Marvel’s footprint in the film industry the last 10 years is nothing short of impressive. They’ve created a shared and dynamic cinematic universe over the course of 15+ movies and steered audiences forward with every new entry. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is phenomenon the entertainment industry has never seen before. Think of how difficult it was to interweave and connect these self-contained stories in a way that was interesting while at the same time leading it towards an astounding showdown with Thanos, himself. The beauty of the MCU is that it has introduced new superheroes to general audiences in a way that made the non-comic book readers fall in love with these quirky outcasts and second fiddles. Who would have thought that the Guardians of the Galaxy would become as big of a deal as they are today in mainstream media? I would have lost so much money if I bet back in 2008 that we would never see the likes of Ant-Man or Black Panther. With the recent reports that Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios have another 20 movies scheduled, and Disney’s recent acquisition of the X-Men and Fantastic Four, it seems that the MCU is just getting started. Not too shabby for a film franchise that started with the likes of Iron Man back in 2008. With Avengers: Infinity War right around the corner there are tons of juicy rumors and leaks starting to hit the internet in droves. Let’s talk some time to talk about the rumors that the play-makers at Marvel hope you don’t know or pay attention to. Here are 25 current MCU rumors they don’t want you to know.
25 Black Widow Standalone Timeline
Fans have been yearning for a standalone Black Widow film since she was first introduced in Iron Man 2. The oddest thing about the whole situation is that Scarlett Johansson is an A-list celebrity that studios are confident can sell a film. Many people speculate that the reason this film was finally green-lit was largely due to the recent success of Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins.
Like most MCU movies, little is known about the actual plot of the film.
Some recent rumors have suggested that the Black Widow movie will take place before most of the major MCU events we know about had occurred. The rumors specifically hint at an origin story that culminates with Black Widow’s appearance in Iron Man 2. This is a great way to build up the universe even more and would make sense considering what we’ve heard about the MCU post-Avengers: Infinity War.
24 Miles Morales A No-Go In The MCU
Miles Morales is a fan favorite that has garnered a pretty large dedicated following over the years. Some of his recent rise in popularity could be due to the fatigue surrounding the Peter Parker version of Spider-Man, but most of it has to do with how interesting and entertaining Miles is as a character himself.
In the current comics, Peter and Miles exist in the same universe and each handle certain types of situations.
Thankfully, Marvel and Sony were kind enough to treat us with a glimpse of Miles Morales in the MCU. During Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter runs into Miles’ uncle Aaron Davis and we hear a brief mention of his nephew’s name. Recent rumors suggest that Miles might become Sony’s flagship Spider-Man while Peter Parker transitions into the MCU poster boy. Though this would mean Miles Morales would finally get his own movie, what good is it if he can’t join up with all of his coworkers?
23 Many Heroes Will Fall
Marvel has walked a very thin tightrope when expressing the tone and outcome of Avengers: Infinity War. The Russo brothers have stated that the movie will surprise people in a multitude of ways, whether that be in a happy way, or a somber one. Many whispers are communicating that fans better be ready to sob their eyes out. The assumed number of heroes that will no longer be with us moving into Phase 4 is around 3 to 4.
Though we’ll go into the specific heroes with the most likely chance to depart, there are a lot of signs that point to a heavy defeat count.
Many of the actors portraying the main Avengers have expiring contracts, and we’re also seeing a bevy of new characters being introduced. As great as the MCU has been these last 10 years it’s largest criticism has been its lack of stakes. Seems that Avengers: Infinity War might shake up the entire MCU formula as we know it.
22 World War Hulk Incoming?
Though fans are excited about the upcoming fight against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, they are spending a fair amount of time looking into what Phase 4 might hold for our heroes. With the recent acquisition of Fox, Marvel has a larger stable of interesting and powerful villains to play with, but the next big bad might be right under all of our noses. Kevin Feige has stated that due to some issues with rights, Hulk will have a personal storyline over the course of Thor: Ragnarok and the next two Avengers movies. Having access now to most of the Illuminati, it may make sense to have a new set of Avengers look to one another to stop a seemingly unstoppable force in the Hulk. If World War Hulk as a whole is adapted they will definitely take some liberties, but it makes a perfect bridge arc for the MCU and can become a beautiful swan song for Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk.
21 Wesley Snipes Returns As Blade
Yes, you did indeed see that correctly. There are currently rumors that Wesley Snipes might have a cameo as Blade in an upcoming MCU film. The current generation of Marvel fanatics may be a little young to remember Wesley Snipes portrayal of the vampire killing assassin, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be entertained if he does make an appearance. The sheer look of Blade is pretty darn cool, let alone bringing back the original actor who made him into a franchise way before the MCU existed. Funny enough, there are reports that Wesley Snipes was trying to get a movie based on Black Panther made during the late 90s. Apparently, studio executives thought the film centered around the activist group and had a tough time understanding it was a superhero.
20 No Standalone Hulk Movie In Sight
The Hulk is one of the most polarizing characters in the MCU. He’s the only main Avenger out of the 4 to not have a trilogy of movies. This is due to the fact that Universal Pictures holds the rights to Hulk standalone movies and thus Marvel can’t really do much about it. Kevin Feige and company have recently revealed that a Hulk storyline is indeed being told but is actually the B-plot in Thor: Ragnarok and both Avengers 3 & 4.
This is a brilliant move for a couple of reasons.
The first is that in order to make a standalone Hulk movie interesting you’d have to dip your toes into the darker side of a person’s psyche. Considering it’s Disney that will never happen. Secondly, it allows the Hulk to have tremendous character development and add a sense of depth to an already astounding narrative.
19 More Unexpected Team-Ups
Thor: Ragnarok did a lot for the MCU in terms of unexpected team-ups in superhero movies, as well as applying a desperately needed fresh coat of paint to both Thor as a character, and as a franchise. Due to its box office success, it seems that these types of buddy cop team-up movies might be a key part of Marvel’s movie lineup as we move towards Phase 4. If I was a betting man I would assume that the next team-up movie we see will either feature Black Panther and Captain America or possibly even Spider-Man and someone we’re not familiar with yet. It’s tough to guess considering we still don’t know who will be a part of the MCU after the events of Avengers 4.
18 Secret Invasion Is Next
Thanks to a recent showing at Comic-Con we know that the Skrull are not only officially in the MCU after 10+ years, but that they will deservedly have a huge part to play in Captain Marvel’s upcoming standalone movie. That being said, a lot of people are speculating that we will see the Skrull pop up before Captain Marvel in 2019.
A big question Marvel fans are asking themselves revolves around what the big event after Thanos and Avengers 4 will be.
Some are speculating that Secret Invasion will be the next event the MCU builds too. Could we see an imposter Skrull Avenger in an upcoming MCU movie? We’ll have to wait and see if Kevin Feige wants to lay the seeds of doubt and confusion this early on.
17 Avengers: Infinity War Ends On A Somber Note
Now, we’ve already heard from the Russo brothers and Marvel at large that Avengers: Infinity War is the first half of a larger story that will be concluded in the untitled Avengers 4 movie. With this, one would assume that there would be some sort of unresolved conflict that takes place at the end of Avengers: Infinity War and leaves fans yearning for more. One idea floating around is that this will be the first superhero movie in a long while that ends with the bad guys winning. It will supposedly end with a ton of questions and a ton of defeats. This theory is interesting because up until now, though the Marvel movies have been great, they’ve also been supremely formulaic. Rolling the dice and leaving the audience in a somber mood exiting the theater would be an interesting risk.
16 Adapting House Of M But In Reverse
A big Phase 4 question a ton of fans have is how exactly Marvel is going to work the X-Men and Fantastic Four into the MCU. A rumor currently floating around is that one of Marvel’s ideas is to adopt the House of M storyline but have it be the reverse of the major event in that series.
Instead of Scarlet Witch snapping her fingers to make mutants no longer exist, the idea is that she will snap her fingers and activate the mutant genes in the human race.
There are a ton of logistical and narrative questions about how this would make sense in the MCU and such, but it’s still a cool idea. If you haven’t read House of M yet I highly suggest you do. Most comic book fans consider it to be one of the greats in terms of X-Men related story arcs.
15 Hawkeye Becomes Ronin
Well, this isn’t so much a rumor as it is an actual leak from the set of Avengers: Infinity War. Jeremy Renner was spotted on set wearing an all-black suit and many fans liken it to Hawkeye’s look in the comics when he is thought to have perished when in actuality he comes back as the mysterious Ronin. The character arc for Hawkeye in terms of becoming Ronin fits perfectly into the Avengers upcoming duel with Thanos. Many theorists believe that Hawkeye will perish in Avengers: Infinity War but in actuality, he will survive and return to help the Avengers, but as Ronin instead of Hawkeye. This will finally make Hawkeye interesting in the MCU even though they already desperately tried in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
14 Thanos Becomes An Ongoing Problem
Thanos is was Marvel’s only obvious big bad they had for the MCU. With Disney’s recent acquisition of Fox, many believe that Dr. Doom or Galactus will be the next unstoppable force the MCU builds too.
Though this may be the case it doesn’t mean that Avengers 3 & 4 will most certainly be the last time we see Thanos in action.
It’s hard to imagine that Marvel would spend as much time as they have to build up Thanos to have him blink out of existence after a couple of movies. The next two Avenger’s movies will more than likely center around overcoming Thanos, the Black Order, and the Infinity Gauntlet, but not necessarily about eliminating Thanos from existence. Time will tell what they plan to do with the mad titan.
13 Loki Meets His Fate
From the brief glimpse of Loki we saw in the first Avengers: Infinity War trailer we now know he did indeed grab the Tesseract from Odin’s vault before escaping with his brother. It looks as if he is presenting it to Thanos as either a piece offering or delivering on a promise he made with Thanos to deliver it to him. It seems that Loki tends to get away with his mischief throughout the MCU without anything more than a slap on the wrist to show for it. Don’t you think that if he perishes at the hands of Thanos at the very beginning of the movie it could set the tone for the rest of the movie? It immediately gives Avengers: Infinity War a heavier tone from the get-go than any other MCU in existence. Tom Hiddleston will have one movie left on his contract after Avengers: Infinity War, so maybe not.
12 Young Avengers In Development
Let’s face it guys, the Avengers we know and love are getting old. We’ve heard rumblings of expiring movie contracts that are starting to coincide with the end of certain character arcs. The actors themselves can’t fight the harsh realities of father time.
Marvel knows it’s a lot cheaper to pay up-and-coming actors they turn into megastars, then it is to write those beefy checks to Robert Downey Jr. and the like.
Spider-Man and Scarlett Witch are the only MCU heroes even close to being under the age of 30. Could a cast of Young Avengers exist alongside the likes of the main roster? I personally think it would be cool to see a group of young heroes handle smaller problems and learn to come into their own in terms of power control and confidence.
11 Vision Doesn’t Cease To Exist
We’ve all seen the agony Vision endures in the first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War. Many people think that Marvel had to show this and relieve tension considering Vision’s very existence is made possible by one of the Infinity Stones Thanos is desperately hunting down. Astute Marvel fans think that this is a complete fake out. Now, that doesn’t mean they don’t believe that the stone isn’t getting pried out of Vision’s forehead. What they mean by this is that Vision will somehow exist after this excruciating event. Marvel has a tendency to not have main characters pass away or cease to exist so as a follower of the MCU you shouldn’t expect a change in the formula. Here’s hoping Scarlet Witch’s true power potential shines through and she bends reality to her will.
10 Time Travel Will Be Huge In Avengers: Infinity War
We know that the Infinity Gauntlet will be complete or at least close to it by the time credits roll on Avengers: Infinity War. What we don’t know is how exactly the stones will be used by Thanos in the fight against the Avengers. Hopefully, Marvel takes a lot of the iconic scenes from the comics and recreates them in a modern approach.
A huge question lurking in many fan’s minds is how the Avengers will go about defeating a fully powered Thanos.
Some believe that Captain Marvel will be their trump card seeing as she’s already been alluded to as being the most powerful hero yet. Others, however, speculate that time travel will be a major component, possibly going back in time and stopping the metaphorical train from ever leaving the station. Onset photos have shown that Captain America and Iron Man are looking like their introduction counterparts and less like the heroes they’ve grown into.
9 Iron Man Passes Away
Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark and Iron Man will go down as an all-time great in terms of casting. He’s a huge part as to why the MCU grew to what it is today. There wouldn’t be a Guardians of the Galaxy or Avengers: Infinity War if it wasn’t for 2008’s Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. is a very expensive and aging actor in the MCU.
With the introduction of Spider-Man into the MCU, it seems like Tony Stark is preparing Peter Parker to defend Earth in a world without Iron Man.
With Avengers: Infinity War heavily revolving around time manipulation and seemingly touching on Tony Stark’s PTSD, we could see the man who started it all perish at the hands of the mad titan, Thanos. Even if Iron Man survives this upcoming entry I honestly can’t see how he’s around for the foreseeable future. We’re going to miss you, Robert/Tony!
8 Disney Buying Spider-Man
Disney has shown with their recent acquisition of Fox properties that they want to take the MCU to the next level and get all of their properties under the same roof. On the opposite end, recent financial reports have shown that Sony Pictures is struggling to turn a profit with all of their major movie releases. Insider reports are also suggesting that if Sony’s upcoming releases don’t drastically over-perform they might be looking to sell off properties to make their position in the market a little more stable. Having the full stable of characters available for Spider-Man as he seemingly is transitioning into a major player in the MCU will only improve the storytelling opportunities available for Marvel and Kevin Feige. If Disney is willing to close the deal with Fox, don’t hold your breath when the Sony/Spider-Man rumors start surfacing.
7 Harley Keener Is Iron Man V2
Do you remember Harley Keener? He’s the young kid from Iron Man 3 that Tony Stark gave a bunch of equipment to, to tinker with. The actor is set to reprise his role in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War. Now, why exactly would he be back for this movie even though we haven’t even heard the characters name be uttered since 2013? Your guess is as good as ours. Do you think Harley Keener has what it takes to take up the mantle of Iron Man? Peter Parker transitioning from a naive hero who is mentored by Iron Man to an experienced Avenger tasked with mentoring the next generation of Iron Man and the like sounds like a wonderful circle of like. If Tony Stark is no longer with us post-Avengers 4 I assume that this appearance is to lay the seeds for the future and we won’t see the payoff for another 5 years at the earliest.
6 The Fall Of Captain America
Tony Stark is a pretty obvious candidate for an Avenger who isn’t long for this world moving into Phase 4. An even more likely departure is that of Chris Evans. His contract with Marvel to play Captain America is set to expire and Chris Evans has expressed a lot of interest in moving towards directing films at this point in his career.
Though it’s hard to imagine anyone else donning the stars & stripes, Kevin Feige and company have done a stellar job of building Winter Soldier and Falcon into deep and likable characters.
How fitting would it be to see a future Captain America movie directed by the man who brought the First Avenger to life before our very eyes? I don’t think we’ll see a more perfect Steve Rogers for quite a while thanks to Chris Evans setting such an unbelievable standard.
