With Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the last remnants of the walls dividing
the separate regions of the MCU were finally obliterated once and for all.
Now, Phase Four of the MCU is just around the corner, and we've got a wish list of the
mash-ups we're most hoping to see.
Sam Wilson, recently seen taking up Cap's shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame, will
be co-headlining the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier with Sebastian Stan's
Bucky Barnes.
Although Sam has shown up in three Avengers movies, and briefly in Ant-Man, he's primarily
been a Captain America character, and hasn't interacted much with many of the MCU's sprawling
roster of heroes.
While there's no shortage of existing characters Sam hasn't yet met, the one we'd most like
to see him interact with is Carol Danvers.
Sam will be in the market for a new best friend after losing Steve to the past in Endgame,
and we get the feeling Carol has been a little personally unmoored ever since losing and
regaining her memories in Captain Marvel.
They could each use a new shoulder to lean on, and we can see their personalities playing
well off of one another.
In addition to their shared military background, Sam's experience running a support group for
veterans may be just what Carol needs to help unpack all she's been through.
What's more, their shared experience of losing their best friends may help them understand
one another in a unique and interesting way.
Although WandaVision has confirmed that Ant-Man and the Wasp's FBI agent Jimmy Woo will be
appearing in some capacity, we have no idea what sort of role he'll be playing in the
mind-bending tale.
WandaVision is one of the least predictable of the Disney+ shows since we've been told
that it'll take place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, but also apparently in
the 1950s.
As such, it's entirely possible that some characters may exist in one time period or
reality, and not in others, meaning that there's no guarantee that Wanda or Vision will actually
interact with every member of the show's cast.
However, we really hope that we get to see what happens when Jimmy encounters Vision
for the first time.
It's not just that we want each of them to make a good friend, although that's part of
it.
Besides Wanda, Vision has always seemed kind of isolated, and Jimmy came across as pretty
lonely in Ant-Man.
"Did you want to grab dinner or something?
I mean, 'cause I'm… free."
We'd love nothing more than to see the two of them buddy up and fill that bestie-shaped
hole in each other's lives.
But also, given Jimmy's interest in Scott's close-up magic tricks, we expect him to be
blown away by Vision's abilities, and really, his entire half-technological, half-magical
existence.
The ending of Doctor Strange pulled a first for an MCU movie, laying the groundwork for
a character who had been an ally throughout the entire film to become a villain in the
next one.
So although Baron Mordo hasn't been confirmed to appear in Phase Four, it would be surprising
if he didn't show up again.
In fact, we think WandaVision would be a great and unexpected place to bring him back.
The rigidly principled Mordo spent most of Doctor Strange growing increasingly uncomfortable
with the way that both Strange and the Ancient One used magic, so we can't imagine he'll
react well to Wanda Maximoff and her reality-altering powers.
It would be a fascinating way to tie the worlds of WandaVision and Doctor Strange together
- an event which has already been confirmed to happen, one way or another.
Perhaps Wanda creates some sort of alternate reality where Vision is alive, splitting open
the multiverse and drawing Mordo's attention, leading directly into the events of Doctor
Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Or maybe Mordo is already well on his way down a dark path, and Wanda is the one who
discovers it, prompting her to seek help from Doctor Strange.
While the possibilities for who could make a surprise appearance in Loki are nearly endless,
another name at the top of our list is Doctor Strange's the Ancient One, who surprised audiences
by showing up in Avengers: Endgame.
She'd be the perfect one for Loki to meet up with as he skips through time, especially
if he has an Infinity Stone in tow.
In addition to providing some much-needed exposition on how Loki's adventures may muddy
up the larger timeline, the Ancient One also has the unique ability to see alternate futures.
That means that although Loki will have no knowledge of his character growth in Phases
Two and Three of the MCU, she very well could.
Perhaps a meeting with the Ancient One will be exactly what Loki needs in order to help
him become a better version of himself, putting him on the path to becoming the kind of person
he was at the beginning of Infinity War.
Along with the surprise announcement that WandaVision would be bringing back Jimmy Woo
came the equally shocking revelation that the series would also be pulling in the character
of Darcy Lewis from the first two Thor movies.
Darcy was astrophysicist Jane Foster's intern, although her political science major didn't
always make her the best fit for Jane's scientific theorizing and experimentation.
Like Jane, Darcy didn't appear in Thor: Ragnarok, but now it appears she'll be returning for
WandaVision, although we have no idea how or why.
Since WandaVision is reported to lead directly into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,
we are crossing our fingers that Darcy will be coming along for the ride too.
When and if she does, we hope she'll have a chance to get to know Wong, Strange's long-suffering
friend and instructor in the Mystic Arts.
Considering how Darcy always reacted to Thor's magic-adjacent abilities, we suspect her reactions
to actual magic would be a comedic goldmine.
Plus, Wong and Darcy both know how it feels to be relegated to the sidekick, and we imagine
that Darcy's blunt honesty and abundant eccentricities will provide an entertaining contrast to Wong's
deadpan demeanor and constant exasperation.
Maybe they can go out for sandwiches together.
"I wouldn't say no to a tuna melt."
Although the Spider-Man movies already contain the vast majority of the teenage characters
in the MCU, Peter hasn't yet come face to face with that other Marvel wunderkind, Wakanda's
princess and chief innovator, Shuri.
The two were briefly in the same place at the same time during Avengers: Endgame, but
as far as we know, they never interacted.
All that could change in the MCU's Spider-Man 3, which will pick up on the heels of that
doozy of a cliffhanger at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Maybe Peter goes into hiding after his secret identity is revealed, and winds up seeking
aid from the people of Wakanda.
We'll accept any number of scenarios as long as it brings two of the MCU's greatest young
scientific minds together for a few scenes.
The opening of Avengers: Endgame gave us a pairing we never really expected to see, as
Tony Stark and Nebula made their way laboriously back to Earth after finding themselves the
only survivors on Titan following the snap.
The two proved to have a delightful dynamic, and the quiet scenes of the two of them together
were surprisingly poignant.
Nebula then went on to play one of the most important roles in Endgame, and ended the
film back aboard the Benatar with the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, minus Gamora,
plus Thor.
Assuming they're still all traveling the stars together as the Asgardians of the Galaxy at
the beginning of Thor: Love and Thunder, we hope that Nebula gets a chance to interact
with Korg.
Korg is still on Earth at the end of Endgame, as part of the New Asgard settlement over
which Valkyrie rules as King, but we know both characters are already confirmed for
Love and Thunder.
While we have no such confirmation for Nebula or the other Guardians, we wouldn't be surprised
if the crew of the Benatar appears for at least part of the film, even if it's just
to drop Thor off before heading back out again.
If they do, we're crossing our fingers for some scenes between the aggressively self-serious
Nebula and the gentle-hearted, unflappable Korg.
We can't imagine what they'd talk about, but it would surely be thoroughly entertaining.
Maybe they can bond about how much they hate their father figures?
"Well I tried to start a revolution, but didn't print enough pamphlets, so hardly anyone showed
up except for my mum and her boyfriend, who I hate."
Marvel and director Taika Waititi ruthlessly cleaned house for Thor: Ragnarok, killing
off half of the supporting Asgardian characters from the previous films and cutting the Earth-bound
characters out of the story entirely.
However, one established Thor character whose fate is still up in the air following the
events of Ragnarok, Infinity War, and Endgame is Lady Sif.
The character was last seen on the big screen delivering the Reality Stone to the Collector
at the end of Thor: The Dark World, before appearing in a couple of episodes of Agents
of SHIELD.
Whether or not Sif was blipped by Thanos in Infinity War, she should be alive by the time
Love and Thunder rolls around, and we're ready for her to return to the MCU.
Especially because we really want to see what happens when Sif and Valkyrie finally meet
one another.
It's high time that the Thor movies allowed more than one powerful female warrior on the
thunder god's team at a time, and we imagine that these two will really hit it off.
Tessa Thompson has said that Valkyrie will be in search of her queen, and Alexander has
volunteered herself for the role on Twitter.
Whether or not a romantic relationship is in the cards for the two Asgardian warriors,
we still expect some sparks to fly when they finally come together.
Although Bruce Banner and Jane Foster are both gifted scientists who have played major
roles in previous Thor movies, their paths have never crossed.
By the time Bruce smashed his way into Thor: Ragnarok, Jane and Thor had broken up, and
we thought she'd vanished from the MCU for good.
But now that we know Jane is returning for Thor: Love and Thunder, we're anxious for
Bruce to make a return appearance as well.
While earlier Thor movies have allowed Jane to bounce her scientific ideas off of Erik
Selvig, we'd love a film in which she's allowed to riff about quantum physics with Bruce instead,
especially if he's in his big green form.
With Tony Stark gone, Bruce could use a new partner to talk shop with, and we can't think
of a better person to speak the strange language of science-meets-superheroes than Jane Foster.
Although Clint Barton and Bucky Barnes have both been around in the MCU since Phase One,
and even fought on the same team in Captain America: Civil War, we still haven't seen
the two actually interact with one another.
It's an odd oversight, especially considering that both were trained by branches of the
same organization, have a super-spy background, and know what it feels like to have their
minds taken over by an external force.
So while we still have no idea how much the Disney+ shows will cross over with one another,
our hope is that the Hawkeye series will finally bring the archer and the Winter Soldier together.
Although Bucky and Clint have shared a lot in common in the past, they've never been
more alike than they are in the post-Endgame MCU.
Clint spent the five years before the Time Heist tracking down and killing people who,
while they weren't entirely innocent, likely didn't deserve the fate he meted out to them.
By the time he found himself on Vormir, Clint felt significant remorse for the harm he had
done.
No character in the MCU is better poised to understand what that feels like than Bucky
Barnes, who spent 70 years as a brainwashed Hydra assassin.
If The Falcon and the Winter Soldier can work in a crossover with Hawkeye, we expect these
two will have a lot to discuss...As long as Bucky cares more than Black Panther did when
he and Clint finally met.
"We haven't met yet.
I'm Clint."
"I don't care."
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