Despite the death of Peggy Carter in Captain America: Civil War, we’ve kept getting more Hayley Atwell brief cameos in Avengers: Endgame when Steve Rogers did his time-traveling and now we’ll be seeing a Multiverse incantation in the upcoming What If…? series that will debut on Disney+ on August 11.
Peggy Carter is the one who is selected for the super-soldier program and leads a team that includes Steve Rogers, who pilots the HYDRA stomper armored suit.
This has lead to rumors from The DisInsider that Atwell might be seeing her Multiverse incarnation, Captain Carter, appear in Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. If they’re indeed keen on bringing her back to the live-action corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would be the perfect excuse to tackle another period adventure but with Captain Carter and various characters from her timeline/universe.
Producer Brad Winderbaum revealed to Deadline recently that Marvel has plans to bring her back for multiple seasons of What If…?, which could make fans extremely happy and that could help signal the studio’s desire to do more with her in the future.
One idea I’ve had about future projects that has been growing like a germ for months is that Marvel Studios finally attempt a version of The Invaders. The other team Steve Rogers led in the comic books alongside his trusty side-kick Bucky Barnes. That lineup also consists of android John Hammon aka Human Torch (Easter Egg in Captain America: The First Avengers), Namor The Sub-Mariner (expected to be coming soon), Joey Chapman aka Union Jack (raced against Tony Stark in Iron Man 2), Jacqueline Falsworth aka Spitfire, and many many more WWII era characters that may never see the light of day (Wolverine and Captain Britain could easily join those allied ranks too).
Captain Carter leading an incarnation of The Invaders during WWII, the Cold War (could add members of Agents of Atlas), or in present time could be worth turning into a live-action series on Disney+ given how hungry Disney has been to adding multiple new shows to the streaming series. Seeing Marvel tackle off-shoot Multiverse projects on Disney+ feels like a better way to tackle this stuff instead of overloading audiences with feature film explorations.
Chris Evans has seemingly bowed-out from the MCU and Peggy Carter could be the one to lead Invaders, if Evans stays away (despite reports of a return that have been denied) and the studio wants to pursue a live-action Carter project.
We know that actress Hayley Atwell was willing to return for more seasons of Agent Carter, but if they’re focusing on new television projects at Marvel Studio. It also doesn’t hurt that she’ll be starring alongside with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8, highlighting that the actress is still interested in action roles and Marvel should capitalize on that sooner rather than later.
*WARNING! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER*
Yesterday, saw Marvel Studios release the finale for Falcon & Winter Soldier and cemented that Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson has moved from the Falcon persona to taking on the Captain America mantle from Steve Rogers. It was also reported that the studio isn’t wasting any time and has assigned screenwriters for Captain America 4 with Falcon’s Malcolm Spellman and Dalan Musson said to be working on a script.
I’m getting a strong feeling that Don Cheadle’s War Machine series Armor Wars could plant seeds for this upcoming Captain American sequel alongside the film’s potential threat. If you remember we saw Don Cheadle appear as Rhodey in the first episode of Falcon & Winter Soldier when Wilson donates the shield to the Smithsonian exhibit. I don’t think it was an accident that the two shared a moment in that first episode as Falcon and Armor Wars might be connected leading up to the events in Captain America 4.
Armor Wars will see James Rhodes crackdown on a wave of Stark technology getting into the black market and allows him to interact with a heap of Iron Man villains that likely wouldn’t have made the cut in feature films. Baddies such as Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, and others could finally get their live-action adaption alongside other canon-fodder characters. There could also be a link towards the introduction of Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams, who will be leading her own series Ironheart.
Armor Wars’ villains could be familiar faces with Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer, who featured predominately in the comic book the show is based on and if I had to guess could easily step-in for Norman Osborn in the Dark Avengers. You might remember that he turned War Machine into Iron Patriot for Iron Man 2, the armor was used by Osborn and briefly by Sharon Carter in the comics. I wouldn’t be shocked if Hammer is recruited into the Thunderbolts potentially combining Dark Avengers with Thunderbolts into a single entity. Traditionally, Baron Zemo is the leader but there are been multiple incarnations and the MCU does it’s own thing.
Speaking of Carter, it was revealed in Falcon & Winter Soldier that she was the mysterious arms dealer The Power Broker and is now going to use her newly returned access to government weapons programs for her benefit. There is a good shot that Sharon and Justin might join forces to get their hands on Stark’s armor tech.
Zemo crushed The Power Broker’s attempt to recreate the super-soldier serum and could attempt to help take-out villains that want to get their hands on Stark’s armor tech as well. At the end of Falcon, we see Zemo’s butler killing a batch of Flag Smashers that were heading to The Raft, suggesting that he’s still dangerous even behind bars.
We currently don’t know what Marvel is planning to do with Captain America 4, but it’s worth noting that the last installment, Captain America: Civil War, was essentially an Avengers event. There is a good chance that with Falcon & Winter Soldier out of the way they can now give Sam Wilson a massive blockbuster as he takes over the Captain America franchise.
One of the main attributes of the Captain America films is that Steve Rogers has fellow superheroes working alongside him with Bucky/Peggy Carter/The Howling Commandos in Captain America: The First Avenger, Black Widow/Falcon/Nick Fury in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Bucky/Falcon/Scarlet Witch/Hawkeye/Ant-Man/Sharon Carter in Captain America: Civil War. Seeing Rhodey and Sam further develop their relationship or even partner up in the future wouldn’t be surprising given their military backgrounds and both taking on superhero mantles.
Could the next Captain America film also become some Avengers event movie like Civil War?
A new Avengers roster is being assembled before our eyes by Marvel with Sam Wilson becoming Captain America, Rhodey is essentially taking up the Iron Man mantle from Tony Stark, Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster aka Lady Thor, Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova becoming Black Widow, Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk, a new yet-to-be announced Black Panther for the sequel shooting this summer, Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop aka Hawkeye, and Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres taking Sam’s spot as Falcon. How this might intersect with plans for the Young Avengers and Thunderbolts remains to be seen.
Armor Wars dropping hints for the Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers to appear in future films like Captain America 4 could be great way to have things escalate for Sam’s first film as the new Cap and sort of amp things up in comparison to the Disney+ show.
John Walker becomes U.S. Agent
Wyatt Russell’s John Walker becoming U.S. Agent remains a bit of mystery if he’s going to be part of the MCU’s version of Thunderbolts or will become a pawn of The Serpent Society (faux title for Captain America 3), Zola, and the Mandarin’s Ten Rings. It likely comes down to the intentions of his new boss Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Julia was originally supposed to appear first as Val in Black Widow before the pandemic delayed the film’s release from May 2020 to July 2021. There are already suggestions that she’ll have some connection to Yelena joining the Thunderbolts but that needs to be confirmed. It’s confirmed that Florence Pugh is reprising the role in the Hawkeye series that could also have links to Thunderbolts.
Walker could return for Armor Wars as he teamed-up with The Jury and that group could be replaced with whoever ends up getting bootleg Stark-tech, potentially Val and Justin Hammer. I’d personally like to see The Serpent Society because they would make an excellent surrogate for a modern version of HYDRA and give Sam plenty of villains to battle for the next couple of years.
Thunderbolt Ross might become a very important figure in the very near future and there is a possibility he might appear in Armor Wars given that Rhodey could be activated under Ross’ supervision.
It could be interesting to see the new Avengers going head-to-head against a competing team like the Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers, who would likely be made up multiple villains selected by Thunderbolt Ross at The Raft. Ross himself is a member of a recent version of the team as Red Hulk, a character aspect that could be explored in the She-Hulk series. He’s always been lurking behind the scenes as a government stooge and helped create the Abomination. Having Ross spearheading Thunderbolts as his namesake would make a lot of sense and it’s starting to feel like Phase 4 is leading up to the two teams clashing on the big screen.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR EPISODE 1 OF THE FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER
In Episode 1, we see both Sam and Bucky dealing with a world post snap and Captain America. It starts off with Wilson on a mission for the U.S. government in Africa where Batroc has hijacked a military plane and is attempting to kidnap an officer. The action sequence is the meat of the episode as the rest attempts to explore the pair grasping with their grief and responsibilities.
After saving the day, Sam returns to his family in New Orleans and attempts to help his sister Sarah get a bank loan to help their business/family home. The bank manager seems to be more interested in getting a selfie with an Avenger than giving them a loan. He’s referred to as Uncle Sam by his two nephews, which could make for a badass patriotic superhero name if Wilson decides against using Captain America or Falcon once he gets the shield.
Bucky is still dealing with his PTSD from being a brainwashed assassin for HYDRA as he has a nightmare of killing an innocent witness and it’s revealed he’s the son of an elderly Japanese man he has befriended named Yori (not aware he killed his son). The pair are getting lunch at a Japanese restaurant when Bucky is set up on a date with Miki Ishikawa’s Leah. He’s also in therapy where he’s trying to make amends and is being evasive about the nightmare to Dr. Raynor.
During a presentation at the Smithsonian, Sam Wilson makes a speech with Don Cheadle’s Rhodey in attendance as he hands over the shield and they place it in a display case in the Captain America exhibit. It’s mentioned that Steve Rogers/Captain America is “gone,” but they don’t use the words “dead” and Sam’s military cohort Joaquin Torres aka Falcon asks him if Rogers is on a base on the Moon (a nod to S.W.O.R.D./Secret Invasion?).
It’s also revealed that the group Erin Kellyman’s Kari Morgenthau is involved with is called Flag-Smashers (a nod to the Cap villain) and seemingly are upset that things changed when people are brought back to life. Torres tries to infiltrate the group in Switzerland and attempts stop one of the masked members until it’s revealed that Desmond Chiam’s Dovich is enhanced with superhuman strength. I’ll be curious if they’ve got their hands on the super-soldier serum or some black market knockoff.
We’ll likely see that Zemo is connected to the group and his purple mask may indeed be linked to Thanos as the Flagsmashers seem to have thrived post-snap.
The episode ends with Wyatt Russell’s John Walker taking over the Captain America mantle as they give him the shield that Wilson handed over as he didn’t feel like it was his to keep.
THE RONIN 