The last decade of blockbuster filmmaking has been dominated by one name: Marvel. From Iron Man to Infinity War, the company's studio arm has become a major force in Hollywood, and helped to usher in the the current superhero-loving zeitgeist. The Marvel Cinematic Universe's decade-long run predates a long history of Marvel properties on the silver screen, beginning all the way back in 1944 with the black and white Captain America serial, when the company was still known as Timely Comics. As far as live-action media goes, the next 30 years were a complete void until 1974's Spidey Super Stories reignited the public's interest in seeing its characters outside of the funny pages.
Most would probably agree that Marvel didn't start making a real dent in the movie world until 1998's Blade. The dark adaptation bit off a big chunk of the box office to become a surprise hit, earning two sequels and something of a cult following. The more family-friendly success of the X-Men and Spider-Man films began to make the Marvel brand a household name -- forming the launchpad on which Marvel Studios would ambitiously build its cinematic shared universe. After so many film and TV adaptations, you'd think the untapped character bench would be looking a little sparse, but don't worry Marvel fans -- 80 years of storytelling has kept that pool from running anywhere close to dry. Kevin Feige claims that he's got enough storylines in the works to take the MCU through to 2028. The first 10 years could be just the beginning.
15 CARNAGE
With Tom Hardy's Venom movie coming out later this year, all eyes are on Marvel's other twisted symbiote, Carnage, to make a cameo appearance. Failing that, how about his own feature? Venom is a famously "dark" character -- and not just because of his signature inky color scheme -- but Carnage's murderous history would make Sony's Spider-verse even darker.
This fan-made poster predicted that the red dread would make his cinematic debut in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which of course, would have been tricky to do in a Venom-less universe, but digital artist, uncannyknack's rendering of Carnage is so disturbingly good it makes us even more eager to see him on the big screen.
14 MOON KNIGHT
Since the inception of Netflix's Defenders world, fans have been keen to see which other street-level heroes will join Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Of all the contenders, Moon Knight's name is just about top of everyone's list. But maybe fans should be thinking bigger than their TV screens. A character often referred to as "Marvel's Batman" deserves his own feature-length adaptation.
In January 2017, James Gunn revealed on Twitter that he'd pitched the idea to the studio, but didn't "have the time" to do it himself. Bringing along this fantastic poster by graphic designer Chris Francis to the meeting might have helped Gunn's case. Chris even came up with a pretty decent tagline for the project, too.
13 NOVA
The huge success and general good vibes of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies makes the question of a Nova movie not a question of if, but... when? The films already feature the Nova Corps, the intergalactic police force that the titular hero becomes a member of after gaining his powers, and the character has experienced a resurgence in popularity over the last few years.
A Nova movie could work as either a Guardians prequel, or in the mold of Ant-Man, with Richard Rider as the Hank Pym to Sam Alexander's Scott Lang. This teaser poster created by amyisalittledecoy offers a tantalizing look at what the film could look like, surrounding the soldier in the twinkling sea of space, complete with a redesigned Avengers logo.
12 SILVER SURFER
Though it's riddled with flaws, we can all agree that the best part of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was the titular Surfer. The first live-action Norin Radd walked the walk, talked the talk, surfed the surf and charmed the suit off of Sue Storm. His aura of mystery and power along with his Galactus-sized baggage is begging to be further explored on-screen.
Plus, his acclaimed cartoon series means he's already proven himself to be leading man material. This dramatic scene for an imaginary Silver Surfer movie created by Erathrim and paints a vivid picture: the Surfer stoically watches an extraterrestrial assault on Earth. Will he come to our rescue? We'll have to (theoretically) wait until 2020 to find out.
11 SHE-HULK
A lukewarm track record for his solo films and complications over character ownership have meant that the Hulk has been relegated to co-starring in his teammate's films, leaving a big, green gap in the market that his cousin could easily fill. A savvy career woman balancing her work, superhero duties and a personal life? Sign Sandra Bullock up now.
This sensational poster created by mruottin and starring Alexanne Darkholme was designed to "have all the elements from classic Marvel comic book covers. [...] You get a glimpse of the story, who's about to fight who and what kind of epic battle it will be!" The practical redesign of She-Hulk's classic costume is a great touch, as is that familiar figure in the background.
10 SCARLET SPIDER
The upcoming animated feature, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is set to showcase the many variants of the web-slinging vigilante, of which Scarlet Spider is one of the most prominent. The character first appeared as an exact replica of Spider-Man, and was revealed to also be a clone of Peter Parker. He later adopted Uncle Ben's name and a hoodie to differentiate himself better from his doppelganger.
WibblySpidey created this poster for a potential spin-off movie idea to Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man series, pitching the character as "bad boy" alternative to Peter. With the Venom movie on the way, Spider-Man-adjacent projects seems to have legs at Sony Pictures. Why let the villains steal the spotlight?
9 DAZZLER
Considering her origin, Christina Aguilera is a logical casting choice for a possible Dazzler movie -- she's got the pop star career, the acting credits and a high enough degree of fame for Fox to take a leap of faith on the lesser-known X-Woman. (Though, a popular blonde songstress with a Golden Globe to her name like Lady Gaga might be an even better choice...)
Dazzler was created as part of a cross-promotional deal between Marvel and Casablanca records in the '70s, but she's managed to outlast and outgrow her manufactured origin. This poster design by Designosaurus-Rex teases a solo film that could be Marvel's first foray into musicals (ignoring the disaster that was Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark).
8 CAPTAIN BRITAIN
Just as Deadpool 2 looked like a backdoor pilot for an X-Force movie, could a cinematic Captain Britain adaptation open up the possibility for an Excalibur film? His sister, Psylocke has already joined Fox's X-Men universe so the door is wide open for a family reunion. However, the creator of this poster, DubiousAJ, would rather see the Captain in the MCU.
"In the context of the other [MCU] films, [Brian Braddock] is more likely to be a science-enhanced physicist [...] Unless Marvel Studios went the 'weaponized Harry Potter' route, which is entirely possible. [...] This is the 'British Knight' science approach, based on some Adi Granov Iron Man concept art."
7 SPIDER-MAN 2099
As well as the Scarlet Spider, WibblySpidey has looked even further into the Spider-verse's cinematic future with this poster for a Spider-Man 2099 film. The character was created as part of Marvel's "2099" line, and of all those futuristic re-imaginings, Miguel O'Hara -- a geneticist who accidentally fuses his DNA with a spider's -- has proven to be the most enduring.
A solo movie could either take place in the future or take a leaf out of The Superior Spider-Man "Necessary Evil" storyline, in which Miguel gets trapped in our time. Make it happen Sony and Marvel! (Although, not to burst anyone's bubble, but the character's name might look a little misleading alongside a release date...)
6 SPIDER-WOMAN
Designer nottonyharrison has crafted a whole series of potential posters for Marvel adaptations that have yet to exist, including Black Widow and Falcon movies, and a Netflix series for Kate Bishop as Hawkeye starring Audrey Plaza. This promotional Spider-Woman poster might not be for a show rather than a film, but it was too cool for us not include here.
The artist puts Parminda Nagra in Jessica Drew's shoes -- which she comfortably fills here in civilian clothing. In an additional design, the actress sports some of the character's trademark colors in the form of a yellow glove and black leather jacket, not to mention a ruder headline, alluding to the series going down the adult comedy route.
5 THE SINISTER SIX
Not too long ago, The Amazing Spider-Man's Marc Webb got Marvel fan hearts racing with the revelation that Sony had considered making a Sinister Six movie on the back of the Garfield-fronted series. The project, originally earmarked with a 2016 release, seems to have been indefinitely shelved since the actor's firing and Spider-Man joining the MCU.
However, the announcement that Mysterio will be Peter Parker's next opponent in the Homecoming sequel has renewed hopes that, along with Vulture and Electro, the villain team-up film could still happen, possibly as the answer to DC's Suicide Squad. For now, we've got WibblySpidey's fan-made poster to tide us over.
4 DOCTOR DOOM
If any comic book supervillain deserves a major big screen do-over, it's Doctor Doom. The enigmatic supervillain began as a ludicrously-dressed foil to the Fantastic Four, but has slowly morphed into a complex and fascinating presence that echoes throughout Marvel Universe. (The ludicrous costume is here for good, though.) None of the three movies he's appeared in have done him any justice.
Given that we're going to be seeing a lot of villain-led comic book movies over the next couple of years from both Marvel and DC, the time seems right for a Victor Von Doom origin movie. This brooding poster mock-up posted to reddit by LasherDeviance casts Mads Mikkelsen in the lead role, something the Doctor Strange actor has previously expressed interest in.
3 GAMBIT
Yes, we know that a Gambit movie is being made, but at this point we'll believe it when we see it, Channing Tatum. The X-Men spin-off focussing on the Ragin' Cajun has been in development since around 2014 when Tatum was cast. It's slated for a 2019 release, but four years trapped in development hell makes us sceptical about this.
Not that we don't want the movie to happen. Gambit is one of those characters that just oozes charm; an archetypal anti-hero with a cool name, a cool design and a cool prop to channel his powers through. With so much still unknown about the film, this poster concept by fan favorite artist, BossLogic might be the closest we'll get an official one.
2 NAMOR
Of all the names in Marvel comics yet to appear on-screen, Namor's is one of the biggest. The Sub-Mariner is the half-human, half-Atlantean ruler of the undersea kingdom, and one of Marvel's oldest characters. He has ties to most of the company's major teams, from the Avengers to the X-Men, and looks very good wearing very little. (And he knows it.)
That last part isn't strictly relevant but given the MCU's tradition for gratuitous shirtless scenes, Namor would fit right in. If the Aquaman movie manages to pique the general public's interest in water-based superheroes, then Namor could be even more ripe for the movie treatment. This mysterious teaser poster by SkinnyGlasses certainly helps drum up anticipation.
1 ADAM WARLOCK
A lot of Infinity War fan theories pinned their hopes on the arrival of Adam Warlock, whose existence was teased at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. Unfortunately, Marvel's golden boy was nowhere to be seen during the final battle in Wakanda, though there's still a chance he could show up in time for round two in the 2019 sequel.
As the gauntlet's eventual master, Warlock is considered to be one of the Marvel Universe's most powerful beings, and his appearance in the films could open up the possibility for even more mystically-charged adventures in the deeper reaches of space -- and beyond. Jurassickevin, the artist behind this stylish poster, wanted their design to "reflect the cosmic, magical nature of the character."