Despite the fact we’ve just spent the last year in change trying to figure out what would happen in Avengers: Endgame after the cataclysmic cliffhanger ending that Infinity War left us with, the blockbuster extravaganza managed to pack in a surprising number of unexpected twists and turns.
The most surprising moments saw some characters who’d been relegated to supporting roles in previous movies, or entirely new characters, coming back bigger and better with important roles in the story. Most of those characters now have a bright future set up. So, here are 10 MCU Characters Who Deserve A Solo Movie After Avengers: Endgame. Also, it’s a no-brainer, but be warned: spoilers lie ahead.
Captain America (Sam Wilson)
The Falcon was never interesting enough to get his own solo movie – or his own scenes, really – in the MCU. But Anthony Mackie has always been a great actor, and now, Sam Wilson can ditch the high-tech wings in favor of the Captain America shield (and title).
Whether he’ll go by Captain America or even get his own movies remains to be seen, but it would be interesting to see a new trilogy of Captain America solo movies show us the passing of the torch. Wilson can carry Cap’s spirit into the future, putting his own spin on a familiar character.
Korg
At this point, it seems as though whatever Taika Watiti’s irresistibly lovable character Korg does, fans will lap it up. In his only scene in Endgame, he can be seen in Thor’s living room, playing Fortnite and being called a “d**khead” online by some other gamers. Fans would probably subscribe to a Korg gaming channel on YouTube.
It doesn’t matter what he’s doing – and it doesn’t have to be a major blockbuster; it could be a relatively low-budget quirky comedy for Disney+ – because fans will go nuts for it. With Lebowski Thor and Professor Hulk now a part of MCU canon, this doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
Black Widow
Okay, she died. She sacrificed herself on Vormir to save Clint Barton and acquire the Soul Stone by doing “whatever it takes.” But her solo movie was already moving ahead. Cate Shortland had been hired to direct it and a script was underway. Was all of that development on the movie fans have waited nine years for a red herring so that we wouldn’t see her death in Endgame coming? Hopefully not.
Natasha Romanoff was failed by Endgame. A redemptive solo movie could easily be a prequel telling her origin story or her early S.H.I.E.L.D. missions with Hawkeye, but now that we know she won’t make it, it’ll be tough to have it not feel like another pointless cash-in, a la Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Ant-Man (Hank Pym)
The Russo brothers gorgeously rendered the 1970s in one of the time travel sequences in Avengers: Endgame. The “make love, not war” spirit of the hippie movement was touched on by Stan Lee’s cameo, but this would make an awesome historical backdrop for a movie following Hank Pym’s adventures as the original Ant-Man, and as a government scientist caught between the hippies and the bureaucrats.
We’ve seen Pym digitally de-aged at various points in his life, just for a scene or two at a time. But now that Robert De Niro is doing a movie with Martin Scorsese in which he’ll be de-aged for most of the runtime, it seems possible to do a fully de-aged MCU movie. Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet Van Dyne could join him. Michael Douglas has already said he’s open to it.
Nebula
It was no surprise that Nebula was instrumental to the plot of Avengers: Endgame, since she was the closest surviving character to Thanos and most of the fan theories revolved around her. Karen Gillan has always played the role well, but the character didn’t become truly interesting or entertaining until we saw her in Endgame.
The way she struggled to grasp paper football with Tony Stark, the way her consciousness was toyed with in the time travel parts of the story, the way her past evil self exploited her weaknesses – she was one of the strongest characters in the movie, and it finally seems viable that she could get her own.
Professor Hulk
In one movie, Eric Bana could not make the Hulk interesting. In one movie, Edward Norton could not make the Hulk interesting. And yet, across seven movies, Mark Ruffalo has managed to keep the Hulk interesting in many different ways.
We’ve seen the Hulk stubbornly refuse to turn back into Banner. We’ve seen the Hulk stubbornly refuse to come out of Banner. We’ve seen Banner get his anger under control. We’ve seen him lose that control. Now that he’s finally found the middle ground between Banner and the Hulk, it’s the perfect time for a solo movie. But thanks to Universal and rights issues, that probably won’t happen.
Rescue
Gwyneth Paltrow has explicitly stated that she plans to make Avengers: Endgame her last major appearance in an MCU movie. But her surprise turn as Rescue has fans clamoring for more. Now that she has her own Stark-built armor and Stark himself isn’t around anymore, Pepper Potts could take his place as the high-tech Avenger.
She got the hang of the suit astoundingly quickly, joining the battle against Thanos just a few days after discovering that the armor even existed and managing to hold her own against his alien armies. It probably won’t happen, but a Rescue solo movie should happen.
Ronin
Hawkeye got a bigger role in Avengers: Endgame than in most of the MCU movies that preceded it. The movie opens with Clint Barton and his family having a picnic, only for his wife and kids to suddenly turn to dust without explanation. Later in the movie, we find that this has driven him to a dark and violent place, taking on the name Ronin (or at least the costume – he’s never explicitly called Ronin, even if he does fight with a samurai sword and take out yakuza guys) and wreaking havoc on all the bad guys who were spared by Thanos’ completely random, bias-less snap when his family wasn’t.
It made him more interesting than he’s ever been before. Whether a solo movie is a prequel showing his dark adventures as Ronin or it’s set in the present day as he tries to redeem himself, it could be exciting.
Shuri
T’Challa’s sister Shuri showed up in the final battle at the end of Avengers: Endgame with weapons she’d invented for herself attached to her fists. She helped Carol Danvers get through Thanos’ army. Now, that’s Carol Danvers. She’s impossibly powerful. If you can provide assistance for her in any way, shape, or form, then you deserve your own movie.
Letitia Wright’s performance as Shuri, playing her as a confident, capable, and very funny scientific genius, has made her a fan favorite in the past couple of years. A solo movie where T’Challa takes ill and she has to take on the Black Panther mantle would be incredible.
Valkyrie
Valkyrie made a huge splash in Thor: Ragnarok, and after she sat out Infinity War, Valkyrie’s grand return in Endgame made it worth the wait. In the comics, Valkyrie is bisexual, and while it hasn’t been explicitly stated, that’s how Tessa Thompson has been playing her.
The MCU is long overdue for a badass LGBTQ character, and that gay character at the support group in Endgame isn’t good enough. At the end of Endgame, Thor appoints Valkyrie the Queen of New Asgard in Norway as he goes off to join the Guardians of the Galaxy, so she could lead the Norse mythology-inspired adventures from now on.