Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally arrived in cinemas last weekend, easily delivering one of the best Phase Four projects while also serving as a touching and moving tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who died tragically before filming. The film broke the November box office record by earning $180 million at the domestic box office. Faith in the MCU had wavered a bit after the rambling and bloated Phase 4, but Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reminded people of the power of the universe and rekindled excitement for the upcoming phase five.
Many questions surround phase five, but none is more important than the question of survival. The stakes increase as we get closer to the end of Multiverse Saga, and many characters are in play.
Hank Pym — “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania”
Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) was a loyal and reliable mentor to Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) since giving the ex-con his Ant-Man suit, but his time in the MCU might be coming to an end. The epic trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania revealed that the protagonists would find themselves trapped in the Quantum Realm, and we suspect the world’s first Ant-Man may never escape.
How Hank will die is a mystery, but we suspect he may sacrifice himself so that his daughter and wife, whom he reunited with after decades apart in Ant-Man and the Wasp, can live. It would be a very fitting ending for a man who has always valued his family above all else.
Maria Hill – “Secret Invasion”
Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) has been underutilized in the MCU since its introduction to The Avengers. She was mostly relegated to small supporting roles, never allowing audiences to get to know Maria beyond being Nick Fury’s right-hand man. It’s a tragic shame, and even worse, given the fate we fear she may suffer in the upcoming Disney+ series, Secret Invasion.
The MCU has now gone beyond spies, with gods and mutants, and monsters are now at the center of the cinematic universe, which means we don’t see any way for Agent Hill to feature in any meaningful way in the movies. upcoming projects. Unfortunately, that probably means Secret Invasion will be Maria’s last appearance. First, we hope to get to know her better.
Nick Fury – “Secret Invasion”
He may be responsible for the first assembly of the Avengers, but we fear Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) time in the MCU may be drawing to a close. The one-eyed spy has seen his importance in the franchise dwindle since SHIELD collapsed in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Although the Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credit scene has led us to believe that he played a key role in the creation of SWORD, we have yet to see anything to prove this or his importance to the organization. Granted, nothing is set in stone, but we’re concerned Fury won’t have a big enough role after Secret Invasion to warrant the iconic character’s survival.
Kragling – ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’
One of the main benefits of working with an ensemble cast is that it allows directors to be brutal when killing off beloved characters. james gunn has never shied away from this responsibility with the guardians of the galaxy franchise, killing a version of Groot, Yondu, and allowing the current Gamora to be sacrificed by Thanos.
This leads us to believe that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Gunn’s latest film in the franchise, will continue in the same vein. It may even offer more kills than previous installments, with many of the main character stories set to conclude in the highly anticipated movie. Although Kraglin is played by Sean Gunn, the director’s brother, we think is most at risk because he’s a new member of the team and isn’t as developed as the other characters. Maybe Sean should take James off his Christmas card list.
Nebula – ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’
The relationship between the foster sisters Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) has been one of the most interesting dynamics of the guardians of the galaxy franchise. Although they initially hated each other because Thanos regularly pitted them against each other, they learned to accept and love each other after realizing that neither of them was responsible for their childhood.
With that in mind, the perfect way to resolve this dynamic would be for Nebula to sacrifice herself for her sister, allowing her to live out her days with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), the man she loves.
Drax – ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’
Draxe (David Bautista) is one of the most beloved characters in the entire MCU. The fact that he takes everything at face value and is painfully honest no matter the storyline makes him the funniest character in the MCU and one fan will miss when he’s gone.
Despite his hilarity, Drax is a character filled with grief for the daughter and wife he lost, and while Bautista feels Marvel dropped the ball on this storyline, he spoke of his excitement at completing the journey of the character. Although we don’t want to accept it, we think this journey could end with him reuniting with his family in the afterlife after saving the world one last time.
Loki – “Loki” Season 2
Ok, that’s a bit weird considering that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is technically already dead, but we think the second season of the hit Disney+ series Loki could signal the end of the God of Mischief once and for all.
The show’s first season led us to believe that Loki couldn’t survive beyond his fateful encounter with Thanos in the Sacred Timeline. Sure, Sylvie destroyed the Sacred Timeline when she killed the One That Remains, giving Loki a chance to survive, but we’ve come to the crushing conclusion that everyone’s favorite villain is on borrowed time. Sooner or later, we’ll have to say goodbye to the character for good.
Agatha Harkness – ‘Agatha: Chaos Coven’
Agatha: Chaos Coven is one of the most intriguing properties of the MCU’s fifth phase. Catherine Hahn will return as an incredibly popular character first introduced in Wanda Vision. Given that we don’t know anything about the series so far, it’s safe to say that anything could happen.
This could be the perfect opportunity to bring the Scarlet Witch back into the fold, something Kevin Feige confirmed that the studio is looking to do. Maybe after a pretty severe change of heart, Agatha will realize the world needs the Scarlet Witch and sacrifice herself to bring the iconic character back into the fold.
Red Guardian – ‘Thunderbolts’
Red Guardian (David Harbor) enjoyed a redeeming arc when introduced in Black Widow. After initially returning the children he claimed to be his family while undercover in America, Alexei turned his back on them, allowing them to be tortured and brainwashed on their journey to become assassins.
After Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) and Yelena (Florence Poug) reunite to break him out of prison, Alexei re-evaluates his life choices, laments his mistake, and vows to help his daughters fix it once and for all. He may have lost a daughter, but he will fight alongside Yelena in Love at first sight. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the hilarious character end his arc by sacrificing himself to save the only girl he has left.
Bucky Barnes – “Flashes of Lightning”
It’s a bit of a stretch, and we hope it doesn’t happen, but Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) journey in the MCU can reach the end of the line. He will undoubtedly be the captain of the Love at first sight due to his great experience and as we all know the captain always sinks with his ship.
Honestly, we’re worried that Bucky won’t survive because we don’t know exactly where he fits into the MCU anymore. There may be a future for him as a street hero, but it’s just as likely that Bucky will pay the ultimate price on his next outing. We hope that doesn’t happen because we think there’s still a lot to come from the White Wolf, but he learned from Steve Rogers that heroes sometimes have to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect those they love.
