With the introduction of characters like Shang-Chi and the Eternals, Marvel Studios is boldly charging into the future with new heroes and new stories. But the surprise return of Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis in WandaVision proved that Marvel hasn’t forgotten about anyone in the existing ensemble, no matter how small their previous roles were.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe moves past the death of Tony Stark and enters a post-Endgame world in Phase Four, it’s bringing back a bunch of familiar faces from the Infinity Saga. Jane Foster, the former generic love interest who will become the “Mighty Thor” in Thor: Love and Thunder, is a prime example.
Jane Foster
In Taika Waititi’s upcoming sequel Thor: Love and Thunder, the God of Thunder will pass on his superhero mantle to his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, played by a returning Natalie Portman. True to the comics, Jane will undergo cancer treatments as she prepares to take on Thor’s godly responsibilities.
Portman refused to appear in Ragnarok after being given no substantial material to work with in the first Thor movie and being massively sidelined to accommodate Loki in The Dark World. But since Waititi has revitalized the franchise (and undoubtedly given her the substantial material she was missing before), she’s coming back.
Nick Fury
In the MCU, Nick Fury has been off the grid since the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. His backstory was fleshed out in Captain Marvel and he appeared as a mentor for Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Far From Home, although he also turned out to be a Skrull in disguise, so it wasn’t really him.
So far, Samuel L. Jackson has only ever appeared in supporting roles in Marvel projects, but he’s set to finally take center stage in the upcoming streaming series Secret Invasion.
Peggy Carter
The perfect conclusion to Steve Rogers’ arc in the final flashback of Avengers: Endgame also brought a perfect conclusion to Peggy Carter’s arc as they finally enjoy the dance Steve waited 80 years for and settle into a tranquil suburban existence.
Hayley Atwell will reprise her role as Peggy in Disney+’s animated anthology series What If...?, which will explore hypothetical scenarios within the MCU. In the first episode, Peggy will take the Super-Soldier Serum while Steve becomes a World War II-era version of Iron Man.
War Machine
As a version of Iron Man with bigger guns, War Machine has never been one of the most exciting Avengers. This was even pointed out during the party scene in Age of Ultron.
But Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes is set to lead a Disney+ adaptation of the Armor Wars comic book run. The series will be heavily tied to Tony Stark’s death as Rhodey contends with Tony’s worst fear coming true: his tech falling into the wrong hands.
Karl Mordo
In the first Doctor Strange movie, Chiwetel Ejiofor played competitive sorcerer Karl Mordo. The post-credits scene revealed that Mordo was going around the world and killing sorcerers because he felt there were “too many” of them.
Ejiofor is set to reprise his role as Mordo in Sam Raimi’s upcoming sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which will follow up on this story thread.
Abomination
One of the many beloved B-tier Marvel characters getting their own Disney+ series is She-Hulk, who will be played by Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany. Tim Roth is set to reprise his role as the villain from The Incredible Hulk, Emil Blonsky, a.k.a. the Abomination, in the She-Hulk series. This could lead into a spot on the Thunderbolts.
Mark Ruffalo is also returning as Bruce Banner, which should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with She-Hulk’s origin story. In the comics, Jen Walters is Bruce’s cousin and becomes the She-Hulk when he saves her life with a blood transfusion.
Lady Sif
In the first two Thor movies, Jaimie Alexander was massively underutilized in the role of Thor’s childhood friend Lady Sif. And then she was absent from Ragnarok entirely.
Taika Waititi is set to give Alexander the substantial role she’s always deserved in Thor: Love and Thunder, in which she might even be the queen that Valkyrie appoints to help her rule over New Asgard.
Talos
Starring alongside Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury in Disney+’s Secret Invasion is Ben Mendelsohn as the Skrull Talos. First introduced in Captain Marvel, Talos introduced the notion that the MCU’s Skrulls are divided between the familiar evil ones from the comics and innocent refugees just looking for a permanent home.
Like the comic book run of the same name, Secret Invasion will revolve around the fight against a sect of Skrulls that have already infiltrated human society.
The Mandarin (The Real One This Time)
In the comics, Tony Stark’s arch nemesis is the Mandarin, a fearsome terrorist leader, so Marvel fans were excited when the Iron Man 3 trailers introduced Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin as a terrifying physical and ideological threat. Those same fans were promptly disappointed when the movie revealed Kingsley’s character to be a soccer fan simply posing as the face of a terrorist organization.
Marvel is set to rectify this error in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which will introduce the real Mandarin as the title character’s father, played by the great Tony Leung.
Tony Stark
Although Tony Stark’s MCU arc concluded with his heartbreaking death scene in Avengers: Endgame, Robert Downey, Jr. is confirmed to reprise his role in the post-Civil War timeline of the highly anticipated upcoming prequel Black Widow.
Tony is also confirmed to appear in What If...?, but whether or not he’ll be voiced by Downey has yet to be confirmed (although just about every other actor from the movies is confirmed for the What If...? series).