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Credit: Marvel StudiosTo say Marvel Studios is having a tough time of late might be an understatement. And as fans look ahead to the future of Marvel Phase Five, the fate of one beloved character has caused them to cry out in revolt.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, spearheaded by Kevin Feige, will soon be 33 movies deep. Including a heavy number of television shows, too, the MCU has grown to dazzling heights since its inception 15 years ago. It’s hard to imagine that Feige, director Jon Favreau or leading man Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man) knew what their superhero movie Iron Man (2008) would go on to create.
Viewed as the prestige of comic book movie entertainment, the MCU’s faithful adaptations of classic Marvel Comics stories and characters have seen it become a multi-billion dollar franchise, with the most recent Avengers crossover movies delivering a glittering box office. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, AKA the Russo Brothers, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) brought close to $5 billion at the global box office.
Following Endgame, the MCU wrapped up Marvel Phase Three with Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), which acted as an epilogue of sorts to the full-scale battle with Thanos (Josh Brolin) that fans had watched over the last two years. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker became the emotional heartbeat of the MCU as he — like the fans — dealt with the loss of Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark.
However, following the pandemic, the MCU had to change gears, and instead of releasing the origin Black Widow (2021) story first, pivoted to commencing Phase Four with Disney+ television shows. First, it was WandaVision, then The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, What If…?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Black Widow wouldn’t debut until the summer of 2021.
Despite each Disney+ release adding new characters and plot to the overarching canon storyline, Marvel Studios has been accused by fans — and Disney CEO Bob Iger — of releasing too much content and not really knowing what to do with it.
Marvel Phase Five
So as Secret Invasion wraps and eyes turn to the next big screen installment, Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels (2023) with Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, many are already looking further afield to the future of Phase Five, which, at present, is set to include Captain America: Brave New World (2024), Thunderbolts (2024), and Blade (2025) for feature films, and Loki Season 2, Echo, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, and Daredevil: Born Again, for Disney+.
When it comes to the likes of Thunderbolts, the team Marvel announced generated quite a bit of buzz. Playing into the anti-hero, found family tropes, Thunderbolts will bring together a handful of those morally grey characters MCU fans have encountered over the years.
Last year, Marvel Studios announced that Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Yelena Belova/Black Widow (Florence Pugh), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russel), Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) will make up the Thunderbolts squad. Harrison Ford will also star as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, following his debut in Captain America: Brave New World.
Thunderbolts has all the components to be a surefire hit — likable characters, clashing personalities, and that whole DC “Suicide Squad” vibe, so it’s keeping people baited. However, some fans have laid down an ultimatum to the Marvel studio, stating that they might stop watching if one dreadful thing was to occur.
On Reddit, u/Quiet_Effective7234 recently asked for other fans’ thoughts on who might die or survive in Thunderbolts. While they had their own views, one notable comment from another user placed Bucky Barnes in the firing line — and it did not go down well. SilverBruise_32 said, in part:
Well, according to the recent rumors, Bucky isn’t safe, and I wouldn’t count on the character surviving the movie. They want emotional impact, and he’s reasonably popular so he’s a goner.
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by u/silverBruise_32 from discussion Thunderbolts: 7 to 4?
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Related: Report: Disney Plans To Cut Marvel Streaming Shows From Disney+
Sebastian Stan‘s Bucky Barnes first appeared in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) as the best friend of Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans). He returned brainwashed in the sequel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), before eventually being redeemed and joining forces with the rest of the Avengers at the end of The Infinity Saga. Stan was the joint lead of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, alongside Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Falcon/Captain America.
Other fans quickly chimed in, offering an ultimatum to Marvel Studios. SamMan48 said:
If they kill off Bucky in this movie then I might be done with the MCU
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by u/SamMan48 from discussion Thunderbolts: 7 to 4?
in marvelstudios
Battling_murdoch echoed the same sentiment, essentially saying, “Kill Bucky and lose me as a viewer”:
Honestly, same. Bucky’s my favorite character and I love Sebastian Stan playing him. I’ve stuck with the MCU so far, but that would be my straw
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by u/battling_murdock from discussion Thunderbolts: 7 to 4?
in marvelstudios
Over the last two years especially, a lot of fans have had their “last straw” or ultimatum moments, and it shows in the box office numbers and poor reviews. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) was the worst-performing movie in MCU history, and Samuel L. Jackson’s (Nick Fury) Secret Invasion series was the most poorly received of the Disney+ bunch. It would seem the Multiverse Saga overall is extremely polarizing.
There have been highlights, though. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) was universally well-received, and Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) rode the tailwind of Spidey’s success to achieve $900+ million globally.
Thunderbolts is slated for December 20, 2024, and is directed by Jake Schreier from a screenplay by Eric Pearson.
Do you think Bucky will die in Marvel Phase Five? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!