While Marvel Studios remains firmly focused on the theatrical experience — all of the studio's biggest efforts will open exclusively in movie theatres — the company has also embraced streaming television as a way to develop new characters. None of Marvel's streaming series are required viewing in order to understand the movies, but characters are starting to leap from streaming to the big screen.
Over the next few years we'll see several major Marvel movies with big roles for characters who debuted on TV. Here's a guide to the most important Marvel TV characters you'll want to know before they show up in future movies.
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, "The Falcon And The Winter Soldier"
Played by "Veep" and "Steinfeld" vet Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (we’ll call her Val for short) is a mysterious behind-the-scenes mover and shaker. She seems determined to gather some of the MCU’s less-heroic figures for reasons that are currently unknown, but which seem a bit shady.
So far, she has interacted with US Agent and Yelena Belova (at the end of BLACK WIDOW). We assume she’s putting together a team of anti-heroes, acting as a kind of Nick Fury for Marvel’s upcoming THUNDERBOLTS movie. Expect her role in the MCU to widen as more projects are released.
Kang the Conquerer, "Loki"
This is a big one. Probably the biggest one. Even if you don’t want to watch "Loki," it’s probably best to at least peruse the Kang scenes because the next AVENGERS film is already named after him.
Kang, played by Jonathan Majors, is a time-traveling cosmic type of villain whose power is difficult to comprehend, much less overcome. We’ll see him next in ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA, in which he will play the primary villain. Maybe he’ll show up in "Loki" season two as well. In any case, Kang is about to be a Thanos-level character.
Monica Rambeau, "WandaVision"
We first met Monica Rambeau in CAPTAIN MARVEL, but she was only a child at the time. It wasn’t until "WandaVision" that we caught up with her as an adult, played by Teyonah Parris.
During the course of that show, Rambeau developed superpowers of her own that haven’t yet been fully explored. That thread will almost certainly continue in the upcoming CAPTAIN MARVEL sequel, THE MARVELS. But the seeds of her heroic life are planted in "WandaVision."
Kamala Khan, "Ms. Marvel"
Also set to appear in THE MARVELS is the young Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), who debuted in a series named after her heroic alter-ego, Ms. Marvel. She will be one of at least two "Marvels" in the new movie, with Monica Rambeau likely being a third.
Like Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau, Khan’s powers are somewhat cosmic in nature, though she has the added ability to stretch, or "embiggen," her body. (She's a bit like Reed Richards in that way, though their powers are ultimately quite different.) We won't explain the full origin of her powers, but it's safe to say that Kamala is connected to more than one faction of the Marvel Universe. That means her importance to the MCU will only grow over time.
Moon Knight, "Moon Knight"
This one is a guess, or perhaps more of a hope. Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight is a difficult character to describe. He’s actually multiple characters sharing the same body, each with their own superpowered alter-ego.
He’s also the character with the least MCU integration thus far, making it difficult to imagine him intersecting with other characters at all. But surely that cannot last forever, right? After all, Oscar Isaac is a very popular actor, and the show was well-received overall.
Regardless, Moon Knight is a special case. It takes almost the entirety of his series to fully understand what his whole deal even is, so if he does ever show up in the larger MCU pretty much every episode will be vital. Luckily, MOON KNIGHT absolutely rules. If watching it is “homework”, you must be going to the coolest school in town.
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All images courtesy of Marvel Studios.