The idea was that Marvel would continue to expand, going beyond movies in the MCU to incorporate deliberate TV series that tied in with the MCU multiverse. This meant that the biggest film franchise in history would grow even bigger by entering this new realm of popularity. Since then, fans have thoroughly enjoyed watching Marvel’s characters navigate their way through MCU TV series like Moon Knight, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki. However, with this new medium now open to Marvel, the possibilities are more numerous than ever before—and fans have all kinds of ideas on where Marvel’s expansion of heroes should go next. But not all of those concepts are equally feasible. Here are our picks for characters and stories that would make for awesome MCU TV series but will probably never happen for one reason or another.
7. Captain America Puts Back the Stones
During the post-Battle of Earth sequences in Avengers: Endgame, Captain America heads into the quantum realm to put back the Infinity Stones that the Avengers used to bring back half of the universe and destroy Thanos. Now, that premise alone is juicy enough for a standalone miniseries. But given that Captain America retired after Avengers: Endgame, this would be even more meaningful as we’d get Cap back for one final mission. That’s something that fans would love to see. A six-episode run that finds Chris Evans’ Steven Rogers returning the Stones to the timeframes they were taken from? Along with all the relevant guest star appearances? That’d be one heck of an expensive series for Marvel, but it’d also have a guaranteed audience. Sadly, Marvel will probably never be able to make this series due to Chris Evans’ retirement from the role, plus the fact that it’d be a series that doesn’t help to promote or further the current phase of storylines.
6. The Mandarin’s Ten Rings Conquests
As shown in the opening of Shang-Chi, The Mandarin fought and warred his way through history for a very long time, mercilessly conquering cities and states as he continued through immortality. Kevin Feige pulled off a huge win in getting the acclaimed Tony Leung to appear in the MCU as The Mandarin, and that sort of accomplishment demands more than the single appearance he got. The legendary Chinese performer undertook Shang-Chi as his first-ever American film role. And looking at what he brought, Leung deserves to have his own series as one of Marvel’s most fearsome villains. The Mandarin battling through centuries of war with the powerful rings could be a spectacle that brings the journey of Shang-Chi into better perspective as he continues his own path in mainstream MCU.
5. The Five Years After the Snap
After Thanos managed to eliminate half of all life in the universe with The Snap, Earth suffered five years of bleak desolation before everyone was eventually returned to life. Within that five-year period exist endless opportunities for deeply affecting stories and tales. It’d be amazing to see an anthology TV series where each episode centers on a different surviving hero and how they adapted to the new world. Each story would be thematically different, directed by different filmmakers, and add much more depth to the characters. Wouldn’t it be great to witness Rocket and Nebula operating as part of the Avengers in space? Or Captain Marvel scouring the wider reaches of the universe for those in need of help? The series has lots of potential, despite the fact that production would be expensive.
4. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men
There are multitudes of fans who’d line up in theaters and pay good money to watch either of these men reprise their roles as Spider-Man once again. But what if they returned as a TV series? Giving them their own films would dangerously disrupt Tom Holland’s momentum as the current MCU Spider-Man, whereas a separate TV series would provide an isolated platform for their adventures. After the trio appeared together in Spider-Man: No Way Home, there has been strong desire amongst fans for a project involving the Spider-Men, and such a project could take many forms. Perhaps a straight sequel to the individual films of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Or, more excitingly, a team-up series featuring both Maguire and Garfield through the Spider-Verse. That’s the kind of idea that could kill fans of Spider-Man with weaker hearts, but it’d have insurmountable hurdles to jump. First, Sony would never agree to collaborate on a TV series together due to the lack of box office profits. Second, more money could be made by pursuing a film rather than a series. Overall, it’s a nice pipe dream but one that we’ll probably never see come to life.
3. The Sorcerer Supreme, Wong
By now, it’s firmly established in MCU lore that Doctor Strange lost out on becoming Sorcerer Supreme because he died in Avengers: Infinity War. As a result, the title of Sorcerer Supreme went to Wong. However, Wong isn’t underqualified for the title. He’s a mighty sorcerer who commands respect from those around him, and he shares a bond with Strange that sees both of them bound by their abilities. Giving Wong his own MCU TV series would be brilliant for fans, all while pushing forward the stories of Phase Four and Phase Five. He’s a universally liked character who has a unique sense of humor, and he has enough gravitas to carry a TV series. So, why wouldn’t Marvel consider a series with their current Sorcerer Supreme at the helm? There doesn’t appear to be a reason not to do it, if we’re honest, but it feels like something that won’t come to pass.
2. Kang the Traveler
Of all the TV series ideas on this list, this one feels the closest to actually being made at some point. It’s one that Marvel is probably considering, but as of this writing we don’t know enough about Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror and the role he’ll play in the MCU. His appearance in Loki established Kang as one of the biggest threats coming to the Marvel universe, and he’ll appear again in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. However, what if his backstory was fully explored in the form of his own TV series? Witnessing the infinite versions of Kang branch off and destroy parts of the multiverse would be a series like no other. We could follow different versions of Kang in each episode, showing the varying types of Kang as he searches the limitless multiverse.
1. The Hulk, Champion of Sakaar
The years that Hulk spent on Sakaar are something of a mystery. By the time we meet up with the creature again in Thor: Ragnarok, he’s become the fighting champion of The Grandmaster and lives in luxury, but we don’t know the story of how he got there. That story has been buried and the MCU has moved on from Hulk’s fighting days. Perhaps this aspect of Hulk’s history will be explored in a flashback sequence later on, but that’s likely to be a film and only when the rights return to Marvel. Still, the allure of seeing an entire TV series set on Sakaar, complete with Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum, and Mark Ruffalo all returning? That sounds like a lot of fun, especially if Taika Waititi led the project. It probably won’t happen due to rights issues and the general state of where the MCU is now, but one can still hope that this concept will have a place in Hulk’s future projects at some point. Read next: The greatest opening scenes in Marvel’s MCU, ranked
