New Marvel Movie Will Shoot In Australia, But What Will It Be?

With Avengers: Endgame right around the corner, we're getting closer to learning exactly what Marvel Studios has planned for the future. But as Kevin Feige previously said, any solid plans for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe won't be officially announced until after Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters in July. However, we at least know where one of Marvel's future movies will be shooting.

Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox included taking ownership of Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, and the federal government has agreed to provide Disney with a $171.1 million subsidy for Marvel Studios to shoot a film there. But what is the next Marvel movie shooting in Australia?

Variety has the news on Marvel shooting a movie in Australia, and since details on the subsidy coming from the federal government have been worked out, that likely means it's a movie shooting this year. There are several possibilities as to what movie it might be, and we'll break them down below.

This is one of the more likely possibilities since the film already has a director in Berlin Syndrome filmmaker Cate Shortland. On top of that, the film's star has already been cast with Scarlett Johansson reprising the role she's played since being introduced in Iron Man 2. Plus, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, and David Harbour have all been signed up to star in the film as well. With a director and a solid cast on board, this movie is ready to shoot sometime this year, and Australia could be where it's happening.

Another project that has a director on board is this totally new franchise, The Eternals. Continuing the expansion of the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film will be directed by Chloé Zhao (The Rider). Plus, the movie is said to be bringing Angelina Jolie into the MCU, and Kumail Nanjiani will be coming with her. However, it doesn't seem like there's a complete cast for this movie yet, so it might be a bit further off than Black Widow. Then again, Marvel could know exactly who will lead the movie, but no one in the press has found out yet. It could go either way.

Another hopeful franchise starter for Marvel is in the hands of director Destin David Cretton (Short Term 12), and that's Shang-Chi. This will be Marvel's first movie with an Asian protagonist, and a lot of people see this as being the next Black Panther for the comic book studio. Variety's article notes that the Australian Media is speculating that this will be the movie that Marvel shoots down under, but that could easily be a guess on their part. This one is further behind though since we haven't heard anything about the casting for this movie. Plus, Dave Callaham is still working on the script, so this one doesn't seem as likely. But it's not impossible either.

Even less likely is the possibility of shooting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in Australia. James Gunn still has to shoot The Suicide Squad this year, and that's not supposed to happen until September, which means the sequel that recently rehired him won't be shooting until next year. Of course, there's always a chance that this subsidy from Australia is meant for a movie shooting next year, so we can't rule it out completely. Plus, this movie already has most of the cast squared away since it's a sequel, and the script is already done. Only some new characters and the crew would need to be recruited, and then it's good to go.

Recently Deadline said that they heard rumblings that Doctor Strange 2 might be gearing up to start production this year with an eye towards releasing in 2020. They mentioned this nonchalantly in an article about Disney's presentation at CinemaCon last week alongside Black Widow as the other movie likely planned for release in 2020. Since we haven't heard anything on the Doctor Strange front, we're not sure how accurate that is.

With $1.34 billion earned at the worldwide box office, we can guarantee there's a Black Panther sequel in the works. However, since the character perished in the snap at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, his future remains uncertain. But since this was Marvel's first black superhero taking the lead in the MCU, they're not going to sideline him so easily. However, it's not likely that the movie will be ready for production so quickly, so we might have to wait a little while longer for this one.

There have been no discussions about what will happen with the Thor franchise, mostly because we don't know what will happen with the character after Avengers: Endgame. Since the movie has been said to shake up the core roster of The Avengers who have been there since Phase 1, there's a chance Thor might be taking a break. But Thor: Ragnarok shook up the god of thunder's franchise and paved the way for an exciting new direction the character could take, traversing the galaxy and going on adventures. The only thing feeding into this possibility is the fact that Thor: Ragnarok shot almost entirely in Australia, so there you go.

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Perhaps there's a chance that any credits scenes that follow Avengers: Endgame will provide some kind of insight into what the immediate future holds for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We're certainly curious and excited to see what they have planned for the next era of comic book movies featuring all these characters and more.