5 Marvel Movie Characters We Hope Get More Screentime In Phase Six

For its first 23 movies, the separate "phases" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe seemed pretty cut and dry. The MCU was constructed like a well-moneyed TV series, with each "episode" being a solo superhero adventure with its own dramatic conclusion. Many episodes would introduce a new character or magical conceit that would come into play in future episodes. Then each phase would conclude with a "season finale" episode, wherein all the characters would team up to fight a super-monster of some kind. Clarity could easily be maintained, as each season finale had the word "Avengers" in its title. Phase 1 culminated with "The Avengers," Phase 2 with "Avengers: Age of Ultron," and Phase 3 with the one-two punch of "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame." 

Since then, however, Marvel has altered its rigid/successful TV structure. Most of the MCU movies released since "Endgame" haven't sported a driving supernarrative that strongly connects them. Instead, they are mere solo superhero adventures of varying quality and without a sense of fan-frothing urgency. This approach has made for some fascinating new stories ("Eternals," "Thunderbolts*," and "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" are standouts), but the interconnectivity is now missing. That's a problem when interconnectivity is your franchise's primary feature. 

The MCU also began to regularly produce confused, cheap, rushed sequels that few people liked. There were also several reference-heavy "victory lap" movies that were more keen on nostalgia, references, and legacy characters than building a new narrative forward (see: "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "Deadpool & Wolverine"). Add to these a slew of uninteresting Disney+ shows, and you have a sloppy mess of an entertainment franchise that has been steadily losing fan interest for years. 

But that's not to say the MCU hasn't tantalized us with new characters and ideas here and there. There are still cameos and plot elements that some of us would like to see more deeply explored. The below list describes five characters we would like to see again.

For my money, Chloé Zhao's 2021 film "Eternals" is one of the best films in the MCU. I know I just lost a lot of readers with that statement, but I hold fast. I enjoyed the broad history of the film, and the sci-fi conceits that came with such a vast timeline. The Eternals, and their godlike masters the Celestials, were so long-lived that evolution proved to be a problem. The Eternals were immortal robots that, in being artificial, sidestepped evolution and were able to exterminate the Deviants, monsters that infect thousands of worlds. I liked the idea that Earth was only an egg for Celestials, and that planets occasionally die to allow gods to propagate. The Eternals had to learn to eject God from the trillions-of-years cycle and let humans live on, however briefly. "Eternals" had a much, much larger story than superheroes usually get. 

At the end of the film, "Eternals" had two cameos. One was from the Black Knight (Kit Harrington), an ordinary human who came into possession of a magical sword. The promise of the Black Knight in the MCU wasn't as tantalizing, however, as the appearance of Starfox (Harry Styles), a dashing demigod who appears to several of the Eternals on their spacecraft. Starfox, as Marvel Comics fans can tell you, is the alter-ego of Eros, a demigod belonging to a race of Titans. Eros has powers of persuasion, able to use his charm to talk his way into and out of any situation. In that regard, the ultra-famous pop star Harry Styles was perfect casting.

More tantalizing, though, was the fact that Eros was Thanos' brother. Thanos, of course, was the supervillain at the center of "Infinity War" and "Endgame." Having Eros involved in the MCU would reveal more of Thanos' backstory, of course, but also reveal that demigods were actively watching over the MCU. 

Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) was a supporting player in James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," although he was little more than a dunderheaded enforcer for Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), a high priestess of the Sovereign people. In the original Marvel Comics, Adam Warlock was a more broody, cosmic character, a hero who spent far more time contemplating his existence and responsibilities as a godlike space entity than he did fighting villains. In "Guardians," Adam sported a small golden bindi on his forehead, while in Marvel Comics, it was the Soul Gem, one of the six all-powerful Infinity Gems (called Infinity Stones in the MCU). Adam could suck the souls of others into his own, leaving him spiritually complicated as well. 

The MCU version of Adam Warlock is arguably less interesting, but he is too significant a character to leave behind. At last measure, Adam Warlock was a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, putting him in close contact with Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) and Drax (Dave Bautista). In the Marvel Comics, Adam, Gamora, Drax, Pip the Troll (also seen in "Eternals" and played by Patton Oswalt), Thanos, and a previously unseen character named Moondragon were each given one of the Infinity Gems and traveled around the galaxy as a superhero team called the Infinity Watch. They defended the galaxy from power-mad super-aliens who wanted to use the Infinity Stones for evil. 

There are no announced plans for an "Infinity Watch" movie, but the characters are already mostly in place. 

Seriously, how hard is this to put together? The character of Blade, previously played by Wesley Snipes, starred in three feature films from 1998 to 2004, before the inception of the MCU. Stephen Norrington's 1998 film is aesthetically dated — there's a lot of late '90s black leather and techno music — but exciting and stylish nonetheless, marking it as one of the first undeniably successful live-action Marvel movies. Snipes reprised the role for "Deadpool & Wolverine," and he declared, on screen, that there was only ever going to be one Blade. 

This was a meta-joke, of course, mocking the fact that Marvel Studios hasn't managed to construct their own "Blade" reboot, a project announced as far back as 2019. The new "Blade" is to star Mahershala Ali as the title vampire hunter, and that was supposedly Blade's voice talking to the Black Knight at the end of "Eternals." The new "Blade" movie can't seem to work its way into production, having been stalled in the script phase. As of this writing, "Blade" has no release date, and may not see theaters until after "Avengers: Secret Wars," which is scheduled for December of 2027. 

But there's no reason why Blade can't turn up in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," or any of the other Marvel movies on the immediate horizon. Whether it's another appearance from Snipes, or the debut of Ali, it doesn't matter. It would just be nice to see the character again. He has so much potential, and is undeniably cool. Blade is a half-human, half-vampire monster hunter who seeks to rid the world of all nightstalkers and evil creatures. Let's stop beating around the bush and throw him into the Avengers ensemble.

Wong (Benedict Wong) has already appeared in several "Avengers" movies, providing his powerful sorcery alongside the much crappier wizard, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Heck, he even had a cameo in "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," fighting a monster called the Abomination. It was explained in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" that Doctor Strange was such a terrible wizard that he lost the rank of Sorcerer Supreme, and that the title was then bestowed on Wong. Wong is also scheduled to appear in "Avengers: Doomsday," so the character's fans (like myself) will have their opportunity to see him again.

So far, however, Wong has been a supporting player in other superhero stories. Perhaps Wong will not be a supporting player next time, but a major instigator of plot. I would love to see more hints as to his everyday life as Sorcerer Supreme, and the kinds of wizardly bureaucracy he has to handle in such a position. Does he lead a cadre of other wizards? Does he have to handle magical by-laws for mystical magic-users? How deep does the world of sorcerers really go in the MCU? Does he have jurisdiction over witches like Wanda (Elisabeth Olsen) or Agatha (Kathryn Hahn)? 

For its first several chapters, the MCU tried to make all their fantastical tech and eerie superpowers sound scientific. Even Thor (Chris Hemsworth) was said to be more of a superpowered space alien than a legit deity. Wong, Agatha, Doctor Strange, and Wanda all cracked open actual magic and sorcery, far from the grounded science-fiction of Iron Man. Let's see Wong and more of Wong's world. The Doctor Strange movies gave us a taste, but Wong can give us more.

The original "Howard the Duck" comics from the 1970s were meant to be a spoof of Marvel's own space adventures. Howard, an anthropomorphic waterfowl from another dimension, was an alcoholic, foul-mouthed a-hole who unwittingly became embroiled in cosmic weirdness, usually reacting with a "can you believe this?" attitude. Howard had cameos in "Guardians of the Galaxy" volumes 1 and 2, and appeared briefly in the massive battle in "Avengers: Endgame." He's an especially weird character in a film franchise stuffed with weird characters. He, like Deadpool, could serve as the means for the MCU to take the p*** out of itself a little. Give Howard his own movie, and he could finally address how bugnuts crazy this series is, and how we've come to naturally accept the wizards, gods, spies, talking trees, and other oddities in the MCU. 

Many may point out that Howard the Duck already starred in his own movie, "Howard the Duck," way back in 1986. That film, however, was so unsuccessful, it was long held up as one of the worst examples of Hollywood run amok. "Howard the Duck" was the bomb to end all bombs, mentioned in the same sentence as other notorious turkeys as "Ishtar" and "Heaven's Gate." That, however, was almost 40 years ago, and it's high time the character was reclaimed. Also, given the winking self-awareness of something like "Deadpool & Wolverine," one can see a new Howard the Duck appearance as ironic. Yes, there's a talking, alcoholic duck in this universe. Yes, he hates everything about superhero stories. Yes, we can use him to acknowledge that the multiverse is silly, and superheroes have outstayed their welcome in the public consciousness. Howard the Duck may just save us.

Deadpool is too far gone. He wants to be an Avenger, and cares about the Avengers characters. Howard may just have the temerity to give Captain America the finger (or feather, as the case may be).