Will E Worm
Conspiracy...
10 Biggest MARVEL Characters Not in a Movie (Yet)
At this point in history, there have been a lot of Marvel movies, and a lot of Marvel characters populating those films. Late last month, Doctor Strange was confirmed to "definitely" be in movie plans by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, and we already know that Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man are on the way in addition to the Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Avengers sequels.
Which begs the question: Who's left? Are there really any big, important Marvel characters that haven't yet been depicted in a live-action feature film? The answer to that question is a resounding, "Uh, yeah!" and here are our picks for the 10 biggest. Keep in mind that for the purpose of this list, we're not counting characters like Doctor Strange or Ant-Man -- though their movies are still years away and anything can happen between now and then, they certainly appear to be pretty solidly on the books as of right now (especially Ant-Man, which has an announced release date of Nov. 6, 2015).
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10. SCARLET WITCH & QUICKSILVER
Yes, we're starting things out with a tie, but superhero siblings Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver have been closely connected since their early days in the original incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (and in the Ultimate Universe, very closely connected).
Given their history with both the Avengers and X-Men sides of Marvel, it's easy to picture them in an upcoming entry of either franchise. In fact, according to an interview with Feige in 2012, that's actually possible: The two characters represent a "complicated" grey area where either Fox or Marvel Studios could use them in a film.
9. NOVA
Just a couple of years ago, Nova would have been considered a very long shot for movie stardom. Then a couple of things happened: The Guardians of the Galaxy -- including cosmic characters Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket Raccoon -- were announced to be headlining a 2014 Marvel Studios film, and a new Nova was introduced in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, who is now starring in a soon-to-debut Marvel series from Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness.
Considering that each of the Guardians are arguably lesser-known characters than Nova himself, it may very well be less of a "why hasn't Nova been in a movie yet?" situation and more of a "how long until the Nova movie comes out?" situation. (And if not a Nova solo film, another cosmic feature with Nova as part of an ensemble certainly sounds like a thing that could happen.)
8. WASP
All signs point to Wasp on the big screen in the near future -- Joss Whedon has said that the character was in the original draft of his Avengers script, surely making her a favorable candidate to join the cast in the sequel. Given her close ties to Ant-Man, she could quite possibly show up in that movie, as well.
And though Wasp hasn't yet been in a live-action production, she's an animation alum, most recently with her central role in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. (She also played a big part in '90s show Avengers: United They Stand, but most people tend to try to overlook that series.)
7. SHE-HULK
Marvel has had a tricky time getting a Hulk movie franchise off the ground -- following mixed receptions to both 2003's Hulk and 2008 reboot Incredible Hulk -- so it's not entirely surprising that a She-Hulk movie hasn't happened yet.
But the high-profile of Jennifer Walters within the Marvel Universe -- she's led several solo books in the past, inspired several subsequent She-Hulks like Betty Ross and Lyra, and is currently part of the FF -- combined with the warm reception to Mark Ruffalo's Hulk in Avengers does make it feel at least possible that she'll pop up somewhere sooner than later. There was talk of a She-Hulk film in the early '90s, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a character on this list (or in comic books in general) that hasn't had a movie in some form of development (or at least heavily rumored) in the past couple of decades.
6. IRON FIST
Iron Fist is another character that's long been discussed for a possible movie, usually with Ray "Darth Maul/Snake Eyes/Toad" Park attached. It hasn't happened yet, but as one of the bigger name characters solidly under the Marvel Studios umbrella, it may only be a matter of time before an Iron Fist movie starts picking up some momentum.
And if not a solo film, maybe a buddy movie with the next character on this list, whose identity you've already figured out.
5. LUKE CAGE
The prospect of a Luke Cage movie has been floated for years, with John Singleton attached to direct since a decade ago, and Tyrese Gibson and others (including Isaiah Mustafa from the Old Spice commercials) expressing interest in the role.
There haven't been any updates in a while, but there appears to have been enough sheer motivation out there that something just might happen eventually. Given the character's close association with the Avengers in recent years, he's also a possibility to turn up in a sequel in that franchise.
4. CAPTAIN MARVEL
At this point, Carol Danvers is perhaps the most high-profile female superhero in Marvel's comics. She's a major part of the Avengers and stars in her own solo series, and last year changed codenames from "Ms. Marvel" to "Captain Marvel," establishing herself as clearly not an adjunct to Mar-Vell, or anyone else.
With that, she also got a uniform that was a whole lot more practical than her old costume. And live-action superhero movies are (often) all about the practical costumes. For all these reasons, she seems destined to show up in a movie sooner rather than later, be it an Avengers sequel or a solo jam.
3. CABLE
It's tricky to find a prominent X-Men character that hasn't been in a movie yet. Sure, a lot of them haven't been featured heavily at all, or even necessarily had any speaking lines, but thanks to cameo-filled films like X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a multitude of mutants -- from major players like Psylocke to the super-obscure Arclight -- have turned up in tiny roles.
One that most assuredly has not is Cable -- the time-traveling offspring of Cyclops -- despite being one of the most visible X-characters of the last 25 years. He's headlined his own series and multiple incarnations of X-Force, and yet has gotten relatively little other media love outside of a few video games and a handful of episodes of the '90s X-Men cartoon. But if they keep making X-Men movies, surely his number will get called -- hey, Days of Future Past is all about time travel, isn't it?
2. NAMOR
Namor the Sub-Mariner is not only one of Marvel's most important characters (currently part of the all-Illuminati New Avengers), he's also one of the oldest -- literally, his first appearance was in Marvel Comics #1 in 1939.
Like Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, the film rights to Namor appear to be a little bit complicated. He's a big part of the Fantastic Four mythos (Fox has the rights to that), and recently was a member of the X-Men (also Fox). Back in 2006, it was reported that Universal had a Namor movie in development, and in later years, reports surfaced that the project was dead. Not much has been said recently about Namor's live-action prospects, but there are several possibilities out there if it ever comes to pass.
1. BLACK PANTHER
As the first black superhero, Black Panther is incredibly important to comic book history, and also important to the fictional world of the Marvel Universe. He's been a member of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, headlined his own solo series on multiple occasions, and is currently part of the New Avengers cast.
Yet he hasn't been depicted in a movie yet, though it's not for lack of trying. A Black Panther movie has been in the ether for more than 20 years, with Wesley Snipes declaring his interest in the role way before he ever played Blade. That didn't happen, but there are still signs of life: In 2011, Marvel Studios hired documentarian Mark Baile to work on a script. There haven't been many updates since, but given Marvel's aggressive schedule with putting new material out there, T'Challa could be coming to theaters soon.
