Where is the Marvel Cinematic Universe going?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been ever present since Robert Downey Jr's debut as Iron Man in 2008. After the record breaking culmination of the Infinity Saga in 2019, fans of the franchise were left wondering where the future of the MCU was heading. Since then we have had many movies and TV shows as part of the new phase, as we now near the end of phase 4, we do not yet have a clear vision of where the story is going. So the question is, where are all of the TV shows and movies heading, and what new Marvel villains will we be seeing on the big screen?

Mutants

Ever since Disney bought back the X-Men from Fox in 2019, fans have been desperate to see them in the MCU. Especially as the X-Men films in the past have had mixed reviews from both critics and fans. The current Multiverse theme the MCU is going down could be a possible avenue to introduce the X-Men into the MCU. They could bring them in from another universe and that would explain where they have been for the entirety of the saga. Personally I don't think this is how Marvel will introduce them but it is still a possibility.

Young Avengers

Throughout Phase 3 and 4, there has been a theme of replacing old heroes with newer counterparts from the comics. This could be leading perfectly into a Young Avengers film. The team has started to build during phase 4 especially, we have Kate Bishop appearing in the Hawkeye TV show, Ms. Marvel has had her own TV show, America Chavez was a main character in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Speed and Wiccan appeared briefly in Wandavision and Eli Thomson's Patriot had a cameo in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Not to mention a member of the team in the comics is Iron Lad, which is one of the many variants of Kang the Conqueror, who phase 4 seems to be built around. I really hope this does materialize as it would be an extremely fun team up and would bring some really underrated characters into the foreground.

Thunderbolts

Another team up movie we seem to be heading towards is the Thunderbolts. New character Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has become a big presence so far in phase 4. So far she has recruited Yelena in the Black Widow movie and John Walker in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier for her secret team. This is looking highly likely that it will be a thunderbolts team she is gathering members for. Phase 5 should be revealing more about this team and who else may join, possible people are Abomination and Ghost.

Secret Wars

Due to phase 4 leaning heavily into the multiverse and actors returning to reprise their roles, a secret wars event could be on the horizon. Secret wars was a comic event that saw two marvel universes collide and heroes from both worlds were forced to fight one another on a plane of existence called Battleworld.

This would be Marvel's perfect opportunity to abuse their returning actor gimmick that we have seen in abundance so far. It would be the perfect scenario for Marvel to go crazy for one big event. We could the returns of Chris Evans as the Human Torch. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, either Toby or Andrews Spider-Man again, Ben Affleck as Daredevil etc. They could even be fighting our current MCU heroes.

Kang

The most likely conclusion to the question of where is the MCU heading, Kang! All the signs so far are pointing directly at Kang the Conqueror being the next big bad of the MCU. After his appearance in Loki, he is now set to appear in Ant-Man 3 and possibly in Fantastic 4.

Kang is a massive player in Marvel comics due to him having many variants and being able to bend time at his will, he shows up a lot. He will most certainly be the next Avengers villain and will definitely be a big challenge for the heroes to deal with but with Jonathan Majors playing the role in the MCU, we are certainly in for some cinematic masterpieces in the near future.

Finally, many MCU fans have fears that the MCU has lost its sense of direction and has no clear pathway with phase 5 starting at the end of this year. With the last few movies and TV shows being a bit of a let down for most, I can see why there are worries, however I do believe there are so many stories already in the works and phase 5 will reveal more and give the fans a better understanding of which blockbuster event will be coming next.