Marvel TV is changing for the better, we hope, but as the studio moves forward with exciting new projects that unfortunately means it also has to clean house, which is bad news for those that actually enjoyed what the MCU already had to offer on streaming. What If…? just wrapped up over the holidays and now we’re learning that a cult favorite Disney Plus series fans always hoped would return is definitely doomed. 4n5f5y

Yes, it’s sadly a dark night for Moon Knight fans, as Marvel has quietly revealed that the sun has officially set on the Oscar Isaac-fronted series. Although most of the MCU’s TV offerings from 2021-2023 were intended to be one-and-dones, Moon Knight ending on a big cliffhanger — with the introduction of Marc Spector’s second alter, Jake Lockley — hinted that it could be the exception. Especially as Isaac himself has heavily teased more episodes numerous times.

It seems the dream is over, though, as hopes of a Moon Knight season 2 have been dashed by the most reliable source possible. Marvel’s head of television, Brad Winderbaum, was asked about the show’s potential future while promoting Daredevil: Born Again, and he explained that the studio is now focused on looking forward and riding a fresh “wave” of content, rather than looking back.

“So I think Marvel Television has happened in waves, and I think Moon Knight happened in a wave of shows that were going to establish characters that would tie-in to the future,” Winderbaum told ComicBook.com. “And moving forward, our priorities have shifted. We’re making shows as shows that can exist as annual releases, more like television.”

Winderbaum’s reply was something of a politician’s answer, but his follow-up comment at least made it abundantly clear that while Moon Knight the show might be dead, Moon Knight the character is not. He may not have his own starring vehicle anymore, but Isaac’s Egyptian avatar is fully intended to return to the MCU eventually. “There are plans for Moon Knight down the road,” Winderbaum assured us.

Where could Moon Knight return following his show’s cancellation? 20o1k

It’s definitely a bummer that we won’t get more Moon Knight, as a second season really could’ve doubled down on what worked about season 1 as well as bringing the occasionally goofy show more in line with the darkness of the hero’s comic book stories. Even so, at least fans can take solace from the fact Isaac isn’t out of this franchise for good. The upside is that there are several places for the Fist of Khonshu to show up again.

We know Marvel’s been planning to do something with the Midnight Sons team of supernatural superheroes, although the Blade movie was supposed to set that up so the studio might have to sit on this one for a bit longer. Perhaps the best opening for him, then, would be in either 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday or, more likely, 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars. Moon Knight isn’t typically associated with the Avengers, but he’s a significant protagonist from the Multiverse Saga so it would make sense to get him in there somewhere.

With Born Again season 2 already about to start filming, Agatha All Along circling a renewal, and more of both Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and X-Men ’97 on the way, we shouldn’t need to experience this pain again. R.I.P. Moon Knight, you were born in the wrong time.

Marvel fans were excited to learn that one of their beloved yet underrated heroes is making a return to the MCU, with Oscar Isaac reprising his role as Moon Knight in the new trailer for What If…?.

The third season of the Marvel animated series will return to screens in late-December, and we got a taste of what’s to come with an action-packed teaser that landed earlier today. In between the return of familiar characters like The Watcher, Captain America/Sam Wilson, The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes, Hulk/Bruce Banner, the trailer also treated us to our first-ever animated version of Marc Spector/Moon Knight, the hero who we last saw in Marvel Television’s 2022 namesake series. 

In the trailer, we hear Isaac’s Moon Knight mention being “the world [being] left defenceless” while manning some kind of futuristic control board, alongside various thrilling snippets of the collection of heroes doing what they do best (saving the world, duh). Since it’s an animation, we don’t see the actual Isaac, but merely the voice work presence of the MCU’s unofficial daddy was enough to titillate legions of Marvel fans. “I speak for all men when I say we love this,” one X wrote in response to the news, with another adding that they’ve “missed him.”

Others yet again bestowed Isaac with his deserved title, calling him “Daddy Oscar Isaac,” and elsewhere seemed eager to watch the actor’s MCU return. “Can’t wait to see the performance,” one X quipped, while another added that “this is going to be amazing.” It seems Isaac’s role reprisal couldn’t come soon enough, since it’s been almost three years since we saw him on Moon Knight with the prospect of a second season feeling like a distant dream. 

While Marvel itself has remained tight-lipped about the possibility of a sophomore season of Moon Knight, the show’s director, Mohamed Diab, has provided a glimmer of hope in recent interviews. To be sure, he did say there’s as-yet been “no talks” of a second season of the show — which received praise from critics and fans, particularly for its darker tone and for Isaac’s performance — but hinted that “with Marvel, nothing is called finished.” Diab even mentioned the possibility of Moon Knight being in a film, or “go[ing] into another universe.”

The character seems to have done just that by entering the What If…? fray, in which Isaac s a cast that has included fellow A-listers and Marvel heavy-hitters like Jeffrey Wright, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Ahead of the animated series’ third season, fans have speculated that What If…? will feature the Eternals in a major way, that the Young Avengers might make an appearance, and that Elizabeth Olsen might again lend her voice as an alternate Scarlet Witch.

While we’ll have to wait until the show lands on screens on Dec. 22 to see whether any of this speculation comes to fruition on What If…? season three, we can at least rest assured in the gravelly comfort of Isaac’s soothing voice in the trailer. Oh, we’ll also get to see him star alongside Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhall in Beef’s second season, so we’ve got loads of Isaac content ahead of us. Did someone say daddy?

Marvel Studios just put a stake through the hearts of every fan of the Daywalker when it announced that the much-mocked Blade reboot wouldn’t release in 2025, after all. This wasn’t much of a surprise, given that it wasn’t even shooting yet, had only two people in its cast, and no director, but it was still a bummer as it seemed to confirm the vampire hunter wouldn’t be appearing in the MCU next year as expected.

That’s what we thought, anyway. As it turns out, the character will make his first appearance in the franchise — outside of the Wesley Snipes version brought back for Deadpool & Wolverine — in a certain project hitting Disney Plus in about 12 months’ time. It’s not where we were anticipating the MCU’s version of Blade to make his debut, but beggars can’t be choosers, so we’ll take it. Especially as it looks to be one of the weirdest crossovers Marvel’s yet delivered.

Blade to return to the Marvel multiverse for the MCU’s next foray into the horror genre, coming Halloween 2025 ds2d

Thanks to the mind-blowing Marvel sizzle reel that teased what’s due on Disney Plus over the next calendar year, we know that Marvel Zombies is coming to munch on our brains — sorry, for our brains to munch on — next October. If you take a closer look at the footage from the What If…? spin-off, you can even catch a glimpse of Blade himself, but not as you’ve ever seen him before.

In the screenshots above, you can see that Blade will feature in Marvel Zombies, but it will be a variant of Eric Brooks who, in this reality, is Moon Knight. Something like this had been reported before, but now we can confirm its truth thanks to the evidence of our own eyes. The only hitch is we don’t yet know whether Mahershala Ali will voice the character or if a soundalike will be brought in. If they bring Snipes back for this one, it will be the funniest thing Marvel’s ever done.

Fans are having all kinds of reactions to this extremely unexpected turn of events. For some, Blade becoming the Fist of Khonshu is the stuff Marvel dreams are made of.

Meanwhile, those who predicted Blade would hit the MCU in 2025 are feeling mighty pleased with themselves right now.

We live in the strangest timeline.

Marvel’s still struggling to make the simple premise of “guy hunts vampires” work, but we’ll take zombie-hunting Blade in the interim.

This Marvel Zombies news isn’t cutting through everyone’s hardened cynicism, however. “About as much Blade as the MCU will have,” was how one savage reply put it.

Clearly, there’s something in the water at Marvel HQ, as the House of Ideas seems a tad obsessed with wild Moon Knight variants of late — see the recent What If…? about Marc Spector becoming Venom. But, hey, we’re not complaining. Over what will be six years on from the announcement of an MCU Blade, the character will finally have more to his name than an audio cameo in the Eternals post-credits scene. Give it another six years, and we might finally see the movie.

Of all the era-specific entries that the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s television campaign has gone through, none stole the show quite like Moon Knight, wherein the illustrious Oscar Isaac went head-to-head with Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow in an intriguing clash of Egyptian gods and extreme ideologies.

When we last left Marc and Stephen (i.e. the two alters of Moon Knight’s civilian identity, who has dissociative identity disorder), they had freed themselves of Khonshu’s control and dedicated their mercenary skills to the betterment of mankind, even if the third alter, Jake, had other plans.

We’ve yet to see Moon Knight beyond the show, but we’d also be wise to not count him out of the equation. In a recent interview with Deadline at the El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt, Moon Knight head director Mohamed Diab revealed that while nothing is in the works as far as his knowledge goes, he maintains a great relationship with the studio and is all but ready to jump back in should Marc and Stephen’s next story need a familiar guiding hand.

“You never know — with Marvel nothing is called finished. There could be a film, or he could go into another universe. Right now nothing is in talks but definitely with Moon Knight, I would love to be involved in anything else and it could happen for sure. I have a great relationship with them.”

This is, of course, hardly an omen of things to come, as Diab’s interest in returning to the fray has little bearing on whether Moon Knight does continue in the franchise. And at the end of the day, it might even be for the best if Moon Knight’s story did end where it is, actually.

A major aspect of Moon Knight‘s strength was precisely how compartmentalized it was from the rest of the MCU. Without the burden of any other franchise threads or nuances or worldbuilding responsibilities, it was capable of focusing on the themes and characters that it alone was interested in. As a result, we were given a profound yet accessible story about mental illness, complete with a balance of comic book spec stylings and conspiratorial stakes that, while not spotless from a writing perspective, was honest about telling a story rather than being a product.

So, really, the best way for Moon Knight to continue in the MCU may not be by way of the character himself, but of the spirit that the show carried itself with. And unlike Moon Knight the character, that spirit is something we can tangibly count on, if only marginally. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead — who directed episodes of Moon Knight alongside Diab — are due to return for Daredevil: Born Again following their work on season two of Loki, and while those two are just one piece of that scrumptious Moon Knight puzzle, good things can only come from tried-and-true talent tackling an also-tried-and-true ensemble like that of Born Again.

Daredevil: Born Again is set to hit Disney Plus on March 4, 2025, at which point Captain America: Brave New World (which hits theaters on Feb. 14) will have hopefully demonstrated a very specific brave new world wherein Marvel gets its head out of the ice cream box and into a carb-based diet.

Marvel’s What If…? animated series has practically infinite scope, as each new episode creates a fresh universe in which any MCU character could pop up in any number of combinations or different forms. The one dimensional barrier it can’t cross, though? The corporate one, meaning that Sony’s roster of superheroes and anti-heroes is sadly off-limits. That’s not so in the latest chapter in Marvel’s What If…? book series, however, which boldly embraces a crossover we’re unlikely to see happen in either Moon Knight season 2 or Venom: The Last Dance.

Returning readers of this series, launched earlier this year, will already be familiar with the answers to “What If… Loki was worthy">exploring Wanda’s loneliness, identity issues, and more. The result is a must-read for Moony fans, but not something that is one of the character’s most definitive tales.

It’s been over two years since Moon Knight hit screens and, fine, we get it, Oscar Isaac is a very busy boy, but it still hurts that there’s been no word on a second season just yet. With such clear ties to the MCU and yet a central premise that Marvel would never dare realize on screen, What If… Marc Spector Was Host to Venom? is the ultimate alternative. Let’s just hope it’s not our last dance with Moon Knight for a while.

So much of the future of the MCU is uncertain, with virtually all of Marvel’s current roster of heroes being stuck in a holding pattern as we await to find out where they could show up next. Like Oscar Isaac‘s Moon Knight, for example.

Well, don’t look now, Oscar, but it seems like someone might be about to pinch your all-important role in Marvel lore. But, hey, at least there’s no uncertainty about X-Men ’97, which is fast approaching…

X-Men ’97 is coming to make the biggest Marvel wave on Disney Plus since fall 2022 21s1o

There are many reasons to be excited for X-Men ’97. It’s a continuation of a beloved animated series, it’s the first X-Men title made by Marvel Studios, and it’s a chance to see Cyclops and co. in their beautifully ’90s gym gear. Also, it’s set to be the lengthiest Marvel experience we’ve had on Disney Plus for years. With its release schedule consisting of 10 weekly episodes stretched across nine weeks, it’ll be the longest-lasting streaming series the MCU has given us since She-Hulk dropped weekly from August-October 2022. With X-Men ’97 stretching from March to May, that should tide us over nicely until July’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

Harry Potter and Games of Thrones star may have already made their secret Marvel debut 2r71w

Speaking of Deadpool & Wolverine, a rumor that everyone wants to come true states that Daniel Radcliffe could turn up in this year’s big superhero blockbuster. In addition, another new bit of scuttlebutt claims that one of Radcliffe’s former Harry Potter co-stars is also on their way to the MCU. Game of Thrones vet Natalia Tena is supposed to have secretly been cast in an project and has even shot some scenes. That’s all we know for now, as the identity of both the project and her character have yet to be revealed. Now might not be the best time for Marvel to even vaguely step toward the direction of J.K. Rowling, though.

Moon Knight no more? Oscar Isaac’s hero might have lost his mantle to the last hero you’d expect 5b6d72

While we and Hideo Kojima eagerly await news on Moon Knight season 2, an intriguing rumor alleged that Marc Spector might not be the Fist of Khonshu for much longer. According to the latest intel on Marvel Zombies — don’t forget, that animated miniseries is still a thing — another character will be the Moon God’s go-to guy in that show. You’ll never guess who it is — Mahershala Ali’s Blade, who was previously reported to appear in the series in what could be his first full-on MCU debut. If this is setting up a Moon Knight vs. Blade battle in some future project, we are A-OK with that. If Isaac isn’t coming back, though, then Marvel’s about to make a lot of fans angry. And you won’t like them when they’re angry…

When gaming icon Hideo Kojima talks, people listen. The Metal Gear and Death Stranding creator is currently riding high after a stupendously great Death Stranding 2: On the Beach reveal and the Disney Plus premiere of the documentary Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds. But now he has what at first glance appears to be a very spicy take on Oscar Isaac.

Kojima subscribed to Disney Plus to watch the documentary about him, but also decided to check out an episode of 2022’s Moon Knight. His response: “I had never imagined such a pathetic and unattractive Oscar Isaac.” But this put-down isn’t quite what it seems, as he’s praising Isaac for breaking type to play the cowardly and nervous Steven Grant

Who would have thought the man who created Metal Gear Solid would enjoy a bizarre and imaginative narrative about dark conspiracies where nothing is as it seems and identity is fluid and shifting?

Anyhows, Kojima and Isaac share a least one other connection. For years Isaac was cast as Solid Snake in Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ live-action adaptation of the 1998 PlayStation game. Sadly, after years in development hell all we’ve seen is some concept art and now it seems Isaac may have abandoned the project and it’s not going to happen at all.

However, Kojima is hard at work on a Death Stranding movie for A24. This won’t be a direct adaptation of the game’s story but will be set in its world, meaning there’s a chance Isaac could nab the role of a fellow deliveryman and get to wrap his vocal cords around Kojima’s distinctive dialogue.

And as for Moon Knight? Despite a late tease of third personality Jake Lockley there have been no rumblings at Marvel Studios that the character will return, either in a second season of the show or in another hero’s movie. We’d be surprised if we never saw Moon Knight again in any form, though Isaac is constantly in demand so scheduling him to make even a cameo must be difficult.

Is Isaac really “pathetic and unattractive”? In Moon Knight he is, but that just underlines the depth of his acting talent.

Maybe you’ve been a fan of Alexander for a while, thanks to what Hans Gruber called “the benefits of a classical education.” Maybe you’ve just run across him for the first time, thanks to Alexander: The Making of a God on Netflix. Either way, you’re probably thinking “I could go for some more of this guy. He seems Great.”

You’re in luck. Thanks to the empire that he conquered and the simple but elegant branding inherent in adding “the Great” to the end of his first name, Alexander the Great has been name dropped, quoted, and portrayed in movies and TV shows across a spectrum of different genres. Here’s a look at a few choice projects featuring the Macedonian powerhouse. None of them is Alexander from 2004. A lot of them are superhero movies and TV shows. A lot of everything is superhero movies and TV shows these days.

Moon Knight 1z205c

The question was “What is Marvel going to do when they run out of popular A-list characters to make shows and movies about?” The answer: Moon Knight.

Set largely apart from the stories taking place in the rest of the MCU and drawing from a bevy of comic book sources, Moon Knight was a pleasant surprise when it hit Disney Plus back in 2022. One of the many pieces of world-building that the series presented to viewers: The fact that Alexander the Great hadn’t conquered an unprecedented landmass on his own, but had done so with the help of Ammit, the Egyptian goddess backing the play of series antagonist Arthur Harrow. In the episode “The Tomb,” we even get to see Oscar Isaac reach elbow-deep into Alexander the Great’s mouth like a dentist who got into the business for the wrong reasons. It’s a heck of a show.

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With the benefit of hindsight, maybe someone should have made it their business to check on Adrian Veidt in the world of Alan Moore’s Watchmen. In everyone’s defense, he doesn’t come off as the most fun guy to hang out with. He’s the kind of guy who describes himself as having only really felt a connection with Alexander the Great as a kid, before realizing that Ramses II was the real cool emperor. You just know that he’d correct you pronunciation all the time and hate your taste in music.

Veidt’s desire to be more like his despotic heroes eventually ends, depending on which version of the story you’re into, with either a giant fake squid in the middle of Manhattan, or a sour blue nuclear detonation at the center of the same. Either way, probably not what Alexander had in mind when he razed Thebes, but you can’t pick your fans. 

Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters 86s6k

For the uninitiated, Yu-Gi-Oh! was a series of elaborate practical jokes played by 4Kids Entertainment on unpopular American children in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Theoretically the story of a boy playing a card game with borderline-actionable ties to Pokemon, it constantly asked the question “how impenetrable can we make this franchise?” 

By way of example: What was generally a story about the perfect marriage between a card game and dog fighting took a detour in 2006 with a mid-season inbetweenquel called Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters, in which the characters from the show were transported into a board game via a map in a pyramid. There, they soon discovered an enigmatic masked man – obviously, this turns out to be Alexander the Great, still alive after all these centuries and very into catching and training dragons and battling his evil component self. Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters deserves a spot on this list, if not as great cinema, then as the only television series to date with a Wiki entry that features the words “then Alexander (the great) attacks with ‘Multi-Dimensional Laser Assault.’” 

Alexander the Great (1963) 3544u

In fairness, Alexander the Great from 1963 wasn’t particularly good. It wasn’t even particularly from 1963. It was a failed pilot for a TV series, developed in 1963 and shelved due to being expensive and not awesome. 

What makes it worth watching, however, is its cast. when all of those shelved Chris Hemsworth movies suddenly hit theaters right as he was getting Marvel famous? That’s sort of what happened here – Alexander the Great starred a pre-Star Trek William Shatner as the eponymous Alexander, and a pre-Batman Adam West as his nemesis, Cleander. It was released in 1968 as a TV movie, with the network hoping to latch onto some nerdy audience interest. The result: 50 minutes of television that you hadn’t heard of until now, readily available to watch on YouTube thanks to how little anyone still holding the copyright cares about it.

It’s wild that we’re coming up to three years of Marvel Disney Plus content and we’ve only had a single second season of a live-action series in that time.

Seeing as that season happened to be Loki‘s second run, though — you know, easily one of the most universally popular entries in the Multiverse Saga — you’d have to imagine that Marvel will be looking to make more sophomore runs in the future. Unfortunately, not every Disney Plus show we’ve received to date is suited to a season 2. Don’t expect more Secret Invasion anytime soon, for example. But Moon Knight? Moon Knight is begging for another batch of episodes.

At the end of its six-part debut season, it felt like Moon Knight had only just scratched the surface of Oscar Isaac’s multifaceted hero, especially with the post-credits scene finally revealing the existence of his third alter, Jake Lockley. And yet season 1 concluded way back in summer 2022 and we’ve still had no official update on its renewal chances. So is Moon Knight season 2 actually happening? Let’s shine some (moon)light on the subject.

Moon Knight season 2 status, explained 4v6k6e

The slumbering Moon Knight fandom has been woken up of late thanks to increased chatter that Moon Knight is getting a second season. However, it’s important to note that these are just social media rumors at this point and there has been no announcement or confirmation about season 2 to tell us it truly is happening.

Word on the street has it that Marvel Studios is developing another run of episodes of Isaac’s Marc Spector/Steven Grant, which honestly is not the first time we’ve heard this. In fact, Isaac himself has been open with fans that he’s been in talks with the studio all along to return as the character(s).

“There have been some specific conversations,” he revealed in October 2022. “They were pleasant. The spilling of the details is that there’s no details. We don’t know [if there will be a second season], but we’re talking about it.”

Unfortunately, that’s about as close as we’ve come to any kind of official notice about MK‘s future, although Isaac has likewise hinted that he could one day partner up with the Midnight Sons in some kind of supernatural superhero team-up project. Therefore, even if a second season doesn’t happen, it doesn’t necessarily spell doom for the Star Wars star’s MCU career.

If you believe there’s no smoke without fire, though, then the regularity and persistency of the Moon Knight season 2 rumors could well mean that Marvel really is cooking up something behind the scenes and eventually we’ll get some cast-iron proof. At San Diego Comic-Con 2024 maybe?

In the meantime, Moon Knight knights, keep showing your for the MCU’s most dysfunctional defender. Because, as a wise man once sang, lonely is a man without love.

Thought the MCU was confusing enough? Well, think again as Marvel Studios has just found a way to make our understanding of the ever-growing Multiverse Saga yet more difficult, even if it was done with the best of intentions. Say hello to the studio’s brand-new Marvel Spotlight banner, debuting with Echo.

From what we can gather, Marvel Spotlight covers those MCU projects that are largely standalone and don’t require much in the way of franchise homework to watch and enjoy them. This is despite Echo being a clear sequel to Hawkeye, a spiritual successor to Netflix’s Daredevil, and part of Matt Murdock’s grand return to the MCU that began with Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. But whatever, apparently it’s standalone.

“Marvel Spotlight gives us a platform to bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity,” is how Marvel’s Head of Streaming Brad Winderbaum summed it up. This begs the question, then, which other MCU projects — whether on Disney Plus or perhaps even on the big screen — will be released under the Marvel Spotlight brand?

Daredevil: Born Again 2d2b2u

Naturally, if Echo is Marvel Spotlight, the first other show on its way that we’re wondering could it is Daredevil: Born Again. Like Maya Lopez’s series, Born Again will surely be a “grounded, character-driven” piece, regardless of however Marvel ends up retooling the project following its page-one overhaul. As much as we’d like to see it, the Hell’s Kitchen hero is unlikely to ever the Avengers’ ranks, right? So presumably his adventures will be more Spotlight-linked than Multiverse Saga-related.

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In the wake of Marvel Spotlight’s announcement, fans are wondering which earlier Phase Four and Five projects might’ve fallen under the banner had it existed at the time, or could even be retroactively rebranded as part of it. Moon Knight is one of those at the top of the list given how self-contained the Oscar Isaac vehicle is. It’s always seemed probable that Marvel would make a second season at some point, so perhaps that will officially canonize Khonshu’s avatar as a Spotlight character.

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So here’s something else Winderbaum said about the Marvel Spotlight brand. “Just like comics fans didn’t need to read Avengers or Fantastic Four to enjoy a Ghost Rider Spotlight comic,” he teased, “our audience doesn’t need to have seen other Marvel series to understand what’s happening in Maya’s story.” Hmm, you could’ve picked any character to reference there, Brad, and you went with Johnny Blaze? Is this a hint that those rumors of a new Ghost Rider project being in development were on the money?

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With Echo being Marvel Spotlight, and given Winderbaum’s words, we can perhaps infer that the banner is specifically for those lesser-known characters that don’t have the same kind of brand recognition as the universe’s leads. If that is the case then Wonder Man would certainly fit that bill, as the comedic series will see Aquaman‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as B-list hero Simon Williams, an actor who moonlights as a superhero. This is assuming the show actually ever happens, of course, amid worries it’s been canned.

Blade 3d4pn

Again, we’re not entirely clear of the specific parameters of Marvel Spotlight, so it’s unknown if it will only apply to Disney Plus series. If it also can be used for movies, though, then Blade is certainly ripe to fall under the banner. Sure, Mahershala Ali got an audio cameo in Eternals, but we’re all expecting the Daywalker’s MCU debut to stand apart from the threat of Kang the Conqueror and the road to Secret Wars. Maybe reconceptualizing the film as a Spotlight project could help it finally crawl out of development hell.

In the ever-expanding tapestry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the introduction of Disney Plus shows marked a whole new era. These shows not only brought beloved characters to the small screen but also left audiences on the edge of their seats with a treasure trove of cliffhangers. From heart-pounding suspense to jaw-dropping revelations, the MCU’s streaming offerings reinvigorated the art of the cliffhanger, captivating and astonishing fans in equal measure. In this exploration, we delve into some of the most unforgettable cliffhangers that left viewers eagerly awaiting the next chapter in the MCU’s grand narrative.

10. WandaVision – Double Pietro 5p5233

A surprising and unexpected development occurred in the fifth episode of WandaVision, which was titled “On A Very Special Episode…” There had been a lot of buildup to this moment as viewers had been following Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) through a number sitcom eras throughout the 20th century.

Wanda’s surprise at seeing her brother Pietro at the door may be seen at the end of the episode. The casting change of Pietro Maximoff, originally represented by Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the MCU, added mystery and intrigue to the scene. Evan Peters, who played a different version of Pietro in Fox’s X-Men film series, portrayed the role in WandaVision.

This cliffhanger did more than just throw viewers for a loop; it also set the stage for future MCU efforts to explore the notion of the multiverse, which became an overarching motif in the franchise’s following entries. Fans eagerly awaited the next episode to find out what this means for the MCU as a whole, and how Pietro got there.

9. Moon Knight – The Psych Hospital 58384f

The fourth episode of Marvel’s Moon Knight, titled The Tomb, had an enthralling storyline development. In an unexpected and dramatic turn, Harrow (Ethan Hawke) fires not one, but two point-blank bullets at Marc, leaving the viewer in suspense and expectation of what will happen next.

Following what seemed to be a fatal fall, Marc awakens in a mysterious mental institution. The line between reality and illusion blurs, leaving both Marc and the audience in suspense. The facility is filled with elements and characters from his past experiences, heightening the intrigue.

As Marc’s medication wears off, he escapes orderlies, and a sense of foreboding fills the institution’s unstable, swaying wing. In a room that curiously contains something he’s been seeking, Marc stumbles upon a sarcophagus, revealing his alter ego, Steven Grant. Their unexpected reunion evokes a mix of emotions, intensifying the uncertainty that the asylum might be a vivid delusion or a surreal fever dream. The plot twists keep the audience on edge, craving answers to the unfolding mysteries.

8. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier – Death by Shield 1r722c

In episode 4 The Whole World Is Watching, John Walker’s morality drastically changed. His slide starts with his shield fueling his ego, driven by unshakeable ideals and a yearning for heroics. The episode emphasizes two key incidents that led to his demise. First, the Dora Milaje overcome him. Walker retreats rather than allowing for himself to be humbled. After a short talk with his buddy Hoskins, he takes the super-soldier serum.

A supercharged Walker fights the Flag Smashers. Hoskins being fatally hurt in an intervention. Walker’s spiral into evil continues as he violently murders one of Karli’s pals with his shield as witnesses film on their phones, overwhelmed by sorrow. The horrifying last shot depicts Walker standing over his dying victim with a bloody shield.

7. Hawkeye – The Return of Kingpin 331k4j

Following the revelation of Eleanor Bishop’s secret meeting with Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio, returns to the series. The actor confirmed that this is the same character from “Daredevil,” and his storyline picks up from where it left off. Eleanor’s attempt to sever her connection with Fisk due to her husband’s debts takes a dark turn.

While Kingpin tries to stop Eleanor from escaping, Kate Bishop intervenes and temporarily incapacitates him, revealing an unexplained increase in Fisk’s physical resilience in this series, in line with his comic book portrayal. After evading the NYPD, Fisk encounters Maya, who has discovered the truth about her father’s death and how he was framed.

6. Loki – Kang Has Risen g2a2

The conclusion of Loki season 1 served as a fitting ending for the MCU series while also expertly setting the stage for Loki season 2 and the wider Marvel universe. Over the course of the first season’s six episodes, viewers accompanied the “main” Loki variant as he unraveled the mysteries of the multiverse, the Sacred Timeline, and the Time Variance Authority (TVA). It became increasingly clear that the TVA was not what it initially appeared to be.

In the season 1 finale, Loki and Sylvie meet He Who Remains, the creator of the TVA and the architect of the Sacred Timeline. He swiftly reveals that he established the organization to prevent a devastating multiversal war. Despite his warning that his death would usher in new variants, Sylvie chooses to end his life. This momentous decision, as the season concludes, installs the Marvel antagonist Kang as the ruler of the TVA and, by extension, the entire MCU timeline.

5. Secret Invasion – Death of Maria Hill 2bl1f

In episode 1 of Secret Invasion, we witnessed a collaboration between Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Talos. Their mission was to prevent a bombing plot in Russia, masterminded by a faction of rebellious shape-shifting Skrulls led by Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to thwart the bombing. The episode then came to a shocking conclusion when Gravik assumed Fury’s identity and fatally shot Hill in the its closing moments.

4.  Loki – The Loom Goes Boom 5o1q65

In the climactic moment of Loki season 2, episode 4, Timely steps forward to attempt to rescue the branching timeline and the TVA from imminent disaster using a solution he and OB have devised. Although he’s fully prepared to be brave, the radiation emitted by the device proves overpowering, and Timely is tragically torn apart after taking just a few steps.

The remaining cast watch in sheer horror as their last hope to save everyone vanishes, and the device’s collapse becomes inevitable. As the temporal energy obliterates the device, Loki and the others can only stand there and acknowledge their impending fates as the shockwave approaches the TVA itself.

3. Ms. Marvel – Kamala Time Travels 3y4cu

Following the introduction of visions of Kamala’s great-grandmother, Aisha, in episode 2, the conclusion of Ms. Marvel’s fourth episode suggests that Kamala might have traveled back in time to when Aisha first disappeared. In this episode, Kamala (Iman Vellani) and her mother, Muneeba (Zenobia Schroff), journey to Karachi, Pakistan, influenced by Muneeba’s mother and Kamala’s grandmother, Sana (Samina Ahmed). Sana had experienced the same train vision that Kamala had at the end of the third episode. Although Muneeba believed their trip was simply a family visit, it became an opportune moment for Kamala to delve deeper into the mysteries of the bracelet and the abilities she acquired in the first episode of Ms. Marvel.

2. She-Hulk: Attorney At Law – The Daredevil Helmet 626w67

In Episode 5, Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) faces a significant challenge, and it’s not a villain, but her wardrobe. Having spent the past three episodes donning ill-fitting outfits, and Jen finally decides it’s time for a change. She consults a tailor, the heroes’ own Griffin Matthews, who bravely accepts the unique challenge of crafting garments for the size-changing Hulk. In the final scene, we spot a very familiar helmet neatly stored in one of his hat boxes. It’s none other than Daredevil’s helmet, though it’s yellow instead of the traditional red. This costume is inspired by Daredevil’s original attire from 1964, featuring yellow and reddish-brown hues.

1. What If…? – Zombie Thanos 3c5lk

In many ways, fans were apprehensive about What If…">Thanos’ immense power, he too succumbs to the zombie virus at some point before realizing his malevolent ambitions.

Having spent the last few months in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, Jonathan Majors‘ return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in this week’s episode of Loki has proven to be triumphant, with the actor winning rapturous responses for his performance as Victor Timely.

The allegations looming overhead may have cast a shadow over his short and long-term career prospects, but his turn as the third different Kang the Conqueror variant we’ve met so far underlines just how gifted a performer he really is. Timely couldn’t be any more different from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s big bad, who was himself a far cry from He Who Remains, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Having one star play so many different iterations of the same figure had the potential to get repetitive real quick, but it’s clear that won’t be the case with Majors and the Multiverse Saga’s end-of-level boss. However, because you can’t praise one thing without being called out for ignoring another these days, a Reddit thread praising the 34 year-old has led many to cry foul at the erasure of Oscar Isaac‘s Moon Knight.

You get one comment saying “Jesus the man has such range,” only for it to be followed by another stating “Oscar Isaac played different versions of the same character in the same scene, and against himself.” That’s followed by the belief that “each of them doesn’t even feel the same character,” which is counterpointed by “what Oscar Isaac did was much more impressive.”

Believe it or not, it’s fine for one franchise to have two multifaceted performers at the same time, but it wouldn’t be the MCU without some healthy argument now, would it?