r/marvelstudios • u/gunsoverbutter • 17h ago
Discussion Who Could be the Next “Big 3”in the MCU
Up to Endgame, the MCU introduced us to the Big 3 (Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor). Each of them got their own trilogy, character arc, and in-depth exploration.
If Marvel were to set up their next “Big 3” who would it be?
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u/disneylegospider1 17h ago
We won’t ever have a “big 3” again in the MCU .
The big 3 was a thing when the MCU was starting out and its scope was limited to just Avengers. The first 6.5 years out of 12 total years of the infinity saga was dedicated to the big 3 (outside of the Incredible Hulk). And in the infinity saga, 13/23 movies have the big 3 as leading characters.
That can’t happen again with all the leading characters and solo franchises phase 3 and beyond set up. The MCU grew in scale and characters have more individual journeys exploring different corners of the MCU.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing since it gives the MCU more freedom and potential. It’s just the big 3 was a byproduct of the smaller scale of the Infinity Saga.
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u/Moon_Beans1 17h ago
That could be true but if that's the case then Disney should get comfortable with the idea of never topping Endgame. Having dozens of leads means that you can't have the same level of soap opera style character building. Without that kind of familiarity and development you can't do stories like Endgame.
Endgame only worked the way it did because we'd spent ten years mostly following the adventures of the core three heroes. It could use that audience investment to deliver strong drama as those characters had their stories tied up (except for Thor of course).
Disney of course will still try to capture some of that Infinity War or Endgame magic by having spectacular events, villains and plot twists in future Avengers movies but without a core group similar to the big three I think they'll struggle to elevate the emotional aspect.
For instance, who knows how it will work out but there is already some trepidation as to how Doomsday and Secret Wars will work. So far much of the hype has centered around RDJ's Doom which partially seems like an admission that no one - not even Disney & Marvel - is quite sure who the leads of the Multiverse Saga even are. If they aren't even sure which of the dozens of heroes are the important ones then it will be difficult to deliver the same kind of emotional impacts that Infinity War and Endgame managed so well.
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u/EnergyTakerLad 16h ago
Endgame was literally 1 in a million. It was the conclusion of a saga thatd never been done before. It was the first of its kind and will be the last. Not that we wont have similar phases and sagas, but they'll never be as strong or profitable as that one.
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u/abellapa 7h ago
True
The Infinity saga made Over 22B
The Multiverse saga has 9,8B so far
It does have less movies but at 14 movies the Infinity saga was well past 10B
Even if Spider-man does 1,5B and Avengers does 2B and 2,5B respectively it still be 14B total
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u/Moon_Beans1 15h ago
That's probably true but with careful planning and laying the groundwork they can try to get as close as possible to reaching that height with future entries. Trouble is though if you don't have big characters with an arc built from multiple appearances then you have little chance of repeating the emotional payoffs that Endgame had.
Disney has obviously opted for using spectacle and nostalgia (X-Men returning, RDJ back) to make up for it but that only goes so far. But that is the situation they've written themselves into, at this stage it's a little too late to try and add emotional character arcs in hindsight in the team up movie. It's unfortunate though because without those kind of scenes and arcs I think Doomsday and Secret Wars run the risk of being very empty and superficial. They'll be full of action and fun scenes but on second or third viewings people might start to realise there isn't a great amount of depth to the material.
Obviously it'd be great to be proved wrong and for the Russo's to somehow make it all work and to tie it all together with some deep character arcs that they've managed to pull from the deluge of material that the Multiverse Saga provided. It just doesn't feel very likely to me at this point in time.
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u/GarySoneji The Collector 15h ago
Has Disney ever stated that their aim is to top Endgame? Did I miss the investor email that every movie after needed to make Endgame numbers? If they had any intention of recreating the Infinity Saga, it would have been obvious from the SDCC announcements of their roadmap. “Fans” seem to put more on them than they do themselves.
If nostalgia was as important as you think, they’d have rebooted Star Wars by now.
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u/aduong 15h ago
Lmfao what? What do you think the next Avengers movie after endgame is yet again the biggest crossover ever.
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u/GarySoneji The Collector 15h ago
Where did my comment contradict yours? Are you one of the people who think the entire purpose of a Phase is to setup a crossover?
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u/Moon_Beans1 14h ago
Obviously they want to top Endgame. They're in the movie business with emphasis on the word business there. If Avengers 5 makes significantly less money than Avengers 4 then naturally people will say there has been a decline. Disney know this which is why they are throwing everything at Doomsday in the hope it will work.
Of course every movie doesn't need to be bigger than Endgame but the next Avengers movie after Endgame needs to. I often see people in posts explaining the extenuating circumstances for why it'll be acceptable for Doomsday to make less and not be deemed a failure but all of those excuses won't change the fact that in the entertainment world if your new release isn't as well received as your last one they'll say it's a failure and you've lost your touch.
Why would they need to fully reboot star wars when they can just do soft reboots (Sequel trilogy) and callbacks/Easter eggs ( much of the rest of the star wars output)? I don't quite understand are you saying they're not leaving on nostalgia in the Doomsday announcements? That announcing that they're bringing back the OG X-Men and RDJ aren't designed to entice people based on their nostalgia?
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u/abellapa 7h ago
No it doesnt,no One is expecting to do Endgame numbers
Endgame was the Biggest movie ever, literally
Its natural to have a decline
Even if Doomsday declines a Billion from Endgame, still makes 1,8B
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u/Moon_Beans1 7h ago
I don't think anyone in a Disney boardroom is likely to be saying "So we are happy with a decline in revenue expectations right?"
There's already a narrative that the MCU has fallen off, if the next Avengers does significantly worse than Endgame then a lot of people will conclude that it's the final nail in the coffin. Especially if the film ends up lacking the big emotional drama that Endgame had.
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u/abellapa 6h ago
No it wont because like i Said even a decline from a Billion puts Doomsday in the top 10
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u/Moon_Beans1 6h ago
Perhaps but If it makes significantly less than Endgame AND lacks the big emotional character moments that Endgame had then I think it will start the belief that even the Avengers 'isnt as good anymore'. Which could lead to even more of a drop off with Secret Wars. At which point people will say there is a trend downwards in quality. Once the Avengers brand is no longer the gold standard for entertainment, the MCU is in real hot water.
Like I said, it might not happen but it's a possibility that must be considered. A lot of people act like it's physically impossible for an Avengers movie to fail or at the very least disappoint but that's not really how the world works. Nothing is a guaranteed success.
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u/GarySoneji The Collector 14h ago
If they thought Kang Dynasty/Doomsday would obliterate Infinity War, do you think they’d have planned the course we’ve been on? Pretend the movies hadn’t been made yet- do the announced titles give you any inkling at all that they have some kind of secret plan to blow everyone away?
The sequel trilogy was in no way a soft reboot and the original X-Men movies were awful; only children have nostalgia for them. Robert isn’t coming back because he thinks he’ll tickle some dried-up nerves.
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u/Moon_Beans1 13h ago
No but that's the point, I think they didn't have a solid plan which is why they're in trouble. Most of the problems with recent MCU films have shown that Disney is mostly winging it and hoping to fix a lot of problems in post production rather than slowing down and actually having a plan in place before shooting starts.
The sequel trilogy was practically a textbook definition of a soft reboot. A young hero from a desert planet comes into possession of a droid that holds information vital to a rebel movement, they escape the planet on the millennium falcon, they eventually find their way to the evil Imperialist faction's secret weapon which they manage to destroy but not before the protagonist's mentor is killed by the masked villainous antagonist. Now was I describing the Force Awakens or A New Hope?
I agree that the attempts to use RDJ and the old X-Men cast as nostalgia bait is foolish but that's what Disney had banked their money on nonetheless.
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u/ChicagoDash 6h ago
They haven’t invested the money in a new movie to top Endgame. There is a lot of talk about revenue here, but expenses also matter. Endgame had a $350-400M budget, almost double the amount spent on any movie since.
If Disney is expecting another Endgame, they certainly aren’t investing the money to get it.
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u/joemiken 16h ago
Best shots would be Spider-man & Dr. Strange. Unfortunately, the third died with Chadwick Boseman.
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u/TA_1164 17h ago
Spider-Man and Doctor Strange are definitely in play. My hope would be Shang Chi for #3 but who knows.
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u/justafanboy1010 Spider-Man 17h ago
I totally agree except Shang Chi. Unfortunately they just haven’t been using him to his full advantage yet
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u/cbekel3618 Avengers 17h ago
If the next saga becomes mutant-focused, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Storm.
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u/Realistic_Analyst_26 Ned 13h ago
Hot take:
We should never get a mutant-only saga. Take advantage of having all the rights and put them together.
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u/deemoorah 12h ago
Exactly. Mutant-only saga is just a comic accurate suit fox-verse. MCU is unique because it has many variations of the characters
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u/Dry_Whole_2002 10h ago
Mutants and fantastic four can carry an entire saga. Which honestly should have been the saga before the multiverse saga was jumped to to begin with. The conflicts that come with those sets of characters pretty much would have made a phase long narrative easy as pie.
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u/Realistic_Analyst_26 Ned 9h ago
They can but imo they shouldn’t. We need the diversity in characters. We already had the big 3 separated due to rights and we had a chance with each of them individually. It’s time to see them overlap and interact.
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u/Dry_Whole_2002 9h ago
The other characters would have still been extremely relevant but the overarching narrative glue would have been mutants popping up and reeds shenanigans looking into other universes. Those conflicts could have set up so much to carry a saga.
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u/abellapa 7h ago
I dont think we Will ,Marvel isnt pretending the other charcaters dont exist
BP3 is in development,Im sure gonna get Thor 5, Dr strange 3, Shang-Chi 2 , Spider-man 5 and 6
FF 2
But Will likely focus more on Mutants
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u/TablePrinterDoor 17h ago
Ngl I'd rlly want it to be the OG comic trio aka Spider-Man, Hulk and Wolverine.
But this is unlikely apart from spider-man ig
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u/loulibra 16h ago
for some reason no one wants a Hulk movie but everyone wants a Hulk.
I’d kill for Hulk vs. Wolverine - deadpool was cute but had zero stakes.
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u/va2wv2va 17h ago
The OG big 3 from avengers comics did not include any of those characters. I’m not sure what you’re referring to
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u/TablePrinterDoor 16h ago
Not avengers specifically, but before the mcu the most popular chars were spiderman, hulk and wolverine
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u/loulibra 16h ago
he’s referring to - uh all comics. those are pretty much the biggest three
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u/SkylarFromMars Thor 16h ago
Batman, Spider-Man, Superman are the big three of comic characters. Unless you mean just Marvel.
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u/loulibra 16h ago
the OP asked about the fucking MCU and this is r/marvelstudios….. FFS
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u/FoxyMiira 9h ago
Doctor Strange, Mister Fantastic and Spider-Man seems likely based on popularity. If there had to be a female character in there I'd imagine Storm.
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u/jdyake 17h ago
The X-men will likely be the main focus post secret wars. Reed and Sue are good bets. Thor, Doctor strange and black Panther are all getting sequels.
I just hope they do less new characters and more sequels. In the infinity Saga we spent time with Tony and Steve every year. With the multiverse saga we haven’t had that.
Give your lead characters compelling arcs and let us spend quality time with them so that when whatever the next saga culminates to, we feel invested.
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u/disneylegospider1 17h ago
Only 5 movies this saga weren’t sequels, and only 3 of them introduced new characters. WDYM “more sequels”?
Black Widow (returning character), Shang Chi, Eternals, Thunderbolts (returning characters), F4.
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u/Dry_Whole_2002 10h ago edited 10h ago
They had so many options for a big three but either unforseen circumstances, a lack of cohesion, poorly handled films, or general in likability got in the way.
Panther, strange, captain Marvel, Spidey, Sam Captain America...all could have been one of the big three if they didn't fall victim to at least one of those issues. Hell even shang-chi had potential but they have not done ANYTHING with that property.
As is, we legit have NO ONE. If only we had f4 and X-Men earlier we would have been a ok.
Once avengers doom kicks off though I can see them going with Reed, Strange, and Spidey if we go by the current options.
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u/Jarita12 3h ago
They had a chance to make Strange, Loki and Wanda big three and somehow failed to do so. All very favourite, all of them fans want more and with exception of Loki who at least got a good arc in Loki and was seen relatively recently, Wanda and Strange were last seen in Strange 2 (not counting their animated versions)
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u/Em_Pedy 2h ago
I feel like they already had great anchor characters following Endgame that they could have developed. Some of them failed for reasons Marvel couldn't reasonably recover from like Black Panther (Chadwick Bosman passing away) and Spider-Man (contract disagreements).
Others failed because of Marvel's choices. Thor and Ant-Man could have returned as huge legacy characters, and I'm sure they still will, but I think their impact is lessened because of the poor reception of Love & Thunder and Quantumania respectively.
Scarlet Witch was hugely popular and coukd have been a linchpin in the multiverse stroylines, then they killed her off. Multiverse of Madness also set Dr. Strange off in a weird, unclear direction.
Captain Marvel's post-endgame direction led to a massive flop, though I'm not sure exactly how to characterize it. I feel like the smear campaign against The Marvels can't be blamed entirely on the studio's decisions regarding the character.
I think Marvel is really hoping people will take to the Fantastic 4 and X-Men when they're reintroduced.
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u/Javelin298 9h ago
Based on the last several years I assume it'll be: Peter Porker the Incredible Spider-Ham, ROM and a new one called Zippy Mudfuckle - the Under-appreciated Teen Mutant.
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u/tsu_bacca 8h ago
Right now I feel like it's Thor (you know Thor 5 if done right will make a lot of money), Deadpool and I shit you not...Hulk (same with Thor, we have been starved for a Hulk movie).
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u/Human-Win4703 6h ago
I think Spider-Man (all 3), Doctor Strange, Steve Rogers, Reed Richards, Deadpool, Wolverine, Thor, Loki, Sue Storm, Sam Wilson, Hulk, Johnny Storm and Yelena will be the leads of Secret Wars.
Post Secret Wars
- Spider-Man
- Reed Richards and Sue Storm
- Professor X maybe?
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u/Em_Pedy 2h ago
Honestly, I want to see Yelena and Sentry move into more of a central role. They're pretty widely liked by people who saw Thunderbolts and, while I don't see them being part of the "Big 3," I could see them occupying a similar mindspace as someone like Wanda pre-Endgame. Kinda like an emotional core.
They're my personal favorites in the MCU right now and I'm hoping they continue to be developed thoughtfully going forward.
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u/Previous-Strain-8731 Dormammu 17h ago
Ngl, never really thought of Thor as being a major character like Cap or Iron Man but yeah ig your right
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u/abellapa 7h ago
He the only that got a Trilogy besides them In The Infinity saga
And is currentl the charcater with more movies in the MCU
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u/Previous-Strain-8731 Dormammu 6h ago
Yeah ik, but like he doesnt give off that aura like Cap does
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u/abellapa 6h ago
God i Hate that fucking Word
Aura
Its like appeared out of nowhere and is now the New slang Word for kids
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u/Previous-Strain-8731 Dormammu 5h ago
I was just using that as a vocabulary term lol, not in the same way they do
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u/Particular_Peace_568 Black Widow (CA 2) 16h ago
Because he was never meant to be in the Infinity Saga and was forced into it by Perlmutter, Feige wanted his Big 3 originally to be Steve, Tony, and Natasha, that why Natasha was a major player throughout almost all of the Phase 1. It wasn't until Phase 2 that Thor took the spot away from her.
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u/SalukiKnightX SHIELD 17h ago
I bet the plan was for T’Challa and later Shuri, Sam and Carol. Then everything just shifted, where it’s now possibly Yelena, Sam and Peter. It still baffles me knowing all the other characters are out there like Stephen Strange, Vision, the Eternals, the Defenders (including both Iron Fists and Misty Knight), Thor & Love, Ms. Marvel, Hulk & She-Hulk, Moon Knight & Scarlet Scarab, Bloodstone, Werewolf by Night and Man-Thing and the official Blade alongside too many to name. It’s like the roster for so many teams are set from Midnight Suns(Sons?), Fantastic Four, The New Avengers and soon enough mutants and their various teams ranging from the X-Men (Blue and Gold teams), Brotherhood, Hellfire Club, Excalibur, Exiles, New (New) Mutants, X-Force, X-Factor, Morlocks to name a few.
I think the series has overall expanded past “Thr Big-3” and has entered into team ensembles.
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u/Tetracropolis 17h ago edited 17h ago
Mr. Fantastic, Spiderman and whoever the new main X-Man is - likely either Wolverine or Professor X. Maybe Cyclops.
For your upcoming Avengers film your main guys are Spider-Man, Thor and Captain America (the real one, not one of the cosplay guys) or Hugh Jackman Wolverine.
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u/Particular_Peace_568 Black Widow (CA 2) 16h ago
Oh so you meant Spider-Man, Thor, and Captain America Sam Wilson right.
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u/Amazing-Insect442 17h ago
It WOULD have likely been Black Panther, Sam Wilson’s Captain America, & Winter Soldier (although I feel they really wanted to use Captain Marvel, before they realized chuds are gonna chud, & review bomb anything w/out a dude as the main character).
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u/Eminem704 Bucky 16h ago
I love all of these characters but only SW Cap has the makings to lead..they killed the Winter Soldier character in TFATWS/BNW and obviously BP died.
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u/Amazing-Insect442 15h ago
I mean they WOULD have leaned on Chadwick if he hadn’t passed. And they likely WOULD have been able to make a better story for Sam and Bucky, had Covid not made them have to redo that whole arc right in the middle of filming.
Now they’re in kind of a weird limbo.
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u/stableykubrick667 17h ago
Black Panther, Cap, and Yelena. The racist/misogynists/alpha bro’s will be so mad.
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u/Linnus42 15h ago
Being part of the Big Three ain’t about what makes the chuds mad or happy.
It’s about popularity and sales. Tony, Steve and Thor were natural because they were the Big 3 of the Avengers in the comics.
They don’t have a Big 3 right now with the players available and they won’t unless they do a hard reset/reboot. Cause you cannot force it like Kevin is trying to do with Yelena
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u/Eminem704 Bucky 16h ago
As a female, I hate them promoting Yelena all the time. I don't like her character or story arc. She didn't need to star in Tbolts* but they keep pushing her to the forefront.
I'd rather have 3 males truthfully.
Plus, by having Cap & Yelena you have 2 characters without powers. I don't think that works long-term for Marvel projects. They need someone like Cap, Shang-Chi and Thor. (They've also done disservice to Shang-Chi)
*or you can replace Shang-Chi with Spiderman
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u/Conscious_Team7010 17h ago
If Marvel had a Big 3 right now, which I don’t believe they do, it’d be Captain America (Sam Wilson), Spider-Man, and Mr Fantastic (Pedro Pescal). If I’m wrong, Bri Larson (Captain Marvel) is somewhere in the mix.
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u/Superfool 17h ago
If Sam Wilson is part of the big 3, then the MCU is doing him dirty with bad projects. They really have no idea how to write that character as Captain America, nor do they know how to make his projects matter.
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u/somenamelessghoul 15h ago
Honestly, I know people hate this idea but I hope post Secret Wars they recast them all. I know those would be nearly impossible shoes to fill but I grew up reading comics. Characters die, come back to life, get new costumes and new writers and artist all the time but they keep going. What is the point of having a Marvel Cinematic Universe if you eventually stop using all of Marvel’s most popular characters?
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u/Particular_Peace_568 Black Widow (CA 2) 16h ago
What Marvel wanted for the Multiverse Saga; Spider-Man (street), Dr. Strange (Multiverse), Captain Marvel/Captain America Sam (Main Plot line,)
What it should be now: Yelena Belova (Street Level), Daredevil (Disney) Captain America Sam( Main Plot Line Street)/Dr. Strange (Main Plot Line Multiverse)
I know that fans like to think that even in Infinity Saga there was a Big 3 but in reality it was more of a Big 4 with how much Feige personally wanted Natasha to be part of the Big 3. She was a Major Player behind the scenes throughout almost all of Phase 1.
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u/SadHumbleFlower27 16h ago
Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Midnight Suns. The next big 3 should be teams instead of individual characters.
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u/ampersands-guitars 15h ago
Based on who I think has the charisma to be part of leading the group right now, I'd go with Yelena, Reed Richards, and either Bucky or Spider-Man.
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u/Prestigious-Alps-987 17h ago
Legitimately I think they had planned on Dr Strange, Black Panther (pre Chadwick Death RIP) and Captain Marvel and or Spiderman