Captain Marvel May Lead Two Superhero Teams In MCU Phase 5

Carol Danvers’ time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been either very short, or very long, depending on your perspective. She first appeared in the franchise’s 21st film in 2019, making her one of the newest characters that Marvel Studios has introduced, but she’s also existed as a superhero in the universe since 1989, making her one of the most senior currently-active human characters.

Now that Tony Stark has made the ultimate sacrifice to permanently reverse Thanos’s actions, Steve Rogers has aged out of his role as Captain America, Bruce Banner has harnessed his atomic rage, Thor Odinson is traveling the galaxy with its complement of guardians, and Nick Fury is overseeing construction of what appears to be an orbital space station, the Avengers are scattered and leaderless. And while many assumed that Brie Larson’s seven-movie contract indicated that she’d be taking the helm of the franchise’s marquee superteam, it now looks like that might not be the case.

We previously reported that Marvel is hoping to make Spider-Man and Captain Marvel the centerpieces of its cinematic universe moving forward (assuming, of course, that Sony and Marvel can continue to play nice) and that Marvel also wants to utilize multiple superteams in the future. And now, according to the folks over at Cheat Sheet, both of those statements might end up coming true.

While Spider-Man will likely become the face of the Avengers (already going so far as to induct new members in Spider-Man: Far From Home), Cheat Sheet speculates that Captain Marvel might end up taking the lead of both an A-Force roster and an Ultimates team. Danvers has served as a member of both in the comics, as well several other squads including the Canadian team Alpha Flight and the recently-disbanded Infinity Watch, and viewers have already experienced a fleeting glimpse of a potential all-female team-up during the final battle against Thanos in Avengers: Endgame.

Meanwhile, the Ultimates, first introduced in Avengers #0 in December of 2015, featured a roster including Danvers and T’Challa, as well as America Chavez (who’s rumored to debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) and Monica Rambeau (who already appeared in Captain Marvel and who will return as an adult in the Disney+ series WandaVision) as Spectrum. The only member of the original team who’s as yet to be mentioned for a live-action treatment is Adam Brashear, AKA Blue Marvel, making him potentially the final piece to be introduced in an eventual Ultimates project.

Of course, this is all just speculation for now, as the studio has yet to officially confirm anything, but no matter what may lie in store for her, Carol Danvers is confirmed to return in Captain Marvel 2, which has no official release date as yet but is expected to premiere in 2022.