Marvel’s plans include Portman as Thor

The Marvel Cinematic Universe certainly had a super weekend.

"Avengers: Endgame" finally surpassed "Avatar" at the box office, making it the top-grossing movie of all time. As of Sunday, the comic-book movie grossed $2.79 billion to "Avatar's" $2.789 billion.

The timing couldn't have been better. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced the news Saturday from a stage at Comic-con in San Diego before detailing the movies comprising Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which includes a female Thor played by Natalie Portman and a "Blade" reboot helmed by two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali.

Feige also mentioned sequels to "Black Panther" and "Captain Marvel," along with a "Fantastic Four" movie, but he said he couldn't offer further details,

and it was unclear if they would be a part of Phase 4. Phase 3 ended with "Spider-man: Far from Home"; Phase 1 began in 2008 with "Iron Man."

Here's some of what's known about Phase 4 of the Marvel franchise, broken down by movie.

• "Black Widow" (May 1)

Scarlett Johansson's Black Window, a longtime staple of the Avengers films, will finally get a solo movie. The plot of "Black Widow" actually takes place between the events of "Captain America: Civil War" and "Endgame." It will follow Natasha Romanoff (Johansson) traveling to Budapest, where she meets fellow Red Room trainee Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and battles with the Red Guardian (David Harbour).

In the comics, Belova eventually inherits the role of Black Widow, so it's a fair guess that Pugh, hot off her starring role in "Midsommar," will become a familiar face in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

• "The Eternals" (Nov. 6, 2020)

Casual fans might not be familiar with the Eternals, a group of Greek mythologyesque, godlike, humanoid beings created by Jack Kirby in the 1970s.

But they're definitely familiar with the actors set to portray them: Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, Don Lee and Richard Madden are just a few of the cast members.

Although it might seem strange for Marvel to load up a fairly unknown property with such big names, the strategy has proved successful before. It wasn't long ago that the "Guardians of the Galaxy" characters were primarily known to comic-book readers. Now, they're a household name.

• "Shang-chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (Feb. 12, 2021)

This movie will be Marvel's first Asianled film. Simu Liu, a Canadian actor best known for "Kim's Convenience," will play Shang-chi, the "master of kung fu" — another lesser-known character. The movie also will feature Awkwafina.

• "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" (May 7, 2021)

This movie might just be the first horrorleaning film in Marvel's oeuvre. "We're gonna make the first scary (Marvel Cinematic Universe) film," director Scott Derrickson said at last weekend's Comic-con. Joining Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange is Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch.

• "Thor: Love and Thunder" (Nov. 5, 2021)

Perhaps the most surprising — and certainly the buzziest— news out of Comic-con is that Natalie Portman will portray Thor in the fourth entry of the series.

In the comic books, Jane Foster becomes Thor after the original Thor is deemed unworthy of wielding the hammer.

It's unclear if that will happen here; Chris Hemsworth will return as Thor for at least part of the film. All that's known is that Portman's Foster, with the assistance of Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, will somehow earn the title.