” and “launch Kang the Conqueror” without worrying too much about the larger Multiverse story, though he still wanted to add a few teasers for where the story is going:
“Certainly, you want to lay down a few planks or railroad tracks for where you want to go, but it was more important for me to close out the Scott Lang story, leave a door open, but then also launch Kang the Conqueror, and don’t really worry about all the multiverse stuff. Just really get to know this guy as a character and hopefully people want to stick around to see where he goes.”
Phases of Marvel Not That Important?
This is not the first time a prominent figure from the MCU has discussed how the Phases of the franchise weren’t particularly important when creating the films and TV shows.
James Gunn, the director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, revealed that he didn’t know his film was a part of Phase 5 until it was officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con. Even so, he acknowledged that he would have to look up his first two films to determine which Phases they were in—the first film being in Phase 2 and the second appearing as part of Phase 3.
With Loveness and his crew concentrating solely on the story they were paid to tell for Ant-Man 3, this seems to demonstrate how much focus and attention it takes to develop an MCU film.
The fact that Loveness wrote both this film and Avengers 5, which will make its MCU debut more than two years from now, gives him an advantage. In order to take up the task of uniting the Avengers from Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who handled it for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, he’ll need to have even more information than most from previous Marvel Studios films.
Yet even if experts like Loveness may not be thinking about the MCU’s Phases, they nonetheless provide devoted fans with a helpful framework as the franchise continues to develop its plot.
In theatres currently is Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. On May 2, 2025, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will make its theatrical debut.
