It’s been a long time since anything other than the brand itself was the main selling point of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the initial success of Phase One was massively indebted to the popularity of Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. After all, Iron Man launched the entire franchise, reviving the actor’s career and turning him into the biggest and highest-paid star in Hollywood, while Stark was instantly cemented as one of the 21st Century’s most beloved and iconic movie characters long before the credits rolled.
Downey Jr. took top billing in three blockbusters of his own that earned over $2.4 billion, as well as headlining the four Avengers epics that combined to haul in close to $8 billion, so there’s no denying that he was the man during his tenure. However, now that he’s ridden off into the sunset, a new rumor from Giant Freakin Robot claims that Brie Larson has been promised a position as the next face of the MCU, although there’s no additional information as to how, when, where or why she’ll cement herself as the mythology’s top dog.
Of course, we should point out that this report comes from the outlet’s very same “source” who passed on the information that not only is Captain Marvel being phased out in favor of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, but the title of Larson’s solo sequel was changed to The Marvels because the studio felt as though she didn’t deliver in the lead role, so it’s best to take all of this wildly conflicting information with a healthy helping of salt.
However, the Academy Award winning actress does have a billion-dollar hit under her belt, is positioned as one of the MCU’s two most powerful figures and is widely expected to lead the next lineup of the Avengers, while The Marvels will be just her third film of a seven-picture contract, so Brie Larson evidently has a huge role to play in the future whether it’s as the face of the franchise or not.
