There are growing rumors that Marvel Studios is preparing to launch the Ultimates. Marvel Studios announced their Phase 4 slate at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, with a range of films and Disney+ TV shows that left fans thrilled. But one thing was noticeably absent.

The Avengers franchise has become a phenomenal success, with this year’s Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time. But last year, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that Marvel Studios was working on a new franchise beyond the Avengers; it’s logical to assume that this is an Avengers-equivalent franchise, so fans have speculated that the MCU could be building towards superhero teams such as the Ultimates, the Champions, or even A-Force. Attention is gradually turning to the first of these, a proactive group who dealt with threats on a cosmic scale.

Two members of the Ultimates have already been introduced, and are expected to stand at the forefront of the MCU going forwards; Black Panther and Captain Marvel. Another member, the adult Monica Rambeau, will be played by Teyonah Parris in the WandaVision Disney+ series. Rounding out the team, there have been rumors that Marvel is considering the genius superhero Blue Marvel; and now Geeks Worldwide has claimed the dimension-jumping America Chavez could soon appear in another Disney+ show. While these last two are unconfirmed, they certainly fit with the direction of travel.

In the comics, Black Panther and Captain Marvel formed the Ultimates because they’d come to understand the sheer cosmic scale of the threats facing humanity. They assembled some of Marvel’s greatest minds and most powerful heroes, and they tasked them to proactively assess potential threats and come up with solutions. It’s not hard to imagine Earth’s heroes taking a similar approach in the MCU, as a direct consequence of Thanos’ attacks in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The Ultimates were strongly associated with SWORD, which is believed to be the organization Nick Fury was shown establishing in Spider-Man: Far From Home’s post-credits scenes.

If Marvel is indeed building up to The Ultimates, then clearly the studio isn’t ready to tip its hand just yet. It took the MCU four years to build from 2008’s Iron Man to 2012’s The Avengers, but that journey was clearly signposted from the start. Marvel has become a lot more secretive of late, holding off on the Phase 4 announcement until after the theatrical release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, and then only revealing the next two years’ worth of films. Presumably The Ultimates is still a little further off.

More: The Avengers Should Become The Ultimates in Marvel Phase 4

Source: Geeks Worldwide

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