/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25514416/1528729343.jpg)
Highlights
- The MCU’s success is attributed to the high quality of their films and the presence of two main leads, Iron Man and Captain America, who have now come to an end.
- The Fantastic Four and Deadpool are new additions to the MCU with potential to take on the role of franchise lead, but obstacles like delayed release dates and R-rating pose challenges.
The MCU is a movie franchise that found success after creating multiple superheroes and joining them together in one shared cinematic universe. Audiences were introduced to heroes like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America before seeing them team up together in multiple Avengers movies. This strategy has worked for Marvel ever since, mostly due to the high quality of their films, but also because the Marvel Cinematic Universe had two main leads for viewers to follow as the universe continued to grow.
For the first three phases of the MCU, both Iron Man and Captain America were seen as the franchise leads. However, both of these heroes have their journeys come to an end in Avengers: Endgame. Since then, the MCU has yet to establish a new character to act as the focal point of the franchise, a choice that has seen interest in the movies start to wane. This seems like an odd choice given that there are plenty of other characters in the franchise capable of taking up the role of franchise lead.
7 Fantastic Four
Marvel’s First Family Are Joining The MCU In 2025
Fox Studios bought the film rights to The Fantastic Four from Marvel in the late ’90s and has made three films with the characters. Unfortunately, these movies did not perform great at the box office, but it did mean that Marvel was unable to use them when setting up the MCU. However, the tables turned when it was announced that Marvel’s parent company, Disney, would be buying all of Fox’s Studios in 2018. Such a move gave Marvel the right to use the Fantastic Four again, and a movie based on the team in the MCU has already begun production.
The Fantastic Four were the first superheroes established by Marvel Comics in the early 1960s. As such, it would be fitting to see the team take the lead in the MCU going forward. However, this seems unlikely as audiences are yet to be introduced to this new team, and their first movie isn’t scheduled to release until 2025.
6 Deadpool
The Merc With A Mouth Can Show Up Anywhere
Deadpool and the rest of the X-Men were characters that Marvel gained access to during the Disney/Fox merger. The deal occurred when Deadpool had just received two successful movies surrounding his R-rated antics. Fans were so enamored with this portrayal that it seemed inevitable that a third film in the series was a sure thing.
Now that the studio has announced that Deadpool 3 is coming in 2024 and that the story will take place in the MCU, it leaves Deadpool in an interesting position. The character has a strong following already and also has the ability to break the fourth wall. This means he can take the lead in the MCU by showing up randomly and explaining to audiences what is going on in the wider MCU as the leading man. However, Deadpool is an R-rated character. Therefore, it is unlikely that Disney would want this type of hero as the face of the franchise.
5 Black Panther
A Role Passed On Too Soon
When the first Black Panther movie was released in 2018, it quickly became the MCU’s most financially successful solo movie in the franchise. All of that success could be attributed to the film’s very charismatic lead and the Black Panthers’ strong moral compass. Of course, it would make sense for Marvel to want to capitalize on this success by making T’Challa the lead of the franchise going forward.
Sadly, the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman meant that Marvel had to rethink their plans for the character of Black Panther. The role of the hero was passed on to T’Challa’s sister in the touching sequel, but Shuri is not the lead that Boseman could have been. Fans will no doubt see more of the character in the future, but Black Panther will not be as big of a presence in the universe as he was supposed to be.
4 Spider-Man
Marvel’s Most Recognizable Character
Anyone familiar with comics will know just how important Spider-Man is to the shared universe. He is one of the franchise’s most well-known characters, and the hero has already appeared in three solo films and several other movies within the MCU. Tom Holland is also the perfect age for a leading role in this type of franchise, as the young actor could easily stay on for another ten or fifteen years as Peter Parker. Marvel has already announced that they are working on a fourth movie with the character, so why don’t fans see more of him?
The main issue with Spider-Man in the MCU is that the character is shared with Sony. The company still owns many of the rights to the character, and Marvel is essentially borrowing the license for now. As such, Marvel Studios probably does not want to make this character the lead when they could lose the right to use him at any moment.
3 Sam Wilson
The New Captain America
When Steve Rogers retired as Captain America, and the second franchise lead, at the end of Endgame, he passed the shield and the legacy of Captain America onto Sam Wilson. Since then, Sam has had his own Disney+ series that showed him accepting the mantle of Captain America, and a fourth movie based on the character has been announced with Sam Wilson in the lead. However, viewers haven’t seen much of the new Captain America since.
It seems fitting that the next version of Captain America will take center stage in the franchise and lead things going forward. Sadly, that does not look like it is going to be the case. Perhaps Marvel Studios did not want the next lead of the MCU to be another Captain America, even if he does end up leading the next group of Avengers.
2 Captain Marvel
The Universe’s Most Powerful Hero
Captain Marvel was a relative late-comer to the MCU when she showed up in her own solo movie in 2019. She even made another appearance the same year in Avengers: Endgame and has had a sequel movie where she shared the screen as part of a new team. The super-powerful warrior has even shown up in a few post-credit scenes since then. However, Marvel still seems reluctant to put Captain Marvel on a new team of Avengers.
One of the main problems with Captain Marvel is that she is extremely powerful. There are very few threats that a team of heroes could face that Carol Danvers couldn’t deal with on her own. Also, the character is mainly based in outer space. As such, this lead of the MCU would be absent from most stories set on Earth.
1 Doctor Strange
The One Dealing With The Multiverse Threat
The first three phases of the MCU were part of the Infinity Saga. The next three phases have been titled the Multiverse Saga and will culminate with Avengers: Secret Wars in 2026. As of writing, the main character in the MCU who is dealing with the multiverse the most is Doctor Strange. The arrogant wizard went on a journey to discover all about the multiverse and incursions in his second movie, so it seems that Strange will be pivotal in facing the next big threat.
As a character, Doctor Strange is very similar in attitude to Tony Stark. With that initial lead now gone, Strange can fill the hole left by Iron Man quite nicely. Fans have also seen him interact with plenty of other heroes in the universe already. Additionally, Benedict Cumberbatch is a big enough name in the industry to get audiences to buy tickets. Therefore, it only makes sense for Doctor Strange to lead the franchise as it moves forward.
