With Civil War still killing it at the global box office, it’s clear that the Marvel Cinematic Universe hype train is still ploughing ahead full steam. With one of the greatest aspects of the latest instalment being the introduction of tension between characters that were friends, Marvel have even managed to create a satisfying climax to a movie that didn’t involve the world ending. This bodes well for the universe going forward, as every second year can’t see Marvel’s merry band of heroes saving the entire planet. The Marvel Universe has always been celebrated for its ability to go from the macro to the micro and back again with ease. So, as the universe moves forward and evolves we could very well see a few years on the micro side some time in the future. As the world now looks toward the impending Avengers: Infinity War (which is due a name change) I thought I’d take a look at where the Marvel Universe could look like after the next big Avengers event and ask: what could the Marvel Cinematic Universe look like in five years’ time?

Spider-Man

It’s an interesting situation Marvel find themselves in, where their most important character moving forward isn’t actually controlled by them; he’s controlled by Sony. The truth is hard to deny though: Marvel need Spider-man as a major player and they need to push it sooner rather than later. Five years from now, Spider-man will have had at least one movie (2017’s Homecoming) and more than likely had a 2020 sequel. Tom Holland will be turning twenty-five by then and rounding into his possible final movie in his own personal trilogy. There is the distinct possibility that Holland could go beyond the typical trilogy-recast-loop and feature as Spider-man beyond the usual timeframe, possibly playing the character into his thirties. So, what would that look like for Marvel and Sony? It’s been no secret that the MCU has focused primarily on modern comic books for their cinematic inspiration. The Marvel Ultimate Universe has fingerprints all over the cinematic universe, and the core stories have mostly been based on, or at least inspired by, recent comic book runs. The Captain America movies are Ed Brubaker’s run brought to life, Thor’s escapades in New Mexico resemble J. Michael Straczynski’s run in more than just spirit, and rumours point to the new Spider-man series keeping Peter in High School ala Ultimate Spider-man. What does this mean for the future of the MCU? To put it simply, I’d be surprised if five years from now we don’t see Miles Morales introduced as a new Spider-man. Though I don’t see him as a replacement for Peter, as opposed to a spin-off character. Tom Holland could still pop up in universe-spanning Avengers-style movies, while Miles could carry the solo Spider-man series forward, reintroducing a young Spider-man without the need for a reboot. It would be an interesting turn for Holland to go from the young, naïve kid in Civil war to a grizzled veteran over time. It’ll certainly be fun seeing him evolving along the way, growing into the Marvel Universe-anchor role once held by Iron Man.

Black Panther

Black Panther provides Marvel with an incredible opportunity: a black superhero who not only stands on his own but could be a major cornerstone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward. For anyone who doesn’t know much about Black Panther, he is as close to the perfect superhero as they come. He is a tech genius on a level near Tony Stark, a scientist on a level near Reed Richards, a fighter close to the level of Captain America, and a billionaire king with a personal burden akin to Batman. He also happens to exist in his own separate corner of the MCU, which gives him a greater advantage than most of the characters in the universe: freshness. Panther’s movies will exist in an area so unique that we might see a lot of the love that Guardians of the Galaxy got. We’ve seen numerous American and Eastern Bloc cities blown to pieces. It will be fresh to visit a unique African region. So where do I see Black Panther in five years? For me, Black Panther could see a push to be the replacement for the Thor role in the Marvel Universe. Due to his lacklustre box office numbers, I just don’t see Thor having any solo adventures after Ragnorak next year and, as good as the character is, he presents an issue that is never truly spoken of: he is just too powerful. There are so many fights featuring The Avengers that could almost be handled by Thor alone; so to keep the Norse God engaged they need the fights to go bigger, and there’s only so big you can go before you crash and burn, or make weaker characters redundant. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Thor either shelved, used a lot more sparingly, or possibly even killed off altogether. This would leave a gap for the “outsider” on any possible Avengers team, which Black Panther could fill incredibly well, bringing not just the charm of a Thor but the expertise of numerous disciplines as well.

The Inhumans

The Inhumans have entered into limbo at Marvel Studios, partly due to their rise in TV’s Marvel: Agents of Shield. Though, there is the still the rumour kicking around that Vin Diesel has been locked to play Black Bolt, and though he is an interesting choice, he doesn’t give me hope for this potential corner of the Marvel Universe moving forward. Simply put, The Inhumans are a poor man’s X-Men, but they do give Marvel a chance to revitalise their universe post-Infinity War. In keeping with their theme of adapting modern stories, it is easy to see where Marvel could find their inspiration for The Inhumans. Recently the Marvel comic book universe saw a massive terrigen mist release that saw thousands of humans become Inhuman. It would be an interesting end to the current Avengers movie series to have the climax of Infinity War see the Avengers get desperate enough to set off a terrigen event that turns a lot of the population into heroes. This would bring the universe back to the “Marvel formula” where it is the everyday man and woman who is the next big hero. This would also lead the way for ultra-popular Kamala Khan to enter the Marvel Universe as Ms. Marvel. The possible emergence of The Inhumans would see the Marvel Cinematic Universe drastically change and could usher in a logic that would justify heroes such as Thor departing and Iron Man and Captain America retiring, as the world could be seen to be able to protect itself. Or, it could kick off a whole new phase of the Marvel Universe, which doesn’t rely on the constant looming threat of Thanos, with the next big villain growing from within. Love them or not, find them interesting or not, The Inhumans will be a game-changer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and one that five years from now could give birth to a completely different world for our heroes to live in. Or they could stay in limbo forever more.

The Avengers

Where will the Avengers be in five years’ time? Honestly, I just don’t see an Avengers team being around in five years, at least not in its current form. In five years it will have been nine years since the first Avengers movie and thirteen since Iron Man debuted. Fatigue will be a massive factor. Though a team of New Avengers starring Spider-man and Black Panther is enticing, if we come to the point that Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye and Black Widow are still around in 2021, then that will be a very bad thing for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even the greats can overstay their welcome. The next two Avengers movies will be pivotal for the health of the franchise and I truly believe Marvel are smart enough to not allow most of the Avengers to make it out alive. Thanos has been sold in as being so powerful that he will have to bring with him a body count. The two with the biggest targets on their head (literally in the latter’s case) are Hawkeye and Vision. Despite being a perfect casting choice, Jeremy Renner has always been an inch away from being a great Hawkeye and his fall in Infinity War would be very emotional for a number of characters. I don’t think both he and Black Widow make it out alive and if one goes down, my money is on Clint Barton. Although, I would be in favour of killing off Natasha, if for no other reason than to see how unhinged it would make The Hulk in the aftermath. As for Vision, I think his demise is set in stone. His head is home to one of the Infinity stones and I sense it will be detached from his body soon enough. At least now they’ve set it up that he will have someone mourning his death in Wanda, so we are guaranteed an emotional impact. Ultimately, the Avengers as they are will eventually need to go. Even if the actors weren’t getting old, all good things must come to an end and Infinity War should wipe the slate as clean as possible. At least one of the big three need to go out and even those who survive need to make way for younger, fresher heroes, in order for the universe to be healthy moving forward.

So that’s Part One of my look at where I think the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be in five years. If you would like to know where I think the rest of the universe is headed, what the cosmic landscape could look like, what other new faces I expect to see, and which other hero I can’t see living much longer, check out Part Two here. You can also check out my thoughts on The Five Greatest Things Captain America: Civil War Got Right, comment below or follow me on twitter for updates on my other articles. Thanks.