The Marvel Cinematic Universe is, just like the rest of the world, sitting down on its’ ass. Or so I thought it was. I couldn’t be more wrong than when I typed that previous sentence.
There are a lot of upcoming new TV shows. Shortly after Wandavision ends (March 5th, 2021) Falcon and the Winter Soldier will takeover the slot starting at March 19th, 2021. There are talks about releasing Black Widow on Disney+ as a premium feature, just like they did with Mulan. That was a bit steep if you are with one person but perfectly fine if you do it with more than one person. Alone, you paid €22,- on top of your monthly subscription.
I had a discussion with some friends who also found the price for Mulan to pricey if you paid for it alone but added to it: If you make it a group payment then it should be all good. My personal opinion was that if you are to pay €22,- then you should at least have a Windows 10 app of some sort that supports all the technologies such as HDR, Dolby Vision / Atmos / DTS that Disney+ has to offer on TV’s or consoles. But they don’t and since I am forced to watch it on PC since my old TV does not support the Disney+ app and don’t own a console, I feel a little bit stolen.
Marvel Cinematic Universe TV shows: Everything is finally connected!
Way back when the Marvel Cinametic Universe was finally getting some steam we had Jeph Loeb, back then head of Marvel TV, say something stupid like: Everything is connected. Fans, like myself, were all like: do we finally get to see Chris Evans or Robert Downey Jr. make a guest appearance in Marvel’s Agents of Shield? While we never did, although Samuel L. Jackson did make an appearance, fans kept hoping for clearer connections and ties to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Having TV shows that is directly connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe really works the establishing the characters more. The previous Netflix shows such as Daredevil, The Punisher, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones as well as the Hulu shows The Runaways and Cloak and Dagger were all great and they made minor references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe but watching Wandavision where events that occured in the movies and the direct consequences of the movies implemented in the show is just amazing.
I have no doubt that that will happen to Winter Soldier and Falcon as well. We will get to know the two of them better. Not just as a team but more importantly as individuals. For instance: how will the two of them do it without Steve Rogers present at all anymore. How will they fill in what Captain America used to do? Continuing the legacy of Captain America is no small feat and they will have to do it their own way.
Speaking of legacy; how will Falcon live up to the legacy of Captain America as an individual? He was given the legendary shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame which begs the question: can he handle it physically and mentally?
As for Winter Soldier, with Bucky’s memory coming back and the former Soviet Union programming gone after months in Wakanda, how will he cope with what happened to him during the Blip? And without Steve Rogers around.
Since no formal information has surfaced about Chris Evans reprising the role we can just assume that he will not be in the show unless it is through flashbacks. But who knows, they may just pull a Luke Skywalker in Mandalorian and he will still show up.
Hawkeye
Hawkeye is one show that is really needed. I loved Jeremy Renner’s character in the movies but he really wasn’t given a lot of screentime so it is high time that this character receives love from the Marvel Cinematic Universe powers that be.
In the comics Hawkeye is a total badass and he has had long stints with several Avengers teams as well as his own comics. His comics also featured Kate Bishop, who will make her debut in the TV show. Kate in the comics however is the second Hawkeye but will team up and I think / speculate mentored by Jeremy Renner.
The cool part about fleshing out Hawkeye will be that we finally get to see how Hawkeye coped with the noble sacrifice of Black Widow while the two of them were on Vermir to get the Soulstone in Avengers: Endgame. We never really got to see how it impacted him and I think that if you want to see how it shaped him then this is a must see. It is said that Kate Bishop will take over the role of Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kate Bishop will be played by Hailee Stansfield of whom I am a fan since watching Transformers: Bumblebee and Pitch Perfect. Yes, I watched Pitch Perfect. Who doesn’t like a good band of singers.
References in the TV shows and the movies
So when you look at Wandavision and you see Monica Rambeau show up in the series. And as a fan, you know that she will one day get superpowers because she is Photon in the comics. The question is would this character hop over to the movies? Because the character has his or her origins told on a TV show that could even be the backdoor pilot to let’s say Agents of Atlas (Jimmy Woo was a large part of that team in the comics).
If so then there is a ton of possibilities in expanding the current Marvel Cinematic Universe that is akin to the comics back in the 1980s and 1990s. Back then comics would often have guest roles for instance Wolverine appear in a Spiderman comic which would then be referenced in his own solo series or in an X-men comic. So if the reader wanted to know that’d mean that he or she would have to buy the comic and read what the reference is all about.
So let’s translate and see how this could potentially look in a movie and use the aforementioned name of Photon also known as Monica Rambeau as an example:
Monica Rambeau has her origins in WandaVision. Her character is currently still in development so we will see how that goes. There will be an Avenger movie coming at some point. Monica Rambeau ends up in said Avengers movie but the audience don’t know who she is. The movie makes a reference to WandaVision and urges the viewer that in order to get to know Monica Rambeau’s origins, you would have to watch WandaVision. That way the universe connects itself in two fold. Which is really spectacular because so far nobody has ever done that in any movie universe.
Sure we had Crisis on Infinite Earths in the Arrowverse but that only tied the TV shows to the movies and not both ways.
So if I am right then we are looking at the birth of a movie universe that nobody has EVER seen before. And you can do more with that too, why stop at movies and TV shows? You can add comics to it, animated movies and even videogames. Imagine a Multi Massive Online Role Playing Game that follows the events on foot of what happens in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Upcoming shows in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – March 19, 2020
- Loki – May 2021
- What… If? – Summer 2021
- Ms. Marvel – Late 2021
- Hawkeye – Late 2021
The following are currently undated.
- Armor Wars – TBA
- Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special – TBA
- I Am Groot – TBA
- Ironheart – TBA
- M.O.D.O.K – TBA
- Moon Knight – TBA
- Secret Invasion – TBA
- She-Hulk – TBA
- Silk – TBA
In conclusion
The Marvel movies only seems to be the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Apparently the TV shows will connect directly to the Universe and that gives us a lot of possibilities. Using WandaVision as a jumpboard we can see: Agents of S.W.O.R.D., with Jimmy Woo we can have Agents of Atlas. Photon is destined to be in The Avengers and Darcy Lewis has direct ties with Thor.
So what do you guys make of this? Do you have any ideas on how to connect the TV shows and the movies even more and expand on the current Marvel Cinematic Universe? If so then let me know in the comments!
