Halfway through MCU Phase 5, Marvel’s best chance at Spider-Man’s replacement has already been derailed. MCU Phase 5 began with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and is set to conclude with Thunderbolts*, with the latter poised to star a slew of returning MCU anti-heroes. Spider-man is not set to reprise his role until MCU phase 6, with details surrounding his fourth outing still shrouded in mystery. One thing that is certain, though, is that he will be under even greater pressure to deliver another MCU highlight in the wake of a series of disappointments.
Spider-Man’s MCU journey has been the hero’s most successful live-action outing thus far, earning nearly $4 billion worldwide across three solo appearances while starring or co-starring in the MCU’s three highest-grossing movies. Despite this, the distribution rights for the character are still firmly in the grasp of Sony, incentivizing Marvel to find a suitable replacement. In that regard, one lively newcomer fits the bill perfectly – except they are not off to such a great start.
The MCU Set Ms Marvel Up As Spider-Man’s Replacement
Ms. Marvel Has So Far Starred In Ms Marvel (2022) And The Marvels (2023)
Given Spider-Man is one of the MCU’s most profitable assets, it stands to reason that Marvel would wish to replace him with a similar character that is entirely under its purview down the line. With that in mind, Ms. Marvel is a prime choice, as the teenage superhero from Jersey City bears many similarities with the teenage superhero from New York City, and in many ways offers something fresh for the MCU to sink its teeth into. Peter Parker is, after all, one of the most commonly adapted superheroes in live-action, something which was celebrated in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Now that Tom Holland is beginning to near 30, the MCU will soon lack the fresh-faced persona at the forefront of the MCU’s lineup. With her self-titled debut series comprising a coming-of-age story tied directly to discovering her powers, Kamala Khan is on the precipice of her own MCU legend. Additionally, the shocking revelation that she ranks among the MCU’s first mutants places her firmly in the MCU’s future as it gears up to place mutants front and center. Nonetheless, a shaky start has unfortunately placed her in a precarious position.
The Marvels’ Performance Makes Ms Marvel’s Status Less Clear
Kamala Khan boasts the accolade of starring in the MCU’s highest-rated series and the indignity of starring in its biggest box office flop. This does not bode well for her prospects as Spider-Man’s replacement given that the contrast between The Marvels’ worldwide box office and that of Spider-Man: No Way Home could not be more stark. In fact, The Marvels’ box office pales in comparison to every live-action Spider-Man movie since Tobey Maguire’s debut in the eponymous role. All this helps make Ms. Marvel’s MCU future look decidedly less hopeful than it did just two years ago.
The Marvels and Spider-Man: No Way Home rank as the MCU’s lowest-grossing and highest-grossing non-Avengers movies in the MCU, respectively.
Despite this, Iman Vellani’s performance as Ms. Marvel in The Marvels was widely lauded as one of its highlights. Furthermore, the star power of Kamala Khan (who is still a relatively new addition to Marvel Comics in the grand scheme of its history as she debuted in 2013) is incomparable to that of Spider-Man, who has been Marvel’s de facto mascot over the years. With The Marvels being closer to a Captain Marvel sequel than a cinematic launchpad for Ms. Marvel, perhaps the expectations of Ms. Marvel are unreasonable. Nevertheless, Marvel is currently sitting on a more surefire hit.
Spider-Man’s Other Replacement Is Now A Better Idea
Peter Parker’s advancing age makes it increasingly clear that a replacement is already en route to the focal teen hero role, potentially allowing Parker to take a backseat as a mentor like Tony Stark before him. With Ms. Marvel apparently failing to hit the mark as much as Marvel might have hoped, there is another, comparatively more obvious replacement who already has a proven track record of scoring box office smashes. Namely: Miles Morales, whose possession of the same superhero mantle as his predecessor works in his favor even if he is only two years more established than Kamala Khan.
Yet Miles Morales is also in the grasp of Sony as it gears up to release Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Spider-Man’s proven success means that Sony is highly unlikely to hand the reins back to Marvel any time soon short of a set of circumstances akin to Disney’s acquisition of Fox, though it does not preclude the studios from continuing to work together and share in the success as they have done for Holland’s Spider-Man tenure. Unfortunately, this paints an even poorer picture for Ms. Marvel whose 100% ownership by Marvel is still insufficient to justify prioritizing her over Morales.
Instead, Marvel has a big job in establishing why excitement should be as rife for Ms. Marvel as it is for Spider-Man. With that in mind, the disappointing performance of the hero’s debut movie should not dissuade the studio from placing Khan in the limelight. This looks to be the current course of action as Kamala Khan is set to head up the upcoming Marvel Zombies animated series while she also pulls together the Young Avengers in live-action. In the meantime, however, there is plenty of room for Morales to step in before Peter Parker gets “too old“.
