‘Black Widow’ is the first prequel feature from Marvel Studios about an already-established character. Whilst doing press for the film, Kevin Feige teased the prospect of the company producing more prequels, when the President of Marvel Studios mentioned: “the notion of exploring the past, present, and future of the MCU is certainly in the cards for all of our characters”. In this article, we will explore which prequel projects we believe Feige should consider developing.
Rocket and Groot – TV Series
Rocket and Groot are two absolute fan-favorites who clearly have a rich, yet unexplored history prior to their debut in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. It makes total sense to delve into Rocket’s torturous past that turned him into the overly snarky but sensitive character he is, and how he met the loveable Groot and formed such a unique relationship.
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Verbal references to Rocket’s past have had us scratching our heads about the Halfworlder’s creation…
“I know them scientists what made you never gave a rat’s ass about you” – Yondu Udonta, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
“You know, technically he’s not a raccoon” – Clint Barton, ‘Avengers: Endgame’
Groot’s history has notably never even been hinted at, so unlike Rocket, it’s a lot harder to guess what origins they could give the Flora Colossus.
A live-action Rocket and Groot prequel series would be an awesome way to showcase the whacky, cosmic MCU to Disney Plus, introducing new weird and wonderful planets and aliens to the roster. But six hours spent space-hopping with these Marvel legends would not only greatly expand the universe but also our knowledge of characters we think we already know.
Thanos – Movie
Another favorite among the fanbase for very different reasons to Rocket and Groot is the Titan himself. Thanos’ eventual universe-shattering impact on the MCU was set up six years before his plan came into motion in Avengers: Infinity War, but the character is written to have a dark backstory spanning centuries that led to him realizing his purpose.
Thanos explains his life on Titan in his first encounter with Doctor Strange, so there is no mystery surrounding his planet’s collapse and what events occur to make him pursue the infinity stones. However, there is a lot more to learn about him than what we were exposed to in the last two Avengers films.
In Marvel Comics it is revealed that Thanos is not actually a Titan, but an Eternal-Deviant hybrid. Notable Eternal relatives are his brother, Starfox, and his first cousin, Thena, who will debut in Eternals in November.
Where did the Black Order come from and how long has Thanos had them? Why are Nebula and Gamora separate from them? And how did Thanos attain humungous Chitauri and Outrider armies? Questions which would be awesome to see be answered screen.
Thanos is far from being the only powerhouse in the cosmos, so it would be hard to imagine the Kree Empire, the Asgardians or even the Eternals have never had reason to interfere with his war crimes.
A prequel film about Thanos spanning throughout the character’s history would be a fitting way to build the mythology behind such an iconic villain. Elaborating on his biological origins would explain how his intelligence and force make him so unique in the entire cosmos, revealing all the necessary beats across over a thousand years that led to the universe’s demise at the snap of his fingers.
Super Soldiers Throughout History – Anthology TV Series
Until 2021, we knew Steve Rogers and James Barnes as the only existing super soldiers in the MCU. This year we’ve been introduced to multiple new and retired super-soldiers, all coming off different experiences, backgrounds, and generations to one another.
The self-conflict when possessing the power of the serum, the political conflict that comes with fighting on behalf of a nation, and using time periods to differentiate each episode’s storyline would create gritty one-off prequel stories for characters we know have backstories with depth but haven’t seen in a certain spotlight.
What could they do with this concept?
Due to future events in the timeline, this could be our best shot at seeing Captain America meet a mutant, or the Wolverine meet one of the most iconic Avengers, perhaps connected by their involvement in the Weapon Plus program.
Isaiah’s storyline was easily one of the best parts of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so having a visual representation of his traumatic backstories and showing him in action seems like a necessary fit and would make for an important episode to include.
Alexei hypes up his glory days as the Red Guardian during the Cold War, and we didn’t get to see him fight much in Black Widow, so this would fit the bill.
And of course, introduce many more super-soldiers in their own stories.
In Steve’s absence, super soldiers are only becoming more prominent in the MCU very quickly, revealing they span across history as well. It would be a missed opportunity to never show the referenced backstories told by veterans like Alexei and Isaiah, and it would be fun to also see more of the MCU set in past timelines in narratives set all over the world.
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