TheMCU’sYoung Avengersproject is on the verge of becoming entirely pointless.The MCU timelinehas spent years subtly assembling theMCU’s Young Avengers, teasing their arrival across multiple projects in Phase 4 and beyond. Yet despite the groundwork laid in Disney+ shows and films, a formal Young Avengers project still hasn’t materialized. Marvel will have to act quickly if it doesn’t want to project to become entirely redundant.
The Young Avengers are a fan-favorite Marvel Comics team, introduced in 2005 as the next generation of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. With younger versions or legacies of classic characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and Hawkeye, the team became a way to refresh the Marvel Universe and appeal to newer readers. In the MCU, Marvel has carefully teased several Young Avengers, including Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, and America Chavez, each debuting in their respective shows or movies.
The MCU’s Young Avengers Cast Is Almost As Old As The Original Avengers
The MCU’s Young Avengers are rapidly approaching the age the original Avengers cast were, completely undermining any notion of them being younger counterparts. When the original Avengers assembled in 2012,most of the actors were in their late 20s to early 30s. At the time of filmingThe Avengers, Chris Evans was 30, Scarlett Johansson was 26, and Chris Hemsworth was 28. By comparison, the potential Young Avengers cast is rapidly closing that age gap.
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While some, like Gomez and Locke, still fit the “young” label, others are aging into the same demographic as the mainline Avengers. Considering that Young Avengers hasn’t been officially slated, it’ll be years before any project comes to fruition. Compounded by the fact that Marvel movies often take years to develop and shoot, it’slikely that several of these actors will be in their 30sby the time a Young Avengers project finally premieres.
Could The Young Avengers Become The MCU’s New Avengers Instead?
Given the cast’s ages and the MCU’s evolving landscape post-Endgame, it may make more sense for Marvel to position these characters as the next iteration of the main Avengers team. Sam Wilson is now Captain America, and other original heroes have either retired or died. DuringCaptain America: Brave New World, Sam decides to start building his own Avengers team – though there areonly a handful of candidates.
As the younger counterparts are mostly battle-tested,rather than siloing them into a separate “junior” team, the MCU might be better off simply merging the Young Avengers with the new Avengers lineup. Characters like Kate Bishop and Riri Williams are already seasoned enough to stand alongside heroes like Sam Wilson, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel. In fact, continuing to refer to them asYoung Avengersmight end up doing them a disservice.
