Marvel has done a lot of buildup towards a possible Young Avengers team-up, with the introduction of Cassie Lang, Wiccan, Speed, Elijah Bradley, and Kid Loki, not to mention the already announced Kate Bishop, Ms. Marvel, and Miss America, among other possibilities. But with such a young team of superheroes and a fluctuating lineup, the studio would be better off introducing the team with its own Disney+ series, instead of a movie.
Disney+ has proven to be more than a useful tool for Marvel. The three series that have been released so far, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Loki haven’t just been integral to the MCU plans going forward, they’ve gotten a lot of critical acclaim. Particularly WandaVision, which is fresh off big Emmy nominations that typically do not recognize shows of this kind. And just this year, the platform still plans to release the animated series What If…? as well as the Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel series. Those later two shows are probably going to prove integral to the makeup of the Young Avengers, whenever that ends up happening.
But just because Ms. Marvel is getting her own show, and Kate Bishop is set to co-star in Hawkeye, doesn’t mean every potential member of the Young Avengers has – or will have – the same amount of development coming into the project. Fans haven’t really seen much of Cassie Lang, for example, and everything that is known of her is as a little girl. Kid Loki was only present for one episode, and Elijah Bradley got a little more than that in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, but not much. Wiccan and Speed were featured a fair bit on WandaVision, but fans didn’t really get to know them well, as the show never focused on them. And Miss America is set to be introduced within the context of an already packed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
This means that if Young Avengers were to happen now, and in movie form, the movie would have to spend a lot of time developing some of the characters – and the dynamics, as well as dealing with whatever plot point the movie revolves around. Warner Bros. is trying to do something similar with the new The Flash movie, which will introduce the multiverse, and Marvel would be smart to pay attention to how that gamble pays off. One could, after all, argue that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is just as packed as The Flash, but fans already know most of the characters who will be feature in the second Doctor Strange movie. They can go straight to the plot. That’s not the case with The Flash, and it would not be the case with a Young Avengers movie.
At this point, it’s still up in the air who the team would be. There are some interesting possibilities other than the ones that seem certain and have already been mentioned. Harley Keener as Iron Lad? Ironheart being introduced first in Young Avengers before in her own series? Miles Morales taking over for Peter Parker as Spider-Man? Plus, there’s the possibility that upcoming Disney+ shows, like She-Hulk, could introduce characters that have always been part of the Young Avengers lineup, for example, Hulkling. Plus, with the X-Men rights in Marvel’s hands, it’s not out of the question that fans will get to see Prodigy.
All of those possibilities, however, would need some development. Plus, the team would also need some time and space to grow, form alliances and generally just bond. Considering that any project centered on the Young Avengers is certain to at least touch upon the subject of these characters learning what it’s like to be a hero, it would be so much easier, and beneficial for the characters in the long run, to do it as a Disney+ series rather than a movie. Particularly since it seems like the future of the MCU is heading towards characters jumping from Disney+ series to movie and sometimes even back to their own series, without any issues. There’s already been one character who appeared in both a Disney+ show and a movie, after all: Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, aka Madame Hydra in the comics, who had a guest role in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier and a cameo in the post-credits scene of Black Widow.
Marvel is building up to the Young Avengers, that seems like a certainty. With the heroes – and actors – who have been at the center of the MCU moving on to other projects, it would make sense for the studio to take the time to set up this new team of superheroes the right way. Marvel has never been afraid to play the long game, and a Disney+ series seems like the right bet for a team that needs room to grow, particularly since it’s set to feature many characters audiences are not familiar with. If it works, the team can always appear in a future film down the line but starting with a feature film would be a lot of pressure with very little chance for a big reward. Disney+ was always meant to compliment the MCU experience, and if there’s one project that seems like it was made for the streaming service, it’s Young Avengers.