If you don’t know that I’m a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you probably haven’t been reading my blog for very long (or had very many conversations with me). The MCU started back in 2008 with Iron Man and became insanely popular with 2012’s The Avengers. The universe is so popular not only because superheroes are in right now, but because people like to see the overlap between the different films and how each movie is slowly coming together to tell one big story.

But the MCU isn’t just about movies anymore. Marvel started releasing some comics early on to go along with the films, and they released the TV show Agents of SHIELD on ABC in 2013. Now, the MCU is taking a further step into diversifying its mediums. Marvel has teamed up with Netflix to release five new series over the next three years, basically creating its own little mini-verse within the MCU. That mini-verse kicked off last month with the launch of the thirteen-episode first season of Daredevil, and it’s off to a wonderful start.

Daredevil tells the story of Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer-turned-vigilante who fights criminals on the mean streets of Hell’s Kitchen. Slowly throughout the story, we learn Matt’s story of losing his sight, embracing his newfound abilities, and transforming from the “devil of Hell’s Kitchen” into the superhero we know and love. Daredevil truly is an origin story.

Daredevil also features another major character: Wilson Fisk. He serves as the villain of the first season. But the story isn’t quite that straightforward. Fisk sees himself as functioning the same way Matt does: saving the city from the evils that threaten it. He actually serves as the main character in one episode, and it’s obvious that the show creators worked hard to make Fisk a character that audiences can feel sympathy toward. So Dardevil appeals to those who don’t want just a straightforward good-versus-evil story.

The other main characters are also wonderful. Foggy is Matt’s partner in his law firm and serves both as comic relief and as a means of heightening the emotion on the show. Karen starts off as one of the first people Daredevil rescues, but she quickly becomes an integral part of Matt’s life. And then there’s Claire, a nurse who finds Matt half-dead in a dumpster and quickly becomes his ally. This show was really well-cast, and I think it offers a good variety of characters for viewers to relate to.

I knew early on that Daredevil was going to be very different from what we’ve come to expect from Marvel. First of all, it’s rated TV-MA. This gives the show room to be grittier and darker than any other Marvel project. Sure, there’s some more language, but that’s not the main reason for the rating. This show is very, very dark. It explores some really scary themes and isn’t afraid to toe the line of moral ambiguity. And the violence. The violence hurts to watch. It’s not bloody or gory. It’s just so different from anything else that’s on TV right now. It’s creative, and it draws you in to the point that you really feel what’s going on.

Ultimately, Daredevil is what everyone wants in a superhero origin story: the tale of a person choosing to use his abilities to become more than he is and fight for the greater good. It’s complicated, gritty, and downright painful at times. But it’s a Marvel story at heart, and it’s well worth the watch. Daredevil was recently renewed for a second season, and it will soon be joined by the next series in the Defenders mini-universe, AKA Jessica Jones, which means there’s plenty more to come from Marvel and Netflix. So if you’re looking to get plugged into the Marvel universe for the first time, or if you’re a long-time fan looking for another piece of the story, Daredevil is for you. Check it out and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading, friends, and I’ll see you next week.

In case you haven’t heard, I’m a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios has been putting out some amazing superhero movies lately that have really made a splash. But the best thing about the Marvel movies is that they all share a connected, coherent universe, and despite the fact that they’re created by different people, they are all telling one big story.

The MCU started back in 2008 with Iron Man and ended its first phase with The Avengers in 2012. Now, we are nearly through Phase Two of the MCU with only Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man remaining, both of which will be released next year. With the MCU expanding into TV series (Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter) and five different Netflix shows, Marvel fans have started to wonder what the next phase of films is going to look like. But we don’t have to wonder any longer. This past week, Marvel announced the full slate of their Phase Three MCU films, and it looks amazing.

Phase Three will consist of nine films total, which is more than either Phase One or Phase Two, but the Phase Three movies will be released over only three years, from 2016 to 2019. This means that starting in 2017, we’ll be getting three MCU films every year. That just blows my mind, and I cannot wait for it.

Phase Three will start out with what will probably be the final installment in Chris Evans’ Captain America franchise. It will be called Captain America: Civil War and will feature Tony Stark (Iron Man) and a new superhero for the MCU films, Black Panther. Civil War will pit Captain America and Iron Man against one another in a political battle over superhero rights. It sounds like a pretty cool concept to me, and I’m excited to see how it plays out on the big screen. Captain America: Civil War is set to release May 16, 2016.

Next up is Dr. Strange. There has been a lot of speculation over who will play the Sorcerer Supreme, but Marvel did not confirm anything at their announcement. All we know for now is that the movie will be released November 4, 2016.

After that, we’ll be seeing the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy. If you haven’t seen the first Guardians, do yourself a favor and go see it. It is hilarious. It’s very different from any other MCU film, but it still somehow manages to move the overall plot along. I’m excited that this one is getting a sequel, because there are still a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the first film. I’m not sure exactly how they plan on tying in the Guardians with the superheroes on earth (or if they even will), but I enjoy the Guardians anyway. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (which will probably get a different title at some point) drops on May 5, 2017.

After that is the third Thor movie, this one called Thor: Ragnarok, on July 28, 2017. Since the word ragnarok is Norse for “the end of all things,” I think it’s safe to say that this will be the final Thor solo film. It looks to me like Marvel is creating a structure of solo trilogies within the MCU, and I think this structure works pretty well. Ragnarok will give Marvel an opportunity to wrap up Thor’s storyline, especially when it comes to his relationship with is brother Loki, before Chris Hemsworth’s contract runs out. I’m excited to see what direction they take that story in.

Then we’ll see Black Panther, whom we will have already met in Civil War, get his own film. Black Panther was the first African American superhero, so it makes sense that he would be the first African American superhero to get his own solo Marvel film. I don’t know a lot about this superhero, but I think it’s cool that Marvel is giving us an opportunity to get to know him in Civil War before his own movie comes out on November 3, 2017.

And now comes probably the biggest surprise from the Marvel Phase Three announcement. The third installment in the Avengers franchise will actually consist of two films. They will be called Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 and Part 2, and they will release on May 4, 2018, and May 3, 2019, respectively. While I’m skeptical about the idea of splitting films into two parts, I do think this may have been the right move for Marvel. They’ve been building to the showdown between the Avengers and Thanos over the Infinity Gauntlet since day one, and that story is going to take more than a couple of hours to tell. Infinity War will be the end of the first stage in the MCU, and I think things will look very different for the Marvel films once Infinity War is over. This is an opportunity for Marvel to tie all of their characters together into one epic storyline, and I think it will be cool. Infinity War Part 2 will wrap up Phase Three and probably set the stage for a very, very different Phase Four.

But between the two Infinity War films, we’ll be meeting some new Marvel characters. Captain Marvel, the first female-led MCU film, will release on July 6, 2018, and Inhumans, a movie about genetic superhumans, comes out November 2, 2018. I don’t know much about these characters, but I know comic book fans are really pumped about seeing them on the big screen, and I’m looking forward to meeting them, as they’ll probably be big parts of the MCU after Phase Three is over.

I know that was a lot of information. I was pretty overwhelmed by it when I saw it, too. But it’s all really exciting stuff. To recap, here’s what Marvel has in store for us between now and 2019:

Avengers: Age of Ultron - May 1, 2015
Ant-Man - July 17, 2015
Captain America: Civil War - May 6, 2016
Doctor Strange - November 4, 2016
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - May 5, 2017
Thor: Ragnarok - July 28, 2017
Black Panther - November 3, 2017
Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 - May 4, 2018
Captain Marvel - July 6, 2018
Inhumans - November 2, 2018
Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 - May 3, 2019

And of course, Marvel is putting out some stuff for the small screen, too:

Agents of SHIELD - current (ABC)
Agent Carter - January 2015 (ABC)
Dardevil - May 2015 (Netflix)
Jessica Jones - indefinite date (Netflix)
Iron Fist - indefinite date (Netflix)
Luke Cage - indefinite date (Netflix)
The Defenders - indefinite date (Netflix)

There is a whole lot of Marvel to love, and I’m loving every bit of it. If you’re a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, too, I’d love to chat with you about it. I’m always happy to discuss this stuff because I find it so interesting and exciting. Thank you guys for reading my post this week. Get pumped for the future of the MCU, and let me know what you think of Marvel’s Phase Three announcement. Have a great weekend, friends!