The Marvels’ Banned Hero Makes The MCU’s Newest Avengers Problem Even Worse

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Marvels.

One major problem with the Avengers in the MCU has been made even worse because of one banned hero who couldn’t be used in Phase 5’s The Marvels. The sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel hit theaters on November 10, 2023, and despite a disappointing performance at the box office, The Marvels took huge strides in developing the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, and put more focus on Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani’s charismatic MCU heroes. While The Marvels helped to expand the overarching storyline of the MCU, however, one behind-the-scenes reveal about the film’s production has uncovered a greater issue at Marvel Studios, fueling an already-prominent criticism of the MCU.

The Marvels saw Larson’s Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, team up with new MCU heroes Parris’ Monica Rambeau and Vellani’s Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, after their light-based abilities were entangled by Zawe Ashton’s Kree villain Dar-Benn. Shockingly, this was the MCU’s biggest crossover event since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which saw most of the franchise’s heroes come together to battle the Mad Titan Thanos. In director Nia DaCosta’s original plans for The Marvels, this crossover idea was going to be pushed even further. However, Marvel Studios banned one new MCU hero from appearing in the 2023 film, even though this could have helped to solve a major point of criticism.

Adam Warlock Was Blocked From Appearing In The Marvels

Speaking to Jake Hamilton in an episode of Jake’s Takes, director Nia DaCosta revealed that Adam Warlock was featured in her original pitch for The Marvels. English actor Will Poulter debuted as Adam Warlock in 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, introduced as a child of the Sovereign who had been tasked with acquiring Rocket Raccoon for Chukwudi Iwuji’s sinister High Evolutionary. It’s assumed that The Marvels would have told a different version of Adam Warlock’s story, which prompted Marvel Studios to block the character from appearing alongside the three female leads, but his appearance may have solved a major problem with the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.

Interestingly, one of the first things I pitched way back when was having Adam Warlock and time travel in the movie, but Adam was gonna be in Guardians 3, and I think they have enough time travel on Loki, so we didn’t do that, but we have some fun stuff in that realm in the movie anyway.

MCU’s Multiverse Saga Has Lacked Interconnectivity

One of the biggest criticisms of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga has been the lack of interconnectivity between projects. After the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios branched out into creating long-form media for Disney+, which, while expanding the world of the MCU significantly, meant that it was harder for projects to interweave and inform each other. This was a problem that the Infinity Saga seldom suffered with, as heroes would cameo in others’ solo projects consistently, including Bruce Banner in Iron Man 3, Steve Rogers in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Doctor Strange in Thor: Ragnarok, so surely Adam Warlock could have done the same in The Marvels.

There have been some Multiverse Saga cameos, such as Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Guardians of the Galaxy in Thor: Love and Thunder, and Yelena Belova in Hawkeye. However, the lack of this has contributed to the MCU feeling disjointed. 2023’s Secret Invasion was billed as a major crossover event, but this didn’t happen, and Secret Invasion’s events were practically ignored in The Marvels, despite Samuel L. Jackson’s return as Nick Fury. Adam Warlock’s appearance in The Marvels could have created a connection between The Marvels and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, another cosmic adventure, which could have helped to alleviate this issue.

Can Marvel Studios Still Solve This Multiverse Saga Issue?

Even though Marvel Studios perhaps missed the perfect opportunity to create a strong connection between the MCU’s cosmic stories with Adam Warlock’s involvement in The Marvels, the studio’s interconnectivity problems can still be solved in the Multiverse Saga. A new Avengers team will be forming for the MCU’s Phase 6, set to take part in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, which will surely make sense of several heroes and storylines from Phases 4 and 5. Prior to that, 2025’s Thunderbolts will also feature the crossover of several MCU antiheroes, tying open-ended plots together with a much-anticipated team-up, and featuring several heroes introduced in the Multiverse Saga.

The Marvels itself also teased the perfect way for previous MCU storylines to interweave, as Kamala Khan approached Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop in the film’s final moments, hinting at the formation of the MCU’s Young Avengers. Numerous young superheroes have been introduced throughout Phase 4 and 5’s separate projects, so uniting these individuals in a powerful new team would help to make sense of previously disconnected storylines. While The Marvels may have teased the Young Avengers, however, there has been no word on when this team might make its official MCU debut, so this problem could persist for a while longer.