With Ms. Marvel hitting TVs around the world next week, Phase Four of the MCU is well underway. The franchise continues to expand introducing new heroes like Kamala Khan and Moon Knight, while also reconfiguring others, such as Wanda Maximoff becoming a villainous Scarlet Witch.
Yet Phase Five and beyond are already in sight with recent news of Kevin Feige and Marvel executives making plans for the next decade of projects. Despite no news yet about Avengers 5, and with Fantastic Four currently slated to close out Phase Four, speculation is ripe and theories abound on who might soon arrive – especially when it comes to the many important and popular villains who have yet to be adapted.
Doctor Doom
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness set the stage perfectly for one of Marvel’s most important characters, Doctor Doom. Beyond introducing John Krasinski as Earth-838’s Mister Fantastic, the film incorporated incursions into the story. Many instantly connected this with the Secret Wars arc in which colliding universes threaten the multiverse. In this arc, Doctor Doom becomes God Emperor Doom, the ruler of the Battleworld, empowered immensely by Molecule Man
While he is the Fantastic Four's archenemy, his thirst for power has also made him a classic Avengers villain. Doctor Doom’s eventual inclusion in the MCU is guaranteed, and given how the film claims excessive and uncontrolled magic can lead to incursions, he could be involved. He is a talented sorcerer, rivaling Doctor Strange, so he could actually be the cause of these incursions as he tries to gain more and more power. Doctor Doom will likely be introduced in Fantastic Four, but he could easily be teased earlier.
Galactus
There are many questions fans will likely have to wait a long while to get resolved, including who and/or what the Ten Rings are signaling to as revealed in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Many think this could lead to the Makluans, aligning with the rings' origins in the comics, and thus Fin Fang Foom. Alternatively, they could be a beacon for an entirely different and more complex villain, Galactus.
The giant cosmic being is as old as the universe and consumes entire planets to sustain himself. He is led to these planets by a herald, such as the Silver Surfer, but there are several others who have been heralds as well. His arrival on Earth has led to him being combat predominately the Fantastic Four and Avengers. Alternatively, some suggest his arrival could be linked to the end of Eternals with Arishem judging Earth and sending Galactus as punishment.
MODOK
While the villainous organization A.I.M. is already part of the MCU – being led by Aldrich Kilian in Iron Man 3 – that’s the extent of it. There are still so many more characters to utilize, such as Monica Rappaccini or MODOK. George Tarleton was once just a technician for A.I.M. but he became mutated and turned into MODOK, or Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing.
What many people might not know is that there have been numerous attempts already to introduce M.O.D.O.K. to the MCU. He was part of scripts for Iron Man and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but were eventually swapped out for Iron Monger and Alexander Pierce, respectively. Thus, the door is wide open to utilizing such a strange and recognizable villain, perhaps in Captain America 4.
Dark Avengers
Already, it seems like a new team-up will be happening in the MCU, yet it’s not of the heroic kind. Based on her actions in Black Widow and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine might be forming one – with many thinking it will be the Thunderbolts or Dark Avengers.
Both teams are made up primarily of villains and anti-heroes, and they could fill an important void currently in the MCU. Specifically, the Dark Avengers were created during a time when the Avengers were splintered following the Skrull Invasion – so Secret Invasion could be setting this up. The Contessa would be replacing Norman Osbourn in creating this team, possibly joined by Yelena Belova, US Agent, Abomination, and more.
Mephisto
Up until the final few episodes of WandaVision, many fans theorized that the classic Marvel villain, Mephisto would be the series’ antagonist. Following this being disproved, the theory spread to other projects including Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and most recently, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – though he might’ve been teased in one of the film’s easter eggs.
Marvel’s devil is a classic and eternal villain for heroes like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, and The Avengers. Not only is he powerful, but he is also incredibly clever and maniacal. He would make for a great antagonist, for when he eventually arrives. Despite the theories and rumors about his inclusion spreading like wildfires, there could be a kernel of truth to the. Mephisto very well could be featured in the Halloween Special about Werewolf-By-Night.
Korvac
As one of the Avengers’ strongest adversaries., Korvac would definitely feature well in the MCU, especially now that the multiverse is unlocked. He is a cyborg from an alternate universe and the future, who becomes imbued with the Power Cosmic usually reserved for Galactus’ heralds, granting dangerous and incredible powers.
For a time, all he wanted was the semblance of a normal life with his love, Carina, the Collector's daughter, yet he was found out. When threatened, he decimated the Avengers, killing them one after another. He eventually sacrifices himself, and in doing so restored the fallen heroes. Korvac would make for an interesting villain in a future film, though his story would need to be altered accommodating sensitivity around how he died.
Dracula
Despite its poor response from fans and critics alike, Morbius is returning to theaters around the country. The film continues to be a trending topic – typically from jokes made at its expense – and it will capitalize on that. While this installment is Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is currently the definitive live-action Marvel vampire story, that could change.
The MCU will be integrating vampires into their stories soon given recent explorations of scarier subjects and effects in Moon Knight and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This will be continued by Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, and possibly the Halloween Special. Either project could, therefore, introduce the king of vampires, Dracula. In the comics, he’s faced off against many different heroes, including the Avengers, and the same could be applied to his appearance in the MCU.
High Evolutionary
Some Marvel villains might be arriving sooner than others, including the High Evolutionary. He is already linked to the MCU in part with Mount Wundagore’s inclusion in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the comics, he establishes an advanced lab at the mountain and created the New Men, animals genetically mutated into humanoids.
His lab would need to be somewhere else in the MCU, but that’s easy enough to deal with. It could be in space, thus bringing him into conflict with more than the Avengers, but also the Guardians of the Galaxy. It has been long rumored and theorized that Peacemaker’s Chukwudi Iwuji could be playing the High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Super-Adaptoid
MODOK is not the only incredible and powerful villain to come out of Advanced Idea Mechanics. The organization of mad scientists also created the Super-Adaptoid, a great robot capable of copying its opponents’ abilities. This is comparable to Amazo, a similar character in DC comics, and one that some fans would like to see in the DCEU.
The Super-Adaptoid is made for a major team-up movie like an Avengers film. It could also serve as a great antagonist for the Young Avengers film or Disney+ show that fans are itching for. The Super-Adaptoid would make for an incredibly difficult obstacle to overcome for this newly formed ragtag team of heroes, volleying their greatest strengths right back at them.
The Beyonder
While many fans are looking to the 2015 Secret Wars arc as a roadmap for where the MCU might be heading, it could alternatively or additionally incorporate the original Secret Wars from the 1980s. This arc also features the Battleworld, yet it is not ruled by God Emperor Doom, but rather the Beyonder. He is an incredibly powerful, nigh-omnipotent cosmic being, easily being able to beat all sorts of heroes.
As a form of entertainment, he fuses worlds and forces heroes and villains to continually fight each other. He eventually wishes to learn more and creates a human body to walk among them. However, he becomes dejected and frustrated, choosing to end the multiverse. Only when all the heroes unite against him – like in Avengers: Endgame against Thanos – is he defeated. Thus many expect him and Battleworld to feature as the big bad for the next great saga in the MCU.