What’s after ‘Endgame’ for Marvel Universe?
Five directions the popular franchise could go to hold on to its momentum
Spoiler alert! This story includes key plot points from “Avengers: Endgame” so beware if you haven’t seen it.
With the exception of perhaps “Star Wars,” there’s nothing bigger in Hollywood than the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the superhero world, there’s nothing bigger than “Avengers: Endgame.”
The 22nd Marvel film had the largest opening weekend in cinema history, making $357 million in North America and $1.2 billion globally. Because it’s early in the summer-movie season, there’s plenty more cash to be made as fans go back for return trips to see the film’s many reveals, callbacks and goodbyes.
But “Endgame” definitely put a cherry on top of this grand sundae, a finale in every sense of the word. Which leaves us wondering: Where does the MCU go from here?
“Spider-Man: Far From Home” (in theaters July 2) is the only upcoming Marvel movie officially on the books, with a lot of sequels (welcome back from the dead, Doctor Strange and Black Panther!) and assorted other projects in various states of development.
A good look at the MCU’s future will probably come as soon as this summer: Between Comic-Con in July and Disney’s own D23 convention in August, it’s a good bet we’ll have an idea of the path forward by Labor Day.
Here are five directions the MCU needs to go so it doesn’t fumble all that “Endgame” momentum.
Let the newbies take the baton
Not that we thought Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Spidey
(Tom Holland) would actually stay “dead,” but their returns solidify plans for sequels all around. “Phase 4” of the MCU should focus on them and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) as the A-listers since the stories of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) came to an end with “Endgame.” Plus, let’s leave the door open for fans to fall in love with the rookies: An in-theworks “Shang-Chi” movie presumably will give the MCU its first headlining Asian protagonist – and a dive into a kung fu landscape – and more diversity is potentially in store thanks to the mythic “The Eternals,” with Angelina Jolie and Kumail Nanjiani circling.
Pass the iconic mantles around
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) inheriting Captain America’s shield from old man Steve in “Endgame” hints that the MCU might be embracing its comicbook roots by letting other characters brandish the famous codenames of their successors. The Disney+ streaming service looks like ground zero for that: “Falcon and Winter Soldier” with Mackie and Sebastian Stan could become a straight-up Cap series, and Jeremy Renner’s ace archer Clint Barton already is on tap to pass on the quiver to a yet-to-be-cast Kate Bishop in a Hawkeye show. But that’s just a taste. The clanging heard at the very end of the “Endgame” credits could be a tease that another Iron Man is on the way – just saying, Shuri (Letitia Wright) would be a great choice as a brainy and rambunctious Tony Stark 2.0. And with Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) looking a bit worse for wear after “Endgame,” now’s the time to introduce a She-Hulk.
Keep the balance between Earth and space
Director James Gunn is coming back to do a third “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “Endgame” set that up nicely, with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) joining StarLord (Chris Pratt) and his crew – now Asgardians of the Galaxy, of course – in the search for the missing Gamora (Zoe Saldana). “Captain Marvel” has made so much money that Carol Danvers and her new haircut will soon enough be blasting through the cosmos again, too. However, the beauty of the MCU so far has been in how it explored the universe but still had its core heroes on the ground, so hopefully, that mind-set continues.
Pick and choose carefully from the Fox hero crop
Marvel Studios guru Kevin Feige got Spider-Man back in a deal with Sony and, thanks to the Disney/Fox deal, now adds the X-Men, Deadpool and more as possible additions to the cinematic sandbox. Avoiding a random appearance by Wolverine in “Endgame” makes one think they’re being strategic. Deadpool should stay in his own madcap lane, but after two failed “Fantastic Four” movie franchises, perhaps the third time is the charm if they get an MCU debut. The fan-favorite X-Men, whose current Fox movie run probably ends with “Dark Phoenix” (out June 7), are bound to end up in the MCU at some point, though gradually introducing mutant heroes and villains into the universe would be the smartest move. (Because the one movie that be a more culture-smashing event than “Avengers: Endgame” is “Avengers vs. X-Men.”)
Figure out a new big picture (and a fresh big bad)
The long game of Thanos and the Infinity Stones was masterfully told, weaving through multiple movies before coming to a head in “Infinity War” and “Endgame.” Marvel may look to the skies again for an A-list super-duper villain – planet-chomping Galactus could be a contender – but instead, how about something more down to Earth and organic? Adapting the “Secret Invasion” comic story line, where shapeshifting evil Skrulls infiltrate heroic circles for villainous purposes, would make sense as the alien race was introduced in “Captain Marvel,” plus it would be effective as a larger story arc that encompasses all characters. Whatever Marvel does, though, those folks have earned the right – and our trust – to take some seriously huge swings and continue to test storytelling boundaries.