10 MCU Movies & Shows That Should Appear Under The Marvel Spotlight Banner

Marvel’s Echo is the MCU’s first Marvel Spotlight project, featuring Maya Lopez connecting with her Choctaw heritage along with her rivalry with Wilson Fisk’s Kingpin. As a more self-contained story compared to other MCU projects, the Marvel Spotlight banner is rather appealing. As such, one has to wonder which other upcoming and potential projects deserve the Spotlight banner as well.

The MCU’s new Marvel Spotlight banner is based on the original Marvel Comics series of the same. In the Marvel Spotlight anthology series which ran in the 1970s, Marvel would try out self-contained stories to try out new characters before they received their own stories in the larger Marvel continuity. In the same vein, it seems the MCU’s Marvel Spotlight banner is for projects that are less reliant on the greater universe at large. Keeping that in mind, here are 10 superheroes who could appear under the MCU’s new Marvel Spotlight banner.

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10 Nova

Ever since the debut of the galactic Nova Corps in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, there have been rumors about Marvel Studios developing a potential Nova series or movie starring Richard Rider and/or Sam Alexander, recruits from Earth who end up becoming major interstellar heroes. Much like Marvel’s Echo which gave viewers everything they needed to know about Maya Lopez from Hawkeye via a recap in the premiere, something similar could happen with the Nova Corps. As such, a Nova project is perfect for the Marvel Spotlight banner before potentially connecting to the greater universe in the future.

9 Wonder Man

Marvel’s Wonder Man is also in development as an upcoming series. Real name Simon Williams, Wonder Man is imbued with iconic energy which grants him a whole range sorts of impressive powers and abilities. However, Simon also becomes an actor as well in the comics. Set to star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Wiliams, the MCU show is leaning into this idea by making Simon an actor and stuntman as well before he enters the world of superheroics. As such, it does seem like a likely candidate for a Marvel Spotlight story.

8 Daredevil: Born Again

Outside of being Peter Parker’s lawyer and having a team-up with She-Hulk, the MCU’s Daredevil has yet to be part of any major crossovers of team-ups in the MCU outside of the original Netflix Marvel shows. To that end, Daredevil: Born Again could be a Marvel Spotlight project much like Echo was, featuring a brief recap of events from the original Daredevil show and perhaps The Defenders. This way, Marvel could effectively gauge the responses to the show before deciding whether to further integrate Matt Murdock (and Kingpin) into the MCU even further.

7 Spider-Man 4

While it may seem strange at first given how involved Peter Parker has been in the MCU prior, Spider-Man 4 could potentially be a Marvel Spotlight project as well. With Peter Parker being publically forgotten at the end of No Way Home thanks to Doctor Strange, Spider-Man had received a quasi-soft reboot for his status quo, one that set him up to be much more of a street-level New York hero such as Daredevil or Echo. As such, Spider-Man 4 could indeed be more narratively contained and character-focused compared to Spider-Man’s recently completed “Home” trilogy.

6 Ghost Rider

One of the best superhero introductions in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD was Robbie Reyes’ Ghost Rider, the third hero to host the Spirit of Vengeance in the comics who notably drove a flaming muscle car rather than a motorcycle. Played by Diego Luna on the ABC show, it would be very impressive to see a new Ghost Rider series under the Marvel Spotlight banner that would officially make him canon in the MCU, while still being focused on his journey as the Spirit of Vengeance.

5 Black Knight

Seen with the legendary Ebony Blade in the post-credits scene of Eternals, Marvel Spotlight could be the perfect place for the MCU’s Black Knight to finally land. Played by Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington, Dane Whitman’s Black Knight is certainly deserving of his own character-focused story surrounding his family history and the dark blade that gives him power while also trying to corrupt him. However, perhaps Black Knight’s potential Marvel Spotlight could be shared with another upcoming MCU hero.

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4 Blade

Although the MCU’s Blade movie was announced back in 2019 starring Mahershala Ali in the titular role, the only reference pointing to his MCU debut was in the same Eternals post-credits scene with Blade asks Dane Whitman off-screen if he’s ready to wield the Ebony Blade. To that end, perhaps Blade could make an appearance in a Black Knight project and vice versa with Whitman in Blade with its current 2025 release. However, the MCU may be looking to relegate Blade’s more supernatural world and vampire hunting to a Marvel Spotlight story before deciding to connect him to the greater cinematic universe.

3 Jessica Jones & Luke Cage

Daredevil: Born Again and Marvel’s Echo have helped confirm the canonical status of Netflix’s Marvel shows. To that end, it would be very exciting to see Krysten Ritter and Mike Colter return for a Jessica Jones & Luke Cage series, continuing their relationship and romance in the comics as New York-based vigilantes in the MCU. This would be in the same vein as Echo where all the core details of their prior history could be revealed in the premiere before a new story is revealed, perhaps one that sees their romance evolve with an eventual marriage.

2 Silver Surfer

Much like a rumored Nova project in the MCU, a potential Silver Surfer series or movie could also work well as a Marvel Spotlight show. A hero seeking redemption after serving as the herald of the cosmic world-eater Galactus, a Silver Surfer project wouldn’t need much MCU connectivity to work. It could instead more more character-focused with a narrative about Norrin Radd’s evolution into a hero seeking to wield the Power Cosmic as a force for good.

1 Future X-Men Characters

It’s only a matter of time before the MCU debuts the X-Men in full, and Hank McCoy’s Beast has already been introduced in the post-credits scene of The Marvels. To that end, Marvel Spotlight could be the perfect vehicle to soft-launch various mutants with their own series or specials, allowing Marvel Studios to pick and choose which one they want to bring together as the MCU’s X-Men roster (based on audience reception). This would give overlooked or underutilized mutants a dynamic chance to be adapted with one-off stories in the MCU as well.