Annlyel James 
Annlyel explores the potential candidates for the next major villain of the MCU
Why is Marvel Studios the smartest franchise in the world at this moment? Because it’s a franchise that plans ahead. Us viewers watch these movies and think we have an understanding of what’s going on but the minds behind the studio like Kevin Feige and James Gunn and the Russo Brothers etc. know what’s going to happen years down the road.
The first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a booming success because the massive story had a simple common denominator; Thanos. Thanos was introduced in the post-credit scene for The Avengers and the rest is history. Each movie, each story, each hero’s character development, all led to Thanos and the great battle that ensued over the course of two fantastic Avengers movies. By Endgame‘s conclusion, it was obvious that an era had come to an end and that a new phase had begun. This next phase is set to introduce even more powerful characters like The Eternals into the mix and it all has to lead to another super powerful antagonist. One that will give our heroes plenty of heartaches and send millions of fans rushing to the movie theaters again to see the big showdown.
But who will be this new common denominator? Well, here are three candidates that could be incredible to see on the big screen.
Death
In the comics, Thanos fell in love with the female entity of Death and decided to destroy the universe to please her. Of course, that wasn’t his motivation in the MCU but it was subtly implied in The Avengers when The Other says to Thanos in the post-credit scenes, “To challenge them (them being The Avengers) is to court Death.”
Death isn’t exactly an evil being in the comics but he/she/it could very well become a threat to the heroes that would leave the protagonists in quite a pretty pickle. I mean think about it. How do you fight and defeat Death? That’s a much greater challenge than facing Thanos.
Kang the Conqueror
With Avengers: Endgame introducing time travel and potential alternate dimensions Kang the Conqueror is a perfect antagonist to arrive in the MCU in the coming years. You see, Kang the Conqueror comes from the future and goes through time causing trouble for The Avengers. There are a whole bunch of alternate versions of the character such as his future self, Immortus, and a heroic version of himself called Iron Lad.
What if Kang the Conqueror arrived in the MCU, went back in time, amassed an army of the MCU’s most formidable villains, that being Red Skull, Thanos, Ultron, Loki, etc. and made a super Anti-Avengers team to fight The Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and probably the Mutants at that time? That could be visually incredible.
And last but definitely not least, Galactus
Galactus is scary. A powerful giant who literally eats worlds like snacks? Um, yeah, that’s terrifying. Galactus is one of the oldest characters in the cosmic universe and with Eternals featuring characters that are essentially millions of years old Galactus could very well appear on the big screen sooner rather than later.
Galactus is a villain I want to see so badly on the big screen and I’m hoping Kevin Feige feels the same way.
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Annlyel James is a prolific Staff Writer for Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Follow her on Twitter @annlyeljames where she channels the Force frequently!
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Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!
