8 MCU Characters Who Need Their Own Shows On Disney’s Streaming Service

This week brought the game-changing news that Marvel's developing some new big budget limited TV series to air exclusively on Disney's upcoming streaming service. In contrast to previous shows from the House of Ideas, these won't be made by Marvel Television and therefore separate from the movies but rather, will be overseen by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige himself. And they'll star fan favorite characters who've yet to get their own films. The first two out of the gate are a series based around Loki, starring Tom Hiddleston in the lead, and one for Scarlet Witch, with Elizabeth Olsen reprising her role. This is a massive development, as it pretty much gives us what fans have always wanted - TV shows that tie closely into the films of beloved characters who usually get lesser screentime than we'd like. But who else could follow Loki and Wanda Maximoff as the stars of their own television series? Well, there are many original characters we'd like to see introduced into the MCU in this way - for instance, Blade or She-Hulk - but for now, we're just going to look at those we already know from the movies that would be great contenders for their own vehicles on Disney's new streaming service. Hulk Yes, we're well aware that Marvel aren't allowed to make another Hulk solo film because of rights complications with Universal. But could the studio get around that by making a TV series about him instead? Even if they can't, Disney seems dead set on bringing the rights to all the Marvel characters home - see their purchase of Fox - so we wouldn't bet against them putting an end to this trouble in the near future. In any case, Hulk would be a perfect fit for his own show because the Jade Giant's plight lends itself so well to a serialized format. The constant struggle between one personality and the other is always compelling drama and Mark Ruffalo's aced that in the past, particularly in 2012's The Avengers. It would be great to see what he could do on his own in an eight episode miniseries. What's more, on a nerdier level, a Hulk show could sort out the mess that is the character's continuity in the MCU. For instance, whatever happened to Betty Ross? Why did she never get mentioned again - though her dad's a regular now - after The Incredible Hulk? Perhaps bringing Liv Tyler back and reuniting Bruce and Betty could make for a good story? Nebula The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise is in disarray right now, with there being a very good chance that Vol. 3 will never happen due to the problems with director James Gunn. Obviously, you couldn't just move the entire cast over to a TV show - even a big budget one - but there's nothing to stop Marvel from continuing the adventures of one of them, perhaps the anti-hero who doesn't really have a place on the team. Namely, Nebula. Karen Gillan's Nebula has always been a fascinating character, despite her limited screentime. Though Gamora gets all the attention, the cyborg assassin has suffered through the same horror from being adopted by Thanos. Unlike her sister, though, Nebula gave into the cruelty their father taught them and she must have a lot of terrible things she's culpable for. Or, as Black Widow would say, a lot of red in her ledger. Seeing how she's likely to join the remaining heroes in Avengers 4, it'd be interesting to watch Nebula go at it alone and try to atone for her past sins in her own TV show. Much like Scarlet Witch, Nebula seems like the perfect fit for a streaming service series, too. She's not big enough to get a solo film, but there's plenty of material there to fuel her own vehicle. Young Hank Pym And Janet Van Dyne When promoting Ant-Man and the Wasp, Michael Douglas revealed that he wanted his own prequel movie featuring Hank Pym's adventures as Ant-Man back in the day. Seeing as this particular franchise isn't the most lucrative for Marvel, we can't see this happening on the big screen. But a spinoff TV series, with his wife Janet in the mix, too? Sure, why not? Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne are such major parts of the Marvel comics universe - they're founding members of the Avengers, don't forget - that it would be a crime if they never helmed their own vehicle in the MCU, and a TV series could be the perfect place to do it. Although, sorry Michael, but de-aging the actor with cutting-edge CGI would probably be too much of a drain on resources and new talent would need to be found. Still, an Ant-Man and Wasp show - let's call it Astonishing Ant-Man - set in, say, the 1970s would be a lot of fun. It would allow for another era of the timeline to be fleshed out and it could have a retro buddy cop show feel to it. Essentially, it would be a series in the style of that flashback in the first Ant-Man, with the duo of tiny heroes foiling Cold War threats. Nick Fury (And Maria Hill) Nick Fury and his loyal right-hand woman Maria Hill have always been popular with fans but, honestly, they haven't ever had the meatiest roles in the movies. Fury was, let's face it, mostly just a plot device to tie the various heroes together. Once he'd completed the Avengers initiative, he drifted out of focus. That's even more true of Maria Hill, who's basically just there to spout exposition. So why not give them their own show? The pair were just reintroduced into the MCU at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, and will return in Spider-Man: Far From Home, so they're back at the front of audience's minds again. But we still want to know what they heck they've been doing in the years since S.H.I.E.L.D. as we know it dissolved. The post-credits scene of IW raised questions about who they actually work for and, if these aren't answered in future appearances, a TV series would be the best place to do it. Honestly, an obstacle to this would be tying Samuel L. Jackson down to film a TV show, as the actor's hugely prolific and typically likes to make several movies per year. Still, the advantage is that these Marvel projects seem to be miniseries, so maybe Jackson could spare the time. Plus, the fact that they'll be waving a lot of money around can't hurt. Valkyrie (And Korg) Thor: Ragnarok's Tessa Thompson has been one of the biggest advocates for more female-led projects in the MCU. Famously, she organized a group of Marvel's leading ladies to ask Kevin Feige for a women's team-up film. While we hope that happens, her character Valkyrie probably isn't a big enough name for her own movie, but there's nothing stopping her from having her own TV series. For one, Valkyrie has a huge amount of potential that was only just touched on in Ragnarok. As the last of Asgard's ancient female fighting force, she's one of the most powerful heroines the franchise has. What's more, she has centuries of history untapped as she left her home world behind back when Hela was originally out and causing havoc. Not to mention that we don't even know her actual name. If this was to happen, we demand that Taika Waititi's Korg return, too. The Kronan rock creature with the chatty personality and New Zealand accent practically stole the show in his sole movie appearance to date. Imagine how awesome he'd be as the comic relief sidekick in a Valkyrie TV series? Oh, and obviously that means Miek, his little insect friend with the knives for arms, would also tag along. No way we're breaking up that bromance. Winter Soldier/Falcon This one depends on the shape of the MCU in the future. Ever since Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes returned from the dead and Anthony Mackie debuted as Falcon in Captain America: The First Avenger, fans have been theorizing which one might eventually become Chris Evans' successor as the next Sentinel of Liberty. And the time for that is potentially nearing, as it's heavily suspected that Cap won't make it out of Avengers 4 alive. So, we're suggesting that whichever one doesn't pick up the shield next should get their own TV show instead. On the face of it, the Winter Soldier would make for an excellent choice of character to build a solo project around as he's a very damaged soul who might be cleared of HYDRA's mental conditioning but is likely severely haunted by the decades he spent killing for the evil organization. On the other hand, Sam Wilson's a character who's been undersold on the big screen. Mackie's a great performer, so he'd definitely make for a strong lead of his own series. In the instance that Bucky becomes the new Cap, perhaps the show could be about Falcon trying to continue his friend Steve's work in his own way. They could even give him bird powers like in the comics, just to expand his skillset in fresh, interesting ways. Shuri Black Panther had a fantastic cast all-round, but it would be fair to say that the breakout character was King T'Challa's genius little sister Shuri, as brilliantly played by Letitia Wright. Seeing how much fans latched onto this young woman who's said to be the smartest mind in the whole of the MCU (yup, sorry Stark), there's no question that we'll see more of the princess of Wakanda in the franchise in sequels and other crossover movies. But what about her own TV series, too? If you're thinking "sure, Shuri's great but how would you make a show around the character who gives gadgets to the heroes?" then you should know that she once became the next Black Panther in the comics and the movie itself even showed that she was handy in a fight when she joined the battle against Killmonger in the climax. The perfect shape for the series, then, would be following her rise as a heroine in her own right. Obviously, T'Challa's likely to stick around - well, once he gets resurrected in Avengers 4 - so a Shuri show wouldn't see her take over as the Black Panther, but the first film introduced the concept that multiple people could break away from tradition and ingest the heart-shaped herb, so perhaps the king will allow his sister to do the same and acquire some powers and protect people in her own way. Hey, maybe she even moves to the U.S. - we know Shuri has an interest in American culture ("what are thooose?"). Hawkeye And here's the one that springs to mind the most when thinking about MCU characters who've had the short shrift in the movies and deserve their chance to shine. Clint Barton has long been the butt of the joke as the weakest member of the Avengers and sadly, he's been absent from the action since 2016. He'll return in a big way for Avengers 4, of course, but it feels like there's still more to do with Hawkeye yet. The difficult thing is that Barton is at the end of his career as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent as he hung up his bow and arrow back in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The way to get around that, then, would be to have Jeremy Renner play a mentor role to Kate Bishop, a popular character from the comics who takes over from him as Hawkeye in the source material. We know that Marvel's building up to the Young Avengers, so Kate's got to appear in the near future. Though we're imagining her as perhaps the main focus of the show, there could still be flashbacks or ghosts from his past that explore Clint's early days and origins. Hawkeye was originally a villain in the source material, but this hasn't really been touched on in the movies as yet. It would be interesting for Barton's criminal days to catch up with him though if he got his own show on Disney's streaming service.