Marvel Studios recently announced plans to release Echo under a new "Marvel Spotlight" banner which gives them "the platform to bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity."
It's unclear whether the plan moving forward is for these projects to all be rated TV-MA and be separate from the wider MCU, but we'd bet on it being a combination of both. That allows Marvel Studios to tell a greater range of stories and, with so much talk of "superhero fatigue," it comes at a good time.
As you might expect, the news has got us thinking about which other properties could fall under this umbrella. Below, we've selected five characters who would either benefit from a darker tone or being kept away from the next big crossover. And, in some instances, they fit into both categories!
You can find out who we've singled out by clicking on the "Next" button below.
5. The Punisher
Jon Bernthal will reprise his role as Frank Castle in Daredevil: Born Again and while The Punisher series on Netflix was a mixed bag, there are plenty of stories which can still be told with him (especially in the MCU).
Throwing Frank into The Avengers doesn't make sense. Sure, he could eventually cross paths with Spider-Man or perhaps even the Thunderbolts, but this character has always been at his best as a lone wolf operating on the fringes of the Marvel Universe.
Ideally suited to a TV-MA rating, Marvel Studios can ditch Marvel Television's convoluted origin story and delve into the anti-hero's mission along with the moral complexities surrounding it.
Along the way, we can finally explore his rogues gallery beyond Jigsaw, all while delving into a corner of this world that the superheroes don't get their hands dirty with. Sure, Captain America and Thor can fight off an alien invasion, but who deals with drug dealers and crime lords? After all, they need to be punished too...
4. Squirrel Girl
Werewolf by Night proved the MCU can get weird, so why not shift the spotlight to Doreen Green, a superhero who is quite simply unlike any other?
Squirrel Girl is a teenager who has taken it upon herself to save the day from rude ruffians with her squirrel mates Monkey Joe and Tippy-Toe at her side. They won’t back down from a fight because they aren’t quitters; in fact, whenever she finds herself in a bind she calls on her squirrels, and a bushy-tailed army comes to her aid.
This character will never fly in a major movie franchise, but that doesn't mean the small-town superhero can't still shine.
This series obviously wouldn't boast a TV-MA rating but feels like a "Special Presentation" or Limited Series which will benefit greatly from being standalone. Sure, she can hang out with her fellow heroes if it's called for but, in the meantime, Marvel can tell a fun, standalone origin story and deliver a show that's in equal parts wacky and memorable.
3. Nova
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn never had much interest in Nova, hence why the character has fallen by the wayside. The destruction of the Nova Corps before Avengers: Infinity War either perfectly set the stage for his debut or closed the door on it, but Marvel Spotlight may be the way to go.
One possibility is telling Nova's story and having it end with him dying at the hands of Thanos when he attacked Xandar. As the Mad Titan leaves the planet, Richard Rider's helmet could be shown travelling into the cosmos to find a new host, teasing the possibility of Sam Alexander following in his footsteps...one day.
Alternatively, bring him into the present-day MCU, but keep his adventures completely separate from Earth and the Guardians. Then, once Marvel Studios decides what's next for Star-Lord and that team, the possibility of throwing Nova into the mix is there.
Either way, it's about damn time we see this superhero in live-action!
2. Ka-Zar And Shanna The She-Devil
The Savage Land remains a location that's ripe for a whole host of stories, and how better to familiarise fans with it than by introducing Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil?
Some would inevitably roll their eyes at the prospect of following the adventures of Marvel's Tarzan "rip-off" and his scantily clad other half, but both characters are more complex than they appear on the surface. Both lived in civilisation before making their way to the Savage Land and, there, they befriended an intelligent mutant sabretooth tiger and even had to deal with dinosaurs.
A project like this, whether it's family-focused or a gory TV-MA fight to survive, has tonnes of potential and offers viewers the chance to explore a new side of the MCU.
The Savage Land could be revisited in plenty of franchises (Wolverine has spent a fair bit of time there as have The Avengers) but Ka-Zar and Shanna the She-Devil can do their own thing, introducing a whole new culture in the process!
1. Ghost Rider
For the time being, we're guessing Ghost Rider won't be getting a movie. The two starring Nicolas Cage weren't particularly well-received either critically or financially and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has proven the Spirit of Vengeance can work on television.
Marvel Studios would be wise to go back to the drawing board with Johnny Blaze, delivering a comic-accurate spin on the character in a TV-MA series which doesn't hold back on the horror or sheer weirdness of a motorbike-riding superhero with a flaming skull. At the same time, the MCU's supernatural side can continue to be elaborated on and explored.
With Mephisto set to appear in Ironheart, there are ways to tie this potential Marvel Spotlight series into the wider MCU, but at the same time, it can be left as its own thing.
Werewolf by Night showed that there's a whole untapped genre of superhero stories for Marvel Studios to explore, with Ghost Rider a terrific choice to kick that door open and start exploring a new side of this shared world (similar to the R-Rated Blade).