Is Marvel Studios Building Toward A Young Avengers Movie?
Avengers: Endgame brought an end of an era — one that changed up who would take on the mantle of Earth's mightiest heroes. There are already several beloved superheroes and galactic teams jostling for that responsibility, but what about the next generation? The children are the future, after all, and — thanks to a five-year time jump — they're all grown up.The Young Avengers —a group of superhero protégés who came together in the comics to save the world after the main adult team broke apart — has been teased and rumored heavily for the past few years. But for the first time, with the confirmation of core team members like Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), and America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), we're seeing serious steps on Marvel Studios' part to bring them together.
The next Hawkeye, Scott Lang's daughter and protége, and a super-strong Latin-American teen may form the core of Marvel Studios' Young Avengers. Or at least, it seems that's the direction that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is headed, with the introduction of Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, the younger Hawkeye who will be seen teaming up with Jeremy Renner's archer in the Disney+ series Hawkeye; the confirmation of America Chavez, as played by The Babysitters Club star Xochitl Gomez, in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness; and the recasting of Cassie Lang with Freaky breakout Kathryn Newton. These castings were all confirmed at the Disney Investors conference Thursday, and hint that a Young Avengers team-up is surely inevitable.
Who are the Young Avengers (So Far)?
Kate Bishop, and Cassie Lang were two of the core members of the Young Avengers, a team of teen superheroes who first got together in series by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. After the events of the 2004–2005 "Avengers Disassembled" storyline, these teens decided to fill the hole left by the dissolution of the main Avengers team. If the adults weren't going to save the world, the kids would.
Kate Bishop was a rich debutante-turned-archer vigilante who would make a name for herself as Hawkeye before being taken under Clint Barton's wing. Meanwhile, Cassie Lang had the same powers as her father Scott Lang, the power to change size at will, taking on the name Stature.
America Chavez (also known as Miss America), a super-strong alien with the power to fly and create portals between universe with her kicks, would join as a lead member in the new Young Avengers series by Kieron Gillen and drawn by Jamie McKelvie, which launched in 2013. She would become the first major Latin-American LGBTQ character in Marvel Comics and quickly establish a rapport (and arguably, romantic tension) with Kate Bishop in the second Young Avengers line-up.
Who Else Could Join?
Kate Bishop will be joining the MCU through the Disney+ series Hawkeye, while Cassie Lang and America Chavez will both get big-screen time with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, respectively. Notably, Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) — a notorious foe for the Young Avengers — will be the main villain of Ant-Man 3, which suggests that Quantumania may be our big lead-in to this team-up. In the comics, a young version of Kang, before he becomes a villain, time travels back to join the young Avengers as Iron Lad, leading to the Young Avengers facing the dilemma of realizing their team member is destined to be a villain.
With the forthcoming Loki series potentially dealing with alternate realities and alternate Lokis, there's a chance that we could be introduced to Young Loki, another core member of the Young Avengers team, albeit one who is taken on as part-hostage, part-wary ally. I wouldn't be surprised if Loki ended with the introduction of Young Loki, ripe for a Young Avengers team-up.
And while this character hasn't been associated with Young Avengers before, the announcement of an Ironheart series, which follow the character of Riri Williams (a young Black girl who's a genius inventor who creates a suit of armor that rivals Tony Stark's) suggests we may see the character played by Dominique Thorne join the team.
With Iron Man dead and Captain America retired, and the rest of the main Avengers doing their own spin-off shows before likely retiring too, there's a huge void that the Young Avengers are primed to fill. And Marvel Studios is putting all of the pieces in place.