The Marvel Cinematic Universe is nothing if not a consistent confluence of numerous, ever-running threads. In other words, it’s a bunch of different franchises that end up converging into a money-printing Avengers event film. What follows is a look at each of those franchises as they stand now and whether or not it feels as though they need to continue. “As they stand now,” means current, so Iron Man’s out. And, considering The Incredible Hulk was and remains the title character’s only film, so too is the big green guy. We’re also factoring in franchises with another installment on the way, but since The Avengers has two more en route and serves as a team-up extravaganza as opposed to a solo adventure, that series was excluded as well.
So, with those parameters in mind, let’s take a look at the MCU’s current active franchises. Which one do you think deserves a follow-up the most?
10) Thor
Ranking dead last is Thor. By this point, Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder has been the most consistent presence in the MCU, and while Hemsworth has charm to spare, there’s not enough of an arc to explore that would warrant another full movie devoted to him. Not to mention, as it stands, he’s the only character who has received four solo films.
Hemsworth will be in Avengers: Doomsday, so we haven’t seen the last of him. And, if anything good came of Thor: Love and Thunder, it’s him becoming a dad. That’s a nice place to leave the character when it comes to solo adventures. If he still pops up in team-up movies, great, but the well is running dry. Furthermore, as implied, Love and Thunder was fairly weak as a film. Taika Waititi knocked it out of the park the first time out with Thor: Ragnarok, but Love and Thunder was a chore that found itself far funnier than it actually was. The tag scene of that film introduced Brett Goldstein as Hercules, but given how Russell Crowe’s Zeus elicited more eye rolls than cheers, perhaps it’s best if that’s a credits scene that doesn’t go anywhere.
9) Guardians of the Galaxy
It’s genuinely hard to say whether Guardians of the Galaxy warrants another “solo” adventure. As of right now, they’re not even in Avengers: Doomsday. Not even Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill, who was at one point assumed to be a part of it.
There are certainly other adventures they could go on, especially as the line-up shown in the final moments of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The issue is that there really is no imagining a Guardians of the Galaxy movie without James Gunn at the helm. And he’s a little busy for the foreseeable future (not to mention he’s told the over-arching story he wanted to tell with the characters).
8) Captain America
Here we are in “maybe should get a sequel” territory. We’re out of “probably best not to” territory. “Maybe” for Captain America because, while Captain America: Brave New World turned a profit, it still showed that the MCU’s financial viability was in decline, even with the promise of a Red Hulk Harrison Ford.
Should there be more of Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson and Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres in the MCU? Their chemistry was the best part of Brave New World. But does it necessarily have to be in a solo Cap movie? Not really. Brave New World as a whole wasn’t beloved enough to get people clamoring for more. But, who knows, maybe with a production that isn’t so prone to setbacks like Brave New World‘s was, perhaps there could be a Sam Wilson Cap movie that lives up to the three superb Steve Rogers Cap movies.
7) Captain Marvel
The Marvels wasn’t the MCU’s first major financial failure. Eternals only generated $402 million against $235.2 million, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania only netted $476.1 million against a staggering budget of at least $330.1 million. But with $206.1 million against a similarly staggering price tag of at least $307.3 million, it was the franchise’s first bonafide flop. It’s the type of return that kills a franchise.
Yet, The Marvels is at least fun, which can’t be said of Eternals or Quantumania. And, given how Captain Marvel was a billion-dollar movie, it’s not as if there was never any draw in seeing Carol Danvers fly across the screen. By this point, The Marvels has been accepted as a middling but overall enjoyable entry in the MCU canon, so there is reason to make a Captain Marvel 3 (or The Marvels 2, depending on how you look at it). Perhaps a Disney+ series with a heavily monitored budget.
6) Deadpool
To a degree, Deadpool & Wolverine function as a one-off. There are other franchises listed here that require follow-ups more than Deadpool. But, at the same time, it would be a shame to bring Wade Wilson into the fold and give him just a single movie where he’s really allowed to let loose. After all, he without a doubt will be restrained should he end up being in Avengers: Secret Wars.
As of now, neither Ryan Reynolds nor Hugh Jackman is confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday, even when several X-Men who’ve never been a part of the MCU have been. It feels as though their announcement would have happened by now. It remains to be seen when we’ll see the duo in action again, but given just how much money Deadpool & Wolverine made, it’s undeniable that we will, in fact, see them fight side by side again.
[RELATED: The 7 Worst Marvel Cinematic Universe Trailers]
5) Black Panther
Given how Denzel Washington let it slip a while back that Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler is writing a part for him in a third film, which seems to be very much on the way, even if Marvel Studios itself hasn’t announced it.
It would, of course, be very silly not to make a third Black Panther film. The first film is a cultural touchstone and netted superhero cinema as a whole its first Academy Award for Best Picture nomination. The second film did the best it could with the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman and managed to stand as a remarkably solid and moving film. Plus, if Coogler’s on board, a third Black Panther is a must. Who knows when it would hit theaters, but at least we only have to wait until Avengers: Doomsday to see Letitia Wright’s Black Panther, Winston Duke’s M’Baku, and Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s Namor again.
4) Doctor Strange
Back in January, Benedict Cumberbatch said he would not be in Avengers: Doomsday, but would have a major role in Avengers: Secret Wars. He’s since backpeddled on that, and it seems he will be in both (but it seems fair to expect his role in Secret Wars will still be larger than the one in Doomsday).
Even if he’s a presence in both of those big movies, he’s still too important a character not to receive a full trilogy. And, while we’re on the topic of Doctor Strange, Sam Raimi needs another movie in the MCU, one where he’s an integral part of its construction from the very beginning. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a Doctor Strange movie, but it seemed to be a world the Evil Dead creator was comfortable playing in. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness also ends with the reveal that Strange now has a third eye, so whether it’s in an Avengers movie or a direct sequel, the next chapter of Strange’s story needs to be explored.
3) Shang-Chi
Destin Daniel Cretton directing Spider-Man: Brand New Day raises a big question mark over his helming a Shang-Chi sequel, but the fact remains that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was one of the best entries in MCU Phase Four. It very much deserves to receive a sequel.
Perhaps a hypothetical Shang-Chi 2 doesn’t even need Daniel Cretton. For instance, considering Lulu Wang directed Shang-Chi star Awkwafina in 2019’s The Farewell, and hasn’t directed a feature film since, perhaps she could be brought into the MCU fold. Whoever helms it, it would be very interesting to see where Shang-Chi and Katy are after taking down the former’s father. As of now, Simu Liu is scheduled to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, but Awkwafina is not.
2) Ant-Man
2015’s Ant-Man is a fun origin story. It brings some new stuff to the table (e.g. serving as a heist film) while also sticking to the elements that had made the MCU a considerable moneymaker up to that point. Ant-Man and the Wasp was even better, improving upon every aspect of the original film and ultimately serving as one of the unsung best films to come out of the MCU.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, however, is pretty much a disaster. And, because it was, like the first two films, directed by Peyton Reed, one really can’t chalk its failure up to him. Reed deserves a chance to make a true Ant-Man 3, one that isn’t beholden to setting up an Avengers movie that, in the end, wasn’t even going to come to fruition. Evangeline Lilly would likely need to be recast, but that’s really the only hiccup to making another Ant-Man flick. Paul Rudd will be in Avengers: Doomsday, but Lily will seemingly not be, so perhaps they’ll find a way to move forward without her and her parents there.
1) Spider-Man
As of now, the only MCU Phase 6 movies officially scheduled are The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avengers: Doomsday, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and Avengers: Secret Wars. In short, the two Avengers movies are going to allow us to catch up with most if not all of the aforementioned IPs’ protagonists, but the only individual hero’s franchise that is getting a direct follow-up is Spidey.
Good, because the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home is a full-on, well-orchestrated lead-up to a sequel. Tom Holland is such a hit as the title character that one could imagine him staying in the role for as long as he’s willing and able to do it.
MCU films can be streamed on Disney+.
The post MCU Franchises Ranked by How Much They Need Another Sequel appeared first on ComicBook.com.
