Credit: Inside the MagicWill Marvel’s Avengers leave the USA?
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Following Iron Man/Tony Stark’s selfless sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Chris Evans’ Captain America/Steve Rogers‘ retirement after passing his iconic Vibranium shield (and “Cap” title) to Anthony Mackie’s Falcon/Sam Wilson, it seems like The Walt Disney Company is set on shifting their focus from the original Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Avengers home of the United States to characters and locations across the pond.
With the state of Marvel Studios uncertain following the firing of Jonathan Majors as the Multiverse Saga’s tentpole villain (a la Josh Brolin’s Thanos), Kang the Conqueror, Kevin Feige’s planned MCU future has needed to shift significantly. Recent reports of “superhero fatigue” — or more accurately, “bad story fatigue” — have also resulted in a generally lackluster box office and reception from both critics and movie-going audiences alike.
With Avengers 5 now being renamed from the former Avengers: The Kang Dynasty title, and a less apparent storyline going into Avengers: Secret Wars (Avengers 6), the MCU is under scrutiny from Disney CEO Bob Iger, and set to be restructured in the near future to focus on quality over quantity.
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Insider Alex Perez of Cosmic Circus responded to fan questions during a question and answer (Q&A) session on Discord recently, and shared a few updates with regard to the Marvel’s “UK Avengers” and Captain Britain plans. Answering user Peacemaker, Perez opened up about internal Marvel discussions surrounding a “certain team set in the United Kingdom”:
Peacemaker: Will Marvel introduce Brian Braddock and Captain Britain soon enough?
Alex: There have been discussions for Braddock to be introduced as a part of a certain team set in the United Kingdom. But it’s still an idea in a drawing board.
Although still technically on Marvel’s “drawing board”, all of this news aligns with previous reports from other sources that corroborate the development of a new UK-based superhero team. This would effectively move the sole role of “Earth’s defenders” from the US-based Avengers, and reroute some responsibility to other existing teams of heroes, potentially bearing the Union Jack.
Who Will Be Part of Marvel’s New UK Avengers?
Frequently rumored to be played by former Zack Snyder Justice League Superman actor Henry Cavill, Captain Britain was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe for Marvel Comics’ Marvel UK in the 1970s. He is often depicted as the alter ego of different individuals, most notably Brian Braddock, and later fraternal twin Betsy Braddock and Kelsey Leigh Kirkland (now Marvel’s Lionheart).
Gifted with superhuman strength, speed, agility, and flight by Merlyn and his daughter, the Omniversal Guardian Roma, Braddock wields the mystical Amulet of Right and the Sword of Might, which grant him enhanced abilities and serve as symbols of his role as Britain’s protector.
Captain Britain’s adventures typically involve defending the United Kingdom and the Multiverse from various threats, often alongside other heroes from the Marvel universe and occasionally as part of the team Excalibur and Captain Britain Corps, while grappling with themes of duty, identity, and the complexities of national and cosmic responsibility.
The “UK Avengers” seeds were planted in 2021 with the MCU’s Eternals, which mainly took place in the United Kingdom. The film introduced a whole host of heroes, including Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) from Marvel Comics, who is the future wielder of the Ebony Blade, the Black Knight.
Perez’s Q&A session also indicated that the new Blade movie with Mahershala Ali in the titular role would also take on a “double meaning” — as a “period piece” that will also work in the origins of the Black Knight’s sentient Ebony Blade.
Those earlier reports from fellow insider Daniel Richtman also claim that Olivia Colman’s Sonya Falsworth and Emilia Clarke’s Skrull G’iah, who both featured significantly in Secret Invasion (2023) alongside Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, are set to join these “UK Avengers” — perhaps some variation of Excalibur or the supernatural Midnight Sons, now that Peggy Carter’s Captain Carter (Hayley Atwell) has also been established in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and What If…? (2021-now).
Do you think a UK-based Avengers team would be a good idea for the MCU? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!