The Russo Brothers Will Return To The MCU After AVENGERS 4...If They Can Direct SECRET WARS
It sounds like Joe and Anthony Russo may be taking a break from superhero movies for a while after Avengers 4 but there's one storyline, in particular, which would be enough to convince them to return...
The Russo Brothers have made it clear a number of times that they fell in love with comics after reading the epic Secret Wars storyline and both Joe and Anthony have expressed a desire to adapt it.
During a Q&A yesterday evening (in which they refused to comment on the Avengers 4 trailer despite speculation there would be some sort of announcement), the filmmakers indicated that they're going to take a break from the world of superheroes after the Avengers: Infinity War sequel.
What could tempt them back? Secret Wars!
With the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, and the X-Men now all living in the same world, don't be surprised if this does become a reality somewhere down the line. Putting the Russos at the helm would also be one heck of a move by Marvel Studios...
Click on the "View List" button below for a breakdown of storylines which
are possible now the X-Men and Fantastic Four are coming home!
Emperor Doom
Doctor Doom may rule over the fictional nation of Latveria but the villain has frequently set his sights a little further afield and attempted to gain total world domination. One such example came in the Emperor Doom storyline which saw Victor Von Doom make use of Purple Man's powers to finally succeed in taking over the world, something Earth's Mightiest Heroes obviously couldn't stand for.
Marvel could use a movie like this to bring The Avengers and Fantastic Four together but I think it's unlikely we'd see the return of David Tennant's Purple Man from the Netflix side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Regardless, a tale like this has a lot of potential and would establish Doom as a force to be reckoned with in this shared world while pairing these two teams up for the first time.
Frightful
Kevin Feige has said he would like to tackle the horror genre in the MCU so where better to start than with the Marvel Zombies? In the "Frightful" story arc, the Ultimate version of Reed Richards and company met their counterparts from another universe; a universe where they were flesh-eating zombies! They then teamed up with Doctor Doom and what ensued was an epic battle between the two factions. This would have to be saved for Fantastic Four a sequel but the possibilities are endless.
After all, this clash could lead to the introduction of the actual Marvel Zombies Universe, a twisted take on the MCU with an R-Rating and a new cast of actors playing new versions of familiar characters!
Onslaught
Onslaught may have been the result of terrible 90s storytelling but the villain - a combination of Professor X and Magneto's worst parts - has an awful lot of potential, especially as he's the sort of threat who could very easily bring together The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men for the ultimate team-up movie. This could be a two-parter even bigger than Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4!
It would obviously be better for Marvel to not kill the Avengers and Fantastic Four but placing them in a different universe and leaving the X-Men the sole protectors of Earth could have some very interesting consequences for the mutants and set the stage for more big stories over the years which follow.
Bloodties
A pretty standard Avengers/X-Men team-up which brought the heroes together to rescue Quicksilver and his daughter, the story earns a place here for the fantastic job it did by taking Earth's Mightiest Heroes to Genosha and making them realise what exactly mutants go through on a daily basis.
Quicksilver could easily be subbed out for Scarlet Witch and Fabian Cortez would have to be swapped for Magneto, someone who may have just discovered that Wanda is actually his daughter in this possible big screen adaptation. There are definitely some great elements here Marvel could use.
Avengers Vs. X-Men
Immediately pitting The Avengers against the X-Men could be tough to pull off but providing the latter group have already been introduced at this stage, it could actually work really well. Making Hope Summers the focal point probably wouldn't make a lot of sense but these two teams may come to blows simply because a shady government type attempts to turn them all against each other.
That could then lead to the heroes coming together to battle a newly revealed big bad (think Zemo in Captain America: Civil War) but I'm sure there are any number of inventive ways Marvel could bring them all together and make them fight. After all, Avengers Vs. X-Men is a guaranteed box office hit and it's something fans have wanted to see brought to the big screen for pretty much, well, forever.
The Illuminati
The Illuminati consisted of Iron Man, Professor X, Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Doctor Strange, and Namor the Sub-Mariner. We later learned that they had spent years manipulating events in the Marvel Universe and while that wouldn't work in the MCU for obvious reasons, Marvel Studios could still bring this group together and make them a focal point of Phase 5 or 6 before they're ultimately outed.
The roster would have to be changed (no one wants to see the small screen version of Black Bolt return) but you need characters like Charles Xavier and Mister Fantastic to make this team work and there's a lot Marvel could do with them. Who knows, their actions could even lead to a long overdue adaptation of the World War Hulk storyline, something which would be a truly epic sight to behold.
The Coming Of Galactus
Ever since the Daredevil rights were set to return to Marvel in 2012 and Kevin Feige offered Fox the chance to keep them in exchange for Galactus and the Silver Surfer, we've known that he wants the villain and that means we probably won't have long to wait until these two make an appearance. While the Fantastic Four will have to be involved in some capacity, Galactus will no doubt end up being used as a Thanos-level big bad for the MCU and you don't need us to tell you why that's hugely exciting.
Galactus is another threat big enough to bring together The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men, and while that would be a lot of characters to juggle, something tells me Marvel will be able to pull it off.
Annihilation
While the status of the Marvel Cosmic Universe remains somewhat unclear after Disney fired James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, some sort of event movie encompassing characters like the Star-Lord, Nova, and the Silver Surfer is a must somewhere down the line, especially if they're all brought together to try and stop Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave from wiping out the universe.
Bear in mind that it was this event which brought the Guardians back in the first place and set the stage for their big screen debut, so it would be silly to not borrow elements from the epic and sweeping tale. Annihilus could easily be introduced in a Fantastic Four movie when the team travels into the N-Zone, setting the stage for his return and an outer space tale even bigger than Star Wars.
House Of M
This should be an obvious choice for Marvel Studios because it would allow them to do something truly new in the MCU. While the X-Men will have needed to be in the same world as The Avengers for at least a few years before this happens, the prospect of seeing so many familiar faces in a setting which has been created by the Scarlet Witch where mutants rule all would be tremendous fun for us to see.
It's one of those great "What If?" storylines that has a huge amount of potential and seeing Magneto in charge of America while the likes of Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Iron Man are almost unrecognisable in this new reality actually has storytelling potential beyond just this movie. After all, if Marvel really wants to be ballsy, they could make this the MCU's status quo for a good year or two of releases.
Secret Wars
The Russo Brothers have expressed interest in adapting Secret Wars and while that could be done without the X-Men and Fantastic Four, that would essentially just make it Civil War II (an exciting prospect but something we've obviously already seen). However, when you throw all these other heroes into the mix, this story can get the big screen treatment it deserves and wouldn't disappoint.
The Avengers: Infinity War directors indicated that they would potentially use this movie to introduce the X-Men and Fantastic Four into the world of Earth's Mightiest Heroes but I would personally like to see both teams star in their own movies prior to this being adapted. After that, though, having them all meet in this epic adventure where they're forced to fight each other would be downright epic.
(The Other) Secret Wars
We are, of course, referring to the Secret Wars storyline penned by Jonathan Hickman which mashed up a number of alternate universes to create one ruled over by a God-like Doctor Doom. There's no denying that this is a movie which could be groundbreaking for Marvel Studios but it's also one which can't be rushed and so I could imagine it being saved for Phase 6 or 7 as so much build up is needed.
Like House of M, meeting alternate versions of our favourite heroes would be fascinating and while we're probably not going to see both adaptations on the big screen within close proximity, I think this one has just as much potential (especially with Doctor Doom taking centre stage). It would also make the Fantastic Four a focal point, something the team needs to be after their disappointing Fox movies.
Spider-Man/Human Torch
A relatively small-scale story, Dan Slott's stellar work on Spider-Man/Human Torch was what led to him ultimately becoming the writer of Amazing Spider-Man and while there's not one plot point in particular here which would necessarily inform the movie, it would be pretty spectacular for these two to be paired up on screen. Bear in mind that the wall-crawler has a lot of history with the Fantastic Four and making these two friends could set the stage for Peter Parker ultimately joining the team.
By the time the Fantastic Four arrive in the MCU, Peter will still be young enough to attempt to join their ranks, something which obviously happened in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #1 and having him make a cameo appearance would obviously generate even more interest in Marvel's reboot.
Doomquest
One of the biggest disadvantages of the Fantastic Four not being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the fact we've never had the opportunity to enjoy the rivalry between Doctor Doom and Iron Man. While this storyline is far smaller in scale than some of the big events we've mentioned, Doomsquest was still a lot of fun as it saw the two sworn enemies sent back in time to the age of Camelot.
While it's sadly unlikely that Robert Downey Jr. will stick around long enough to make this happen, it could be an odd-couple Thor: Ragnarok style adventure which would be a blast to watch unfold.
The New Fantastic Four
This is another storyline which is probably a long way off from happening but the fact that The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man now share the same world means that we could one day see a very different iteration of all those teams. The one which excites me the most is the New Fantastic Four, a group which was made up of Spider-Man, Wolverine, The Hulk, and Ghost Rider.
Just the thought of seeing this lot share the big screen and be part of the same team is exciting so a new iteration of the Fantastic Four made up of these heroes would be a sight to behold and is a real possibility in the not too distant future. We could even see the likes of Ant-Man and She-Hulk sign up!
X-4
X-4 isn't the most well-known tale listed here but it is one of the better examples of an X-Men/Fantastic Four team-up, something Fox has foolishly failed to take advantage of countless times over the past twenty years or so. As great as it's going to be seeing these characters meet The Avengers, it will be just as cool for them to meet each other and this storyline could inform that in some interesting ways.
When the two teams travelled into outer space, the X-Men were hit by cosmic rays - with some pretty crazy results - and The Brood arrived to attempt to take out the heroes, all of which added up to one fun adventure. While I'm sure Marvel could find a way to make the stakes even higher so this team-up really matters, there's no denying that they should be looking at this story for some inspiration.
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