What Franchise Is Marvel Planning After Avengers 4?

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War, in theaters now.

Though the world is still reeling from the devastating end of Avengers: Infinity War, talks at Marvel Studios and Disney about the MCU's future have gone well beyond whatever happens to Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers 4 next year.

During an earnings call this past Tuesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said that future Marvel films have been plotted out and that fans shouldn't rule out more Avengers films. "I'm guessing we will try our hand at what I'll call a new franchise beyond Avengers," he told investors, "but that doesn't necessarily mean you won't see more Avengers down the road. We just haven't made any announcements about that."

That's a statement that invites speculation, so let's do that.

To begin with, let's clarify what Iger most likely meant by "franchise." It doesn't necessarily mean a new super team will rise up to take the Avengers' place in the MCU. Rather, it simply means "a property that could support two or more movies by itself." But given that the Avengers are still the center of things, and we all know the Guardians of the Galaxy movies aren't going anywhere soon, teams are the easiest thing to gravitate towards when discussing what should be the MCU's next big introduction.

On that front then, The Defenders, Young Avengers, and The Champions can be ruled out. The Defenders is firmly placed with Netflix, even if it's unclear whether there'll be another season. Young Avengers and the most recent version of The Champions (which sees that title go towards a group of teen superheroes such as Miles Morales, Ms. Marvel and Viv Vision) can be ruled out because, given production scheduling, it'd be hard to keep a core cast of teenaged actors together and truly "young" for long. And on that front, the current Spider-Man film series, the in-limbo-but-already-cast-and-written Squirrel Girl and the New Warriors TV show and Freeform's upcoming Cloak & Dagger TV show have the "teenage superhero" angle on lock anyhow. Similarly, Power Pack also falls victim to the realities of aging. (That said, it's a real shame a property that's essentially "The Incredibles but they're kids" and has one of Marvel's most prominent lesbian characters in Julie Powers hasn't had anything done with it in this boom period of superhero media.)

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As for non-teen teams, there's Canada's own Alpha Flight but they're... complicated. While the most relatively well-known version of the team is X-Men adjacent and therefore would most likely reside with Fox, the current comics incarnation of the team is space-based, led by Captain Marvel (whose movie is coming next year and was teased at the end of Infinity War) and focused on countering extraterrestrial threats, a far enough pivot from the original concept that Marvel Studios could say it belongs to them or work out some sort of agreement post potential Disney-Fox merger (which, remember, isn't a done deal).

An unlikely, but still possible, swerve would be using the original concept of the Champions. Debuting in 1975 from writer Tony Isabella and artist Don Heck, that superteam--consisting of Hercules, Black Widow, Iceman, Angel, and Ghost Rider--suffered from an erratic publishing schedule, a high amount of creative turnover, and what many feel was inadequate storytelling. But there's still gold there.

While Iceman and Angel are dicey depending on how the Disney-Fox merger shakes out, the MCU already has a Ghost Rider in Gabriel Luna, who played current Rider Robbie Reyes on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Even with Luna signed on as the next Terminator, and even with the MCU by this point having put its television arm off into a corner, it's still possible and would generate huge buzz from hardcore Marvel fans. Similarly, Black Widow provides a link with the MCU's past and Hercules provides a strong, slightly buffoonish god character to build the team around and fill that particular character slot depending on what ultimately happens to Thor in Avengers 4.

There's also the possibility of bringing in Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme. This comic, which began publishing last year, written by Robbie Thompson and drawn by Javier Rodriguez, sees the good Doctor bring in Sorcerers Supreme from throughout time, such as Merlin and the Ancient One, to help him fight off a reality-threatening foe. Given how Benedict Cumberbatch's work as Strange has improved in every appearance to the degree where he was one of Infinity War's highlights, seeing him and Benedict Wong's Wong with other famed wizards could be a lot of fun and an interesting direction to take the character. Plus, we've all seen the MCU's penchant for taking titles and ideas from more recent Marvel Comics storylines.

But what about the teams everyone wants to see, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four? Well, again, the Disney-Fox merger is not a done deal, but of the two, the FF is a lot less complicated. As a film franchise, it's never gotten off the ground. And historically speaking, the FF did launch the Marvel Universe we know and love back in 1961 so recentering them in their rightful place? Wouldn't be the worst idea.

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