Phase 4 of the MCU will see the return of Thor and Doctor Strange, along with brand-new
cinematic versions of Shang-Chi and the Eternals. But with all these new faces showing up, not
everyone is going to make it out of Phase 4 alive. Here are the MCU characters who probably
won't survive Phase 4.
Red Guardian has a pretty complicated history with Black Widow in the comics. They're married
until he fakes his death in order to train with the KGB to become a mask-wearing super
soldier. Beyond his history with Natasha, Red Guardian is perhaps best known for being
the Soviet Union's answer to Captain America, right down to having his own big shield. Considering
that the MCU has a long history of changing comic book characters to fit a little bit
better into the cinematic universe, we're willing to bet that, beyond a complicated
history with Black Widow, Red Guardian won't be much like his comic book counterpart.
From what we've seen of the Black Widow movie, we're predicting that David Harbour's Red
Guardian will be playing less of a husband and more of a father figure to the Black Widow.
If that's true, you can pretty much bet the farm that he won't be making it out of his
first movie alive, let alone the rest of Phase 4. It's pretty rare for any father figure
to live to see the closing credits in a superhero movie at all, period, just ask Uncle Ben,
Thomas Wayne, and Tony Stark. Considering that the Black Widow movie is actually a prequel
that will take place immediately following the events of Captain America: Civil War,
on account of Black Widow currently being dead in the MCU, it seems even less likely
that Harbour's Red Guardian will appear in the series past this film.
Iron Man 3 took comic book fans on a journey by completely reimagining the Mandarin, one
of Iron Man's oldest and most well-known foes. Ben Kingsley's interpretation of the character
was not what anyone familiar with the character was expecting; and it turns out that was on
purpose. In reality, the “Manderin” was Trevor Slattery, a British actor with a dedication
to the craft and few scruples about playing a fake terrorist on TV.
"Then, they approached me about the role, and they knew about the drugs…"
"What did they say, that they'd get you off 'em?"
"Said they'd give me more!"
However, in All Hail The King, a Marvel short film, it's revealed that the Mandarin isn't
quite as fictional as Slattery believed. In fact, the Mandarin and his organization, the
Ten Rings, are very real and very angry at Slattery. The short ends with the actor being
kidnapped by one of the Ten Rings, a storyline that's been left unaddressed since 2014.
With Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on the way, it's the perfect time to address
that unresolved plot. How exactly it will be addressed is unknown. We know the real
Mandarin will be in the upcoming film, but whether or not the fake will be making a cameo
is still a well-kept secret. Either way, if he actually appears on-screen or if he's just
mentioned off-hand, it's pretty unlikely we'll see Slattery pop up again in the MCU past
Phase 4.
No, we haven't forgotten that the Ancient One bit the magic bullet way back in 2016's
Doctor Strange. That said, since when has a character's death really kept them from
coming back, especially when that character is played by the inimitable Tilda Swinton?
As we saw in Avengers: Endgame when the Hulk ran into a past version of the Ancient One,
Swinton seems very game to reprise her role whenever possible. Add in the fact that Doctor
Strange is one character for whom the laws of reality rarely seem to apply, and it's
easy to imagine Swinton making yet another appearance in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse
of Madness.
There are plenty of opportunities to bring back the Ancient One to interact with the
Sorcerer Supreme. Nightmare, for instance, has been rumored to be the villain, and a
supervillain with the power to bring your fears to life could manifest some terrifying
version of the Ancient One to tell Strange all the ways he's failed to live up to her
expectations. Or, with other rumors hinting that the sequel will feature dimension hopping,
Strange could run into an alternate universe version of his former mystic master, giving
Swinton a chance to reinvent the character she's played twice already.
It seems likely that we'll see some sort of cathartic confrontation between the two masters
of the mystic arts, but that doesn't mean we can expect a full resurrection for the
Ancient One. Her death in the first Doctor Strange was an integral emotional beat for
everyone involved, and bringing her back again past Phase 4 would retroactively damage the
film. If Tilda Swinton appears in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, you can expect
it to be her swan song.
As with plenty of other characters in the MCU, the Helmut Zemo we met in Captain America:
Civil War wasn't quite a faithful adaptation of his comics counterpart. Instead of the
Nazi aristocrat who hates Steve Rogers with a passion, Daniel Brühl's conception of the
character was a melancholy soul who put the events of Civil War in action as revenge for
his family's death in Sokovia. His character arc seemed more or less complete in that film,
since his revenge was achieved, while T'Challa, seeing the kind of man that Zemo had become
in search of vengeance, chose to be better.
That's why it was a bit of a surprise to see that Brühl would be reprising the role for
the upcoming Disney+ show, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Zemo might have framed
Bucky for murder once upon a time, but the Winter Soldier and the Falcon were both completely
absent during the Battle at Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron, so the two heroes are a strange
target for further vengeance. Regardless, while the comic book character has a long
and storied history, it's very difficult to imagine the MCU's Zemo starting up the Masters
of Evil or disguising himself as a superhero as the leader of the Thunderbolts. Whatever
Zemo's role in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier might be, it's very unlikely that we'll see
him pop up again past Phase 4.
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