The record-breaking success of Avengers: Endgame showed that fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) certainly enjoy watching superhero teams on the big screen, and it looks like the studio could be taking the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach to the future of the franchise. While Earth’s Mightiest Heroes may currently be out of commission following the culmination of the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios still have plenty of other teams to lead the MCU into the future.
So far, the only team-based movies in the pipeline are the currently-shooting Eternals and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which doesn’t even have an official release date announced yet, but that doesn’t mean Marvel doesn’t have the characters at their disposal to launch several other ensemble franchises. The most obvious are the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, who likely won’t be seen until Phase Five at the earliest, but are nonetheless incredibly high-priority projects for the studio.
However, in an attempt to expand their roster of characters in both film and television, there may potentially be a number of other superhero teams that could eventually be brought together within the continuity of the MCU. For starters, the Young Avengers have been rumored for a long time now, with Disney Plus set to introduce both Ms. Marvel and Kate Bishop, two key members of the team from the comic books.
The West Coast Avengers could be another option, with Disney’s streaming service establishing the building blocks, given that alumni including Moon Knight, Scarlet Witch, Vision and Falcon will all be involved in the Mouse House’s small screen output. And then, of course, there are the Dark Avengers, who as ScreenRant explains, are “a team of supervillains assembled by Norman Osborn who temporarily took the place of the real heroes.”
There’s been rumors that Marvel is looking to develop a project for the group and when combined with the West Coast Avengers, the Young Avengers and, of course, the New Avengers (which would include Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Shang-Chi, etc.), that would make 4 different teams.
This could ultimately lead to Avengers fatigue given that the originals have just featured in the biggest movie of all time, but Marvel are definitely keeping their options open when it comes to having as many groups up their sleeves as possible for the MCU.