There have been 26 feature films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2008, a franchise that has reworked the very definition of a superhero film, and what’s a superhero without a supervillain? The first villain ever featured was Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane, who squared off against Iron Man, but there have also been some wildly memorable ones since then.
Here are some of the biggest Marvel villains who have yet to meet their final fates in the MCU⏤and who we wouldn’t mind seeing return in future films.
Red Skull
After Hugo Weaving left the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Red Skull’s return was brought to life by Ross Marquand. Red Skull’s fate was speculated on by fans after he was shot into space at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, and in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, we found out what happened to him. He became the Stonekeeper for the Soul Stone, banished to the planet Vormir.
With the multiverse opening up after the events of Loki, it’s not out of the question that Red Skull could return much like the many Spider-Man villains in No Way Home.
A.I.M.
Not exactly a villain per se, A.I.M. is such a major part of the Marvel Comics universe that it’s fairly amazing they’ve only made one cinematic appearance. Aldrich Killian was the head of A.I.M. during Iron Man 3, but famous comic book leaders and A.I.M.-related characters include MODOK and Doomsday Machine.
MODOK is a fan-favorite character, a giant oversized head stuck in a flying throne that emulates body horror and Doctor Who’s Daleks. Doomsday Machine, on the other hand, is a prominent foe of Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel and happens to be giant robot.
Yellowjacket
As the official Yellowjacket Fan Club president, I’d love to see Corey Stoll return as Darren Cross. An amazingly comic book-y villain who goes insane on the very comic book-y Pym Particles. At the end of Ant-Man, he becomes smaller and smaller before likely getting shot into the Quantum Realm.
Ant-Man’s threequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, has finished filming and with the Quantum Realm playing a key role, perhaps they’ll stumble upon Cross? Considering Janet van Dyne was stuck in the Quantum Realm for over 20 years and survived, surely Yellowjacket can do the same.
Baron Zemo
Zemo has, to date, appeared in two Marvel projects: Captain America: Civil War and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. He’s not the obvious pink-hooded Nazi as he often is in the comics, but rather a vengeful survivor of a previous Avengers mission that turned into a catastrophe. Daniel Brühl has neither confirmed nor denied his contract status with Marvel, but with the positive reception to his performance and character, he would be an ideal villain for Captain America 4.
Yon-Rogg
Jude Law appeared as Yon-Rogg in Captain Marvel following several rumors of him being previously cast in the MCU for other roles. Captain Marvel ends with Yon-Rogg being defeated by Carol Danvers and being sent packing back across the universe in a small fighter jet. In the comics, the character plays a crucial part in the origin of Carol Danvers / Ms. Marvel. With Ms. Marvel in the modern canon not being Danvers but rather Kamala Khan, perhaps Yon-Rogg could return in the upcoming Ms. Marvel series on Disney Plus.
What other Marvel villains would you like to see pop back up in future films? Let us know in the comments!
