While Steve Rogers and Tony Stark leaving the MCU left the biggest impact, it seems like they won’t be the only ones. Considering her death in Endgame, Black Widow’s upcoming solo prequel movie could very well be her final MCU appearance. Likewise, Hawkeye was set up to be retiring from his hero role as well. But not only are there plenty of other heroes to fill the void, but Marvel is also bringing in very specific new heroes.
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Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova from Black Widow looks to be set up to take the mantle from Natasha Romanoff with the character appearing in the Hawkeye series. That series will also introduce the character of Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), who became Hawkeye in the comics. This sets up the apparent trend of a new generation of heroes taking over for the departing heroes. In fact, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have presumed replacements as well. Sam Wilson has stepped into the role of Captain America while Ironheart seems to be setting Riri Williams up to carrying on Tony Stark’s legacy.
Beyond that, Marvel looks to be assembling plenty of other contingencies. Thor: Love and Thunder will be introducing Lady Thor as well as giving further attention to Valkyrie as the new ruler of Asgard, either of whom could take his place. She-Hulk is confirmed to be featuring Bruce Banner and could serve as his goodbye to the MCU. Even newer heroes have younger Avengers waiting in the wings. Ms. Marvel will be teaming with Carol Danvers in The Marvels while Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie will reportedly become the hero Stature in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. On top of all that there are still a bunch of lesser-known heroes, like Moon Knight, Shang-Chi, and Eternals joining Phase 4. In other words, the MCU could look a lot different very soon.
There is a bit of a perception that the MCU can do no wrong at this point, but it’s hard to ignore that this is a pretty big risk they are taking. They are not only changing their roster of heroes in a very substantial way, but they are also doing so with younger heroes as well as heroes fans are unfamiliar with. Iron Man might not have been a household name like Spider-Man when the MCU started, but he was certainly more popular than Moon Knight. Fans wanted to see Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor sharing the big screen together for the first time. That kind of excitement might not exist for this next wave of superheroes.
More than ever, Marvel will be relying on their successful brand to maintain audience interest rather than their iconic characters. It is not just the fact that new characters will be coming in to replace the heroes who started the MCU. The original actors will be replaced with new faces as well. These actors have been directly tied to these characters becoming cinematic icons and fans may resist new actors taking up the mantle.
Despite the clear risk of this move, there is still plenty of reason to get excited. The idea of replacing Steve Rogers is daunting, but The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showed that there can be some interesting ways of approaching the legacy of these characters. It’s a safe bet that Marvel is looking to have Riri Williams be a Tony Stark surrogate, but rather a totally new and unique character who will have a hero’s journey of her own. It is also helping to expand the MCU with more diverse stories and characters that are essential for the universe to avoid becoming stagnant.
While it might be hard to say goodbye to some of these actors who helped shape the MCU, there is an incredible roster of talent ready to reshape it for the future. Phase 4 of the MCU has an amazing mix of actors, from critically acclaimed names like Mahershala Ali and Oscar Isaac to exciting newcomers like Simu Lui and Dominique Thorne. Even if fans might not be familiar with the characters they are playing, these actors can help to make them into icons as big as the ones who came before them.
There is an exciting uncertainty about this path the MCU is taking into the future. The cinematic universe continues to grow with no signs of slowing down, but this will be the real test to see how the franchise will adapt following Avengers: Endgame. Despite the risks, if this new roster of heroes ends up working, there is really no limit to how long this franchise can continue. And of course, if audiences don’t latch on to the new heroes, Marvel still has the Fantastic Four, X-Men and plenty more to fall back on.
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