MCU Future Possibilities

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

What new franchise that hasn't yet been confirmed/teased (AKA Inhumans) would you like to see in Phase Four?

Are there even that many viable characters left who haven't already gotten the big or small screen treatment who could carry a film or show?

[Krutch]

I'm in the minority that would like to see no Phase Four, personally. Conclude with Infinity War Part 2 and then pump out solo, team up, or animated movies for a long while until they have a new idea. I don't mean that as a slight, either. I just feel like they should go out on top, and the Infinity War is something that's been teased since the beginning, so, it makes sense to go out on this. Just my opinion, of course.

Buuuuut more in line with your question, I don't know.. I mean I guess all the Spider-Man business is back on the table now, so there's that. I'd still love to see Carnage happen(I know he's a one dimensional character, but in an ocean of grey-area Marvel villains, I find his one note track of mind is refreshing!).

Other than that?... Spider-Woman or Namor, I guess.

[TonySiegel]

Ms. Marvel
Namor
Fantastic Four
Captain Britain
Secret Wars (might be to similar to infinity war)
Marvel Zombies (Yea right Disney lol)

[sdp]

I already think many characters who can't carry a movie by themselves have gotten one. Think back to comics and cartoons, even in those mediums its difficult to have every hero have their own show/solo comic and all Marvel is doing is confusing audiences with so many characters, especially since everyone now expects to see them in the Avengers even if they really don't belong there like it'll be the case with Dr. Strange and others. They're also trying to shove decades of continuity into single movies, I get that there's a lot of history to cover but you don't have to tell everything, why couldn't this Avengers trilogy be about the main 5 heroes? Why introduce so many new members in each movie? I definitely think MCU should've taken a slower approach to things.

Have these characters be like James Bond, so when you lose RDJ or other actors because they're too old or expensive the franchise can continue instead of trying to do everything at once and kill them off. They should only have a few big heroes have their own movies, instead of giving Ant-Man or others a movie why not only have one "wild card" solo film every once in a while and instead have an "Adventures in the MCU" movie where all these B/C-list characters can show off who they are and the stand outs can test the waters in their "wild card" solo films. The way things are going now is just not sustainable in the long term and while Disney/Marvel are getting plenty of money it's all going to crash and who knows if they'll continue it after that. I mean I like superheroes and I'm definitely overwhelmed by all the movies and I'm geekier than the average person.

So to not go too off topic, I want less for the future of MCU but its all rampant speculation until we know what Marvel plans to do with Phase 3 and their two part Avengers Infinity Wars movie. I'm guessing they plan on going big there killing off a few characters and whatnot and have it be sort of a reboot so its hard to say what you want to see if you don't know what's going to happen in the next three years worth of movies. I actually think MCU geeks are more excited about stuff being announced than the actual movies, I mean they already announced movies up to 2019 and that's not counting GotG3 which is post Phase 3. Why not speculate what is happening right now and the movies coming out in the next 3 years instead of what will happen in 4+?

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Well I for one find it fascinating to see Marvel Studios "scrape the bottom of the barrel", if you will.

And considering so many of their best villains and events have extremely strong ties to properties that are still "hands off", (Magneto, Skrulls, Doom, Kang) and how many characters have been vastly underutilized (Ultron, Scarlet Witch)...

It does make one wonder how they can realistically continue the hype and excitement, especially if they end the Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor franchises after Phase III. I'm sure Feige and company have a couple of different options planned out (one of which is surely trying to get back their Fantastic Four rights so that they can access those villains)...

[NinjaPug]

I wish they could get the rights to Skrulls so they could do a Secret Invasion storyline throughout Phase 4.

They're bringing in the characters I really wanted in Phase 3 (Black Panther, Wasp, Captain Marvel) so hopefully they'll continue with their stories in the next phase.

I'd also like to see a BuckyCap movie once Evans hangs it up for good.

[ProactiveMan]

They can't use Galactus can they? That's a pisser.

[Krutch]

With Spidey finally in the mix now, I'm sure he'll be the face of the MCU after Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor bow out.

Even if they have to share him with Sony.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

They can't use Galactus can they? That's a pisser.

Not until they cut some sort of deal with Fox for the FF rights... as they've tried to do, even as recently as in exchange for letting them keep Daredevil.

With Spidey finally in the mix now, I'm sure he'll be the face of the MCU after Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor bow out.

Even if they have to share him with Sony.

As long as Sony doesn't screw it up again, of course. :twink:

[Spike Spiegel]

She-Hulk.

http://www.writeups.org/img/inset/She-Hulk_Fastball_h.jpg

After the success of Deadpool, the MCU could use a humorous character, and John Byrne's work on the character made her the very first fourth wall breaking superhero.

[Chabrendeki]

Hmm, let's see:

Caiera, Miek, Brood, Elloe Kaifi, Skee, Hiroim and Korg.

:roll:

[Andrew NDB]

I'm sure Feige and company have a couple of different options planned out (one of which is surely trying to get back their Fantastic Four rights so that they can access those villains)...

Yeah, totally. And right now the road into Phase III and Infinity War, they're not too concerned about it. I'm betting they're betting that they can work something out with Fox between now and the end of that... just in time for them to have Galactus show up in the mid-credits scene of Infinity War Part 2.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Yeah, totally. And right now the road into Phase III and Infinity War, they're not too concerned about. I'm betting they're betting that they can work something out with Fox between now and the end of that... just in time for them to have Galactus show up in the mid-credits scene of Infinity War Part 2.

That's my guess as well. They've let it become public knowledge that they absolutely WANT (like, Gollum's "My precioussss" levels of want) Galactus and Silver Surfer.

I'm still convinced that those X-Men TV series Legion and Hellfire Club will eventually be outed as part of that FF deal.

[Andrew NDB]

That's my guess as well. They've let it become public knowledge that they absolutely WANT (like, Gollum's "My precioussss" levels of want) Galactus and Silver Surfer.

I'm still convinced that those X-Men TV series Legion and Hellfire Club will eventually be outed as part of that FF deal.

Yep, there is no good reason otherwise for Marvel to allow those two series to exist whatsoever when they're knee-deep in establishing their own TV universe.

I'd almost be willing to bet there already is a deal... Marvel (apart from possibly ironing out final details) just wants to maximize the "WTF?!! OMG!!!" factor, similar to how we felt when we saw Thanos after the credits of Avengers 1. Though this might -- literally and figuratively -- be bigger. Galactus (which, in turn, brings in movies for Silver Surfer and the Fantastic Four) could string people along for Phase IV, V, and maybe even VI.

[Redeemer]

I'm in the minority that would like to see no Phase Four, personally. Conclude with Infinity War Part 2 and then pump out solo, team up, or animated movies for a long while until they have a new idea. I don't mean that as a slight, either. I just feel like they should go out on top, and the Infinity War is something that's been teased since the beginning, so, it makes sense to go out on this. Just my opinion, of course.

Buuuuut more in line with your question, I don't know.. I mean I guess all the Spider-Man business is back on the table now, so there's that. I'd still love to see Carnage happen(I know he's a one dimensional character, but in an ocean of grey-area Marvel villains, I find his one note track of mind is refreshing!).

Other than that?... Spider-Woman or Namor, I guess.

I would love to see Carnage as well for the same reasons. Hell I would like to see Venom, bc that crap pile known as Spider-man 3 was not Venom

[AT-Man]

Phase 4 should definitely begin with a Fantastic Four movie. I don't think the actors should be just replaced with younger versions like James Bond, but only if absolutely necessary. Rather kill the character off and introduce a new one.

[turtlefanforever]

She-Hulk, red hulk, a-bomb, The leader.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Yep, there is no good reason otherwise for Marvel to allow those two series to exist whatsoever when they're knee-deep in establishing their own TV universe.

I'd almost be willing to bet there already is a deal... Marvel (apart from possibly ironing out final details) want to maximize the "WTF?!! OMG!!!" factor, similar to how we felt when we saw Thanos after the credits of Avengers 1. Though this might -- literally and figuratively -- be bigger. Galactus (which, in turn, brings in movies for Silver Surfer and the Fantastic Four) could string people along for Phase IV, V, and maybe even VI.

Also agreed. I think the deal already happened, and Marvel will make the big "rights acquired" announcement closer to the end of Phase III.

They've been playing hardball with Fox for years now... they don't just wave their hands and turn a blind eye to X-Men TV without getting something THEY want in return. And we all know what they want.

Phase 4 should definitely begin with a Fantastic Four movie. I don't think the actors should be just replaced with younger versions like James Bond, but only if absolutely necessary. Rather kill the character off and introduce a new one.

Marvel's already said, by way of Feige and possibly even Downey, that they will indeed go the Bond route. Makes more sense, honestly.

[Andrew NDB]

Marvel's already said, by way of Feige and possibly even Downey, that they will indeed go the Bond route. Makes more sense, honestly.

I kind of wish there's an in-story explanation. Like, when they're fighting Thanos, RDJ Iron Man swoops in, raises his visor and says, "I hope this works! If not, it's been fun, guys!" then makes an end-run at Thanos... gets hit by a beam from the Time Gem or something on his gauntlet, hits the ground... and raises his visor and now he's younger and a different actor. Know what I mean?

[CyberCubed]

How many more movies are the current actors willing to be around for? Certainly RDJ is going to retire as Iron man soon. I think the Marvel movie universe will end within the next few years, especially if all their key actors don't want to return or do it anymore.

Its also not as simple as recasting The Hulk, you can't replace Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, etc. as easily.

[Andrew NDB]

How many more movies are the current actors willing to be around for? Certainly RDJ is going to retire as Iron man soon. I think the Marvel movie universe will end within the next few years, especially if all their key actors don't want to return or do it anymore.

Its also not as simple as recasting The Hulk, you can't replace Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, etc. as easily.

Yeah, not the same at all. RDJ is like the face of the MCU, and Iron Man is the flagship character. Nothing would be lamer than quietly recasting him between movies.

[Krutch]

Marvel's already said, by way of Feige and possibly even Downey, that they will indeed go the Bond route. Makes more sense, honestly.Source? That'll be interesting when it happens, I guess.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Source? That'll be interesting when it happens, I guess.

I've read it a few times, but I'm not gonna even try to find those old articles. :trazz: Try going through Screenrant's archives... that's where I read most of my movie news articles.

[The Deadman]

How many more movies are the current actors willing to be around for? Certainly RDJ is going to retire as Iron man soon. I think the Marvel movie universe will end within the next few years, especially if all their key actors don't want to return or do it anymore.

Its also not as simple as recasting The Hulk, you can't replace Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, etc. as easily.

Yes you can lol. That's like saying you can't recast Wolverine because Hugh Jackman perfected that role but it's going to happen eventually. Actors playing the same role time after time can get stale and boring after a while.

[CyberCubed]

Nobody will care about Iron Man after RDJ retires. He'll go back to being a third tier hero nobody knows about.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Nobody will care about Iron Man after RDJ retires. He'll go back to being a third tier hero nobody knows about.

Pretty sure a lotta people said the same about Batman. Or Professor X. Or Hulk. Well, not necessarily the "third tier" bit. :tlol:

[CyberCubed]

The Avengers were all nobodies outside of comic book fans. Spiderman and the X-men were the only really popular Marvel superheroes until these movies came out.

[NinjaPug]

Why would RDJ want to retire? He gets $40 million plus backend profits to make quips and have a suit CGI'd on him.

If they are making a movie with a young Han Solo that isn't Ford then they can reboot the Iron Man franchise without RDJ at some point down the line. People love the Iron Man character now - not just RDJ playing him.

[CyberCubed]

RDJ has a huge fanbase, bigger than Iron Man himself.

[GoldMutant]

The Avengers were all nobodies outside of comic book fans. Spiderman and the X-men were the only really popular Marvel superheroes until these movies came out.

....Really?

Iron-Man- maybe (unless you watched the earlier cartoons, especially Spider-Man: The Animated Series or his own 90's show)

Ant-Man- agreed

Hulk- highly disagree, he's had his movie before MCU, the Bill Bixby show, and several cartoons as well

Captain America- the name is known, but people aren't familiar. Kind of a mixture of some know while others don't.

Black Widow- agree

Wasp- agree

I might not be a comic reader, but a portion of the Avengers are identifiable from cartoons, the average to bad direct to DVD films, or in Hulk's case, a show people remember. Even with the obscure United They Stand, a show based on the West Coast Avengers aimed for toy merchandise, a good portion are known to the public even before the MCU came along.
______________________________

Now then, as for people I want as of now:


She Hulk (I'm unsure on the films rights for Hulk, but if Ross becomes Red Hulk in Civil War, it'd be hard. Especially because Hulk hasn't been properly executed standalone wise)
Namor
Power Pack (since reading on them, I've been dying for them to be used)
Kraven (the one Spider-Man villain I want to be used)

[CyberCubed]

I was always aware who they were in the 90's, but I never cared to see anything of them. Until the movies. 90's fans are different than 2000's fans.

Spiderman and X-men were popular in the 90's because of the cartoons. As was Batman.

[Andrew NDB]

Why would RDJ want to retire? He gets $40 million plus backend profits to make quips and have a suit CGI'd on him.

It's not that he wants to retire... it's that Marvel probably -- very understandably -- doesn't want to continue paying him more and more amounts of money than God with every new appearance.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

It's not that he wants to retire... it's that Marvel probably -- very understandably -- doesn't want to continue paying him more and more amounts of money than God with every new appearance.

This right here.

[NinjaPug]

RDJ has a huge fanbase, bigger than Iron Man himself.

I don't agree with this. After years of drug issues, RDJ became relevant again in the public eye after playing Tony Stark. He has grown in popularity since that time just as the Iron Man character has. It's been a mutually beneficial relationship for RDJ and Marvel.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

I don't agree with this. After years of drug issues, RDJ became relevant again in the public eye after playing Tony Stark. He has grown in popularity since that time just as the Iron Man character has. It's been a mutually beneficial relationship for RDJ and Marvel.

So far since coming back, he's played Tony Stark, British Tony Stark (Sherlock Holmes), and nothing else that huge. Tropic Thunder, sure it's funny. The Soloist was gut-wrenching but I doubt any of you have seen it.

Face it, RDJ plays Tony Stark and doesn't really have a hell of a lot else going on. How many of you went and saw The Judge? I didn't. RDJ needs to film Sherlock Holmes 3 for me. :tlol:

[TheSkeletonMan939]

RDJ needs to film Sherlock Holmes 3 for me. :tlol:

They're apparently working on a script for that.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

They're apparently working on a script for that.

They've been working on that script for about as long as I've been married. :trazz:

[The Deadman]

Nobody will care about Iron Man after RDJ retires. He'll go back to being a third tier hero nobody knows about.

I bet you said nobody would care about Batman anymore after the Clooney film and...well...

[CyberCubed]

Batman was always popular in cartoons regardless of the movies. The Avengers were largely unknown outside of comic book fans to your average person back then.

Batman is the #1 most popular superhero and he's always been around. Back in 1997 when Batman and Robin came out in theaters, the Batman: TNBA cartoon was airing on TV and having crossovers with Superman: TAS.

[NinjaPug]

Iron Man has pretty much reached that level now so saying no one will care about the character when RDJ hangs it up isn't accurate. The character is an A-lister now.

[Andrew NDB]

I bet you said nobody would care about Batman anymore after the Clooney film and...well...

You could say that about the Michael Keaton movies and not be entirely wrong. Batman Returns came out in 92 and Batman was pretty much a joke until 2005, with Batman Begins. That's a little while. Though that was more... "Let's intentionally make the franchise a joke for two movies in a row after Keaton leaves" and not just as simple as "We're gonna be in trouble because we have to recast Michael Keaton."

[ToTheNines]

I'm a HUGE fan of pretty much all things MCU, but I kinda wish it'd end with IW part 2. Obviously it won't, they make so much money, but I prefer stuff like this to end before it jumps the shark.

But yeah, more Ant-Man/Wasp, Spider-Man, Cap Marvel and a Louis Leterrier directed Hulk flick with Ruffalo taking on The Leader are all on my wishlist. Maybe bring The Defenders into the movie world. Or AoS characters like Quake and Mockingbird.

Or, better yet, Patton Oswalt's filibuster crossover!

The Soloist was gut-wrenching but I doubt any of you have seen it.

Iron Man v. Electro: Dawn of Cello.

But for real, great movie.

You could say that about the Michael Keaton movies and not be entirely wrong. Batman Returns came out in 92 and Batman was pretty much a joke until 2005, with Batman Begins. That's a little while. Though that was more... "Let's intentionally make the franchise a joke for two movies in a row after Keaton leaves" and not just as simple as "We're gonna be in trouble because we have to recast Michael Keaton."

Batman Returns is a joke too.

[Andrew NDB]

Batman Returns is a joke too.

I like it less now than as a kid, but it's still at least thematically consistent with the first one. And entertaining and not empty-headed camp.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Random thought: I want Marvel to get the FF rights just so that they can say that Stan Lee is the Watcher in the MCU.

[CyberCubed]

I dunno, did anyone expect the X-men movie franchise to be going 16 years without any real reboots? I can see Marvel universe lasting 16 years.

[sdp]

It did get two reboots of sorts with First Class and then with Days of Future Past. Also we're talking about two different things when X-Men first came out we only got a movie every once in a while, and when they tried to expand with the "Origins" it failed and we never got the second movie in that line. They tried to expand again this time with Fantastic Four but failed terribly and the confirmed "shared universe" between them is all but dead; At least Deadpool worked out for them and they're getting a TV show so who knows maybe it'll work out with their "only" mutants shared universe. Which I guess it works for best since I never understood how mutants could be hated while superpowered heroes praised in the Marvel Universe.

F4 back at Marvel I'm not crazy for it but I"m ok for it since they'd be able to use so many awesome characters and maybe treat them with respect only problem is the MCU is already so bloated and the F4 already had 3 tries that it would be harder to deal with than Spider-Man and for the to only use their villains would kind of make me mad since I like the F4 but yeah you can't do Cosmic Marvel without them which is something I'd love to see.

I'm still pissed that Fox never did a shared universe with Daredevil/F4, it was totally doable and they just let the rights lapse. Some might say that DD is better off with Marvel but they're already so bloated like I mentioned earlier. Sony could've also handled their plans for a shared universe better, I mean they shouldn't have let Punisher and Ghostrider go and have a Spider-Man movie with those characters, it would've worked since they had comic stories they could've adapted. Each shared universe would've been less bloated and with Sony with Spider-Man and Fox with X-Men they really didn't need as many heroes as say the MCU did since those franchises are already so fleshed out they have plenty to work with and only have the other lesser heroes interact from time to time to spice things up. I even made a thread pre-Iron man about a crossover movie with all the movie Marvel heroes so its definitely something I've had in mind before the MCU was even a thing.

Random thought: I want Marvel to get the FF rights just so that they can say that Stan Lee is the Watcher in the MCU.

I remember someone suggesting that once and that'd be a great cameo especially since it'd make all his previous cameos canon in a sense. How old is he now? He's not likely to be with us for much longer.

[Andrew NDB]

and when they tried to expand with the "Origins" it failed and we never got the second movie in that line.

We sort of did. Large portions of the script for X-Men Origins: Magneto were rolled into the script for "First Class."

[AT-Man]

When they eventually recast the main heroes, I hope it will be in a one big swoop in the beginning of a new phase. It would feel stupid to have some of the original cast with some new faces. That's how you soft reboot, after 10-20 years the characters are again as old as they were in the beginning and only hint at events that occurred with the old cast. In 2050 is Iron Man (40yo) reminiscing the time 30 years ago when they fought Thanos?

[Krutch]

I never understood how mutants could be hated while superpowered heroes praised in the Marvel Universe.
That's a valid complaint, really. X-Men's themes work great within their own world but while sharing a greater universe where everyone loves Spider-Man... the whole thing begins to fall apart.

You mentioned Ghost Rider... ugh. Just keep him off screen. I know he has his fans but even as a kid I couldn't get over how cheesy he was. And the Nick Cage movies didn't help his image. I only recently watched Ghost Rider 2 (since my buddies and I were in the mood for a bad movie to riff on) and man... what an awful flick. Written by one of the writers on BvS. No shock there.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

A thing that I'm curious about is that if the third Wolverine film really is Hugh Jackman's final role as Wolverine, is it possible for Marvel to get the rights back for the character? Fox seems to be able to make X-Men movies without him.

[Krutch]

A thing that I'm curious about is that if the third Wolverine film really is Hugh Jackman's final role as Wolverine, is it possible for Marvel to get the rights back for the character? Fox seems to be able to make X-Men movies without him.

Maybe they can work out a deal like Sony did with Spidey. But Logan on his own seems out of place without the X-Men universe.

Also, I have a feeling we'll see Jackman as Wolverine one more time. There was just too much teasing it in Deadpool, and given the movies' massive success, and the friendship between Jackman and Reynolds, I'm sure he'll pop by even if just for a cameo.

[NinjaPug]

Unless they recast the characters I think it would be too difficult for Marvel and Fox to work out a deal like they did with Sony for Spider-Man. Best bet would be for them to work out a deal for F4 (mainly for the use of their villains) but I'm not even sure if that could work since Constantin Films technically owns the film rights.

[CyberCubed]

Hugh Jackman has said he wanted to see Wolverine with the Avengers. Who knows if that'd happen though.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Hugh Jackman has said he wanted to see Wolverine with the Avengers. Who knows if that'd happen though.

Andrew Garfield also said he wanted to play in the Avengers sandbox. Didn't happen.

[sdp]

I don't think they will cut a deal with Fox for F4, I think Fox will likely just let the rights lapse this time. If it's not working out a business isn't going to be holding a property just because its "marvel". Now the X-Men I don't see them stopping that for a long time. However I do think there's a chance of having "wolverine" in a way in the MCU. I have a feeling after Hugh Jackman is done with Fox that he'll get a cameo in an Avengers movie, of course it'll just be him and not "wolverine" but since he played that character everyone will get the reference, that's something I see happening.

As for the other comment, Iron Man may have been a C-lister before his movie but he'll always be an A-lister from now on.

[Andrew NDB]

Hugh Jackman has said he wanted to see Wolverine with the Avengers. Who knows if that'd happen though.

Andrew Garfield also said he wanted to play in the Avengers sandbox. Didn't happen.

Yeah, actors' wants are pretty irrelevant.

[Andrew NDB]

Also, I have a feeling we'll see Jackman as Wolverine one more time. There was just too much teasing it in Deadpool, and given the movies' massive success, and the friendship between Jackman and Reynolds, I'm sure he'll pop by even if just for a cameo.

I'd bet the farm we'll see him three more times. Wolverine 3, in a small part in Apocalypse, and of course some kind of cameo in Deadpool 2... that movie made more money than any X-Men movie ever (rightly so, they all mostly suck) and Jackman was hugely alluded to in it.