Given where the MCU is at right now, Marvel fans are predicting that we could be about to see the formation of the Illuminati in the franchise. A cabal of superheroes influencing events in secret, this inner circle consists of Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Doctor Strange, Professor X, Namor and Black Bolt. All of those characters are either already part of the MCU or are about to be, but what could a big screen version of the Illuminati look like?
Well, this epic piece of fan art below shows us how they may look and gets us super-hyped to see the group come together for real. Digital artist Camille Vialet shared the piece on their Instagram page and alongside Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, Vialet makes some fan casts for the others that no doubt would be popular if they actually happened. From left to right, there’s Henry Golding as Namor the Sub-Mariner, Vin Diesel as Inhuman king Black Bolt, John Krasinski as Reed Richards and James McAvoy returning as Charles Xavier.
If you’re aware that Black Panther is part of the team so are wondering why he isn’t pictured here, that’s because T’Challa was initially part of the Illuminati but soon walked away after a dispute with the rest. The Illuminati were actually formed in the pages of New Avengers, which is interesting as the New Avengers are due to come together on screen in the near future. The secret society was formed in the wake of the Kree-Skrull War in the comics and with Secret Invasion coming, that’s another similarity which makes it more likely the Illuminati is on the way.
In fact, we heard back in 2019 that Marvel Studios had an Illuminati movie in early development, featuring all the above characters except for Tony Stark. That’s not surprising, of course, considering Stark’s death prevents Robert Downey Jr. from coming back, except as an A.I. in the Ironheart TV series. Otherwise, it sounds like a comic-accurate version of the group could make themselves known in the MCU soon.