The MCU’s Young Avengers Teases Are Growing Stale

Key Takeaways

• MCU teases various potential teams including the Young Avengers & upcoming heroes pass down the torch.
• Recent activity suggests the Young Avengers may become a Disney+ series, featuring a promising lineup.
• Concerns arise about the Young Avengers whether they will capture audience interest amidst the influx of mainstream additions.

There are plenty of questions about what’s next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while fans know two Avengers movies are coming to round off the Multiverse Saga, they’re expecting some major losses on a par with Avengers: Endgame. Despite rumbles of a ‘New Avengers’ lineup that will presumably leap into action for Doomsday and Secret Wars, multiple teams are expected to rise from the ashes of the MCU’s latest stage.

The MCU has already sowed the seeds for everyone from the Dark Avengers to the Midnight Sons, while the Fantastic Four and X-Men (although there are whispers of a name change) are officially on their way. Looking even further ahead, there are hopes that a younger crop of heroes could lead the way when the old guard eventually bows out. There’s been a lot of talk about the Young Avengers, but for whatever reason, they’re not officially on the roster yet.

The Young Avengers get Another Tease

As soon as Emma Fuhrmann was cast as a more mature Cassie Lang in Avengers: Endgame, there was speculation about whether she could join the Young Avengers in the MCU. Since then, there has been plenty of speculation about who could make the cut, as well as an actual tease of the team thanks to Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) trying to recruit Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in The Marvels’ mid-credit scene.

The Marvels’ box office disappointment and toxic response to the movie largely overshadowed the potential of its Young Avengers tease, but with Kamala named dropping Cassie Lang, Kathryn Newton (who replaced Fuhrmann) can likely add her name to the list. Velani confirmed that ‘more’ characters were cut from The Marvels’ Young Avengers scene, but now two more members of the Young Avengers have seemingly been locked in.

The latest Worlds of Marvel experience dining experience is being showcased on the new Disney Treasure cruise ship, with a brief clip including Tony Stark’s AI assistant, FRIDAY. FRIDAY introduces diners to the MCU’s ‘youngest heroes,’ with America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) Cassie Land (Newton), and Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) celebrating their ‘latest victory.’ As none of these characters have shared any screen time yet, it suggests something has been happening off-camera.

Before fans get their hopes up that this is one step closer to the Young Avengers in the MCU, Imagineer Danny Handke, the Creative Director for Worlds of Marvel, explained (via The Direct) that the cruise ships are in their own ‘variant’ timeline:

“We are kind of in our own theme park universe, and the Multiverse concept’s great because we’re a Variant of the main MCU timeline, so it helps everyone understand that. Canon is the official canon we see on screen and our park universe mirrors that, but our stories go in different directions, mainly because we as the audience are protagonists.”

This explains why the Avengers: Quantum Encounter stage show can’t be considered canon with the Earth-616 timeline, why Iron Man is still alive at Disneyland’s Avengers Campus, and Groot is still in his Baby Groot form in Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! That isn’t to say the Young Avengers aren’t forming from the sidelines, but yet again, it’s another frustrating tease that might be heading nowhere.

What’s Going on With the Young Avengers?

There’s been a recent flurry of activity surrounding the Young Avengers, with reports that Fargo and Alien: Earth’s Noah Hawley is being tapped to direct a Young Avengers movie. This goes against what others think, with bubbling rumors that the project has evolved into a Disney+ series. The MCU has faced a mixed bag with its shows, with the likes of Captain America and the Winter Soldier and Secret Invasion falling flat while others like Agatha All Along and Loki have flourished.

At least if Young Avengers was reworked as a series, it could feel like a small-scale Avengers for Disney+ and unite the various strands as a major crossover event. Here’s hoping it fares better than The Defenders did when uniting the Netflix heroes. As for who makes the cut, leakers DanielRPK and ApocHorseman suggest that the starting Young Avengers lineup will include:

• Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld)
• Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani)
• Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton
• America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez)
• Wiccan (Joe Locke)
• Hulkling (not yet cast in the MCU)
• Speed (not yet cast in the MCU)
• Viv Vision (not yet cast in the MCU)

Bishop is said to be leading the team, and with Steinfeld’s A-list credentials, she’s sure to be a popular choice. There’s a notable absence from the list, with no mention of Throne’s Riri, but with her getting her own standalone in Ironheart, the events of the series could see her arc going in a different direction.

The addition of Viv Vision as the synthesized daughter of Vision also seems unlikely, because assuming Hulkling is the boyfriend of Billy Kaplan/Maximoff, that would mean four members of the team are tied to characters from WandaVision. Even if the above characters make the team, it could be a way off. Phase One of the MCU gave the lead trio of Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor their own movie, while Mark Ruffalo was recast from Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow appeared in Iron Man 2, and Hawkeye debuted in Thor.

Several Young Avengers recruits have led their own projects, while Wiccan has only just been introduced but is expected to play a major part in the upcoming Vision Quest with Tommy. It seems odd to jump from implying that Kamala is the Young Avengers’ answer to Nick Fury with Kate Bishop as her ‘Tony Stark’ and then suddenly see America, Cassie, and Riri together, suggesting there are some missing pieces of the puzzle. The strangest rumor is that the age of stars like Steinfeld means the Young Avengers project has rebranded as Champions. Given the popularity of the Young Avengers comics, this seems like a bizarre change that casts doubt over the whole inside scoop rumor.

The biggest problem facing the Young Avengers is the question of whether audiences will care. Much like Spider-Man: Far From Home teased a new owner of the Avengers Tower and it looks like Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has bought it in Thunderbolts*, the wait between a tease of the Young Avengers and their presumed debut is getting increasingly longer. As much as fans might like Kamala and co., they’re destined to be overshadowed by more mainstream additions to the franchise like the aforementioned Fantastic Four and X-Men. While it seems likely the Young Avengers will officially form at some point, there’s a worry that the MCU has missed the boat on this one.