It's been over a year since we first learned that Marvel Studios had supposedly given up on making a Young Avengers movie. Instead, the focus is said to have shifted to bringing the Champions to Disney+.
It's hard to deny that the moment for the Young Avengers to assemble has passed. Fans have been saying for years that the characters who fit under that umbrella are too old, and the clear lack of focus in the Multiverse Saga's early stages did little to get them where they needed to be for a team-up.
The search for a Champions showrunner is thought to be underway, while Disney CEO Bob Iger has also discussed the importance of protecting the Avengers brand. A Young Avengers spin-off that doesn't live up to expectations would risk tarnishing the main event movies...which are guaranteed money-makers.
Today, we have an update from scooper @MyTimeToShineH, who reports that, "The Champions/Young Avengers will be in both Doomsday and Secret Wars to tease their show that will be set post Secret Wars."
The upcoming Avengers movies are an ideal place to establish this new superhero team. In terms of who will assemble as the MCU's Champions, Wiccan (Joe Locke), Speed (Ruaridh Mollica), Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), Hawkeye (Hailee Steinfeld), America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton), and Ironheart (Dominique Thorne) are all likely contenders.
Locke first played Wiccan in Agatha All Along, while Iman Vellani put herself on the map with Ms. Marvel and was teased as the founder of this team in The Marvels' closing moments. As for Steinfeld, she received rave reviews for her take on Kate Bishop in Hawkeye.
Gomez, meanwhile, made her MCU debut as America in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and is expected to be a major player in the next Avengers movies given her ability to travel between realities. Thorne first played Riri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that same year and has since headlined Ironheart.
Newton took over the role of Cassie in 2023's Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, while Mollica will make his MCU debut as Speed in the upcoming VisionQuest series on Disney+.
Asked this year about plans for the Young Avengers, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige previously said, "Potentially. In that case, it comes down to where’s the best story and where is the best strange alchemy. Who would be fun to see them with? Each other, because that’s what the Young Avengers are, but also mixing it up more."
Like Nova and Strange Academy, Champions is a project that could ultimately come to nought. It will surely hinge on the success of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and how fans respond to these characters when they're finally brought together.