The Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of huge characters who have become extremely popular on the big screen; Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Loki, Star-Lord and Thor, for a few examples.

However, some of the supporting characters have come across pretty well too; Phil Coulson, Peggy Carter, Nick Fury, Rhomann Dey, Arnim Zola and Erik Selvig, for instance (the first two, for example, both got a television series of their own).

With that in mind, it isn’t just the major new characters that we’re looking forward to seeing in future movies. The likes of Spider-Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Surtur, Dormammu and Captain Marvel are all exciting prospects, but the supporting characters in the upcoming movies are very intriguing as well.

So, without mentioning any major heroes or major villains, here are ten characters – supporting characters – that we’re looking forward to seeing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe…

Aunt May

Aunt May AKA May Parker essentially acts as the adoptive mother of Peter Parker AKA Spider-Man. Along with her husband – the late Ben Parker – they brought Peter up after his parents went missing when he was a young boy.

To date, she has been played by two different actresses in previous Spider-Man movie franchises – those being Rosemary Harris and Sally Field. This time around, however, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she will be portrayed by the much younger Marisa Tomei – star of movies like My Cousin Vinny.

It will be really interesting to see a totally different version of the character on film. Tomei’s younger May will, of course, work with Tom Holland’s much younger Peter, and he first appearance is set to be in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.

Nicodemus West

In the comic books, Nicodemus West is a doctor who not only admired Doctor Strange greatly, but who also performed the surgery that saved Strange’s hands, but sadly left him with severe nerve damage following his tragic automobile accident.

He will appear in the 2016 Doctor Strange movie, where it is expected that he’ll probably take on the same role – but his version of the character is also being described as being a rival to the titular character, which will add an interesting dynamic to their relationship and spice things up a little.

He will be played by Boardwalk Empire’s Michael Stuhlbarg in the movie, which adds even more excitement to the character’s appearance, as Stuhlbarg is a great actor.

Janet Van Dyne

Although we did get a very brief look at Janet van Dyne AKA the first Wasp in 2015’s Ant-Man, it was merely in a flashback sequence in which she was in costume and therefore we didn’t see her face. It was explained that she was lost in the Quantum Realm, but it was also hinted that she could be rescued.

With Ant-Man and the Wasp coming in 2018, Hank Pym may have been working on bringing her back between now and then and she could make her first real appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in that movie.

It will be interesting to see whether the Quantum Realm has affected her ageing process – will she be Hank Pym’s age or will she have remained young, given the bizarre flow of time there? Either way, we’ll enjoy seeing her properly for the first time in live action.

“Martin Freeman”

Martin Freeman will be appearing in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War as an as-yet-unknown character. It is generally believed that he will be someone who has something to do with the Sokovia Accords – the legislation that requires superhumans to register as such – but that is all.

Freeman is an incredibly popular actor – having starred in television shows like The Office and movie franchises like Lord of the Rings – and he’s an exciting addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

He does have a tendency to just play himself, however, and it will be interesting to see if he breaks typecast to become a formidable figure capable of standing up to the likes of Captain America on a political level.

T’Chaka

Black Panther – played by Chadwick Boseman – will be making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, prior to getting his own movie in 2018.

While his father, T’Chaka, might be dead (potentially having been killed by Andy Serkis’ Ulysses Klaue), you can be certain that there will be some footage of him in flashback scenes – or even in what could be an origin movie – and that’s an exciting prospect.

T’Chaka was the man who passed on both the title of King of Wakanda and the Black Panther mantle to Boseman’s character – who is also known as T’Challa – so some historic footage of him going about his superhero business as the Black Panther would be really cool to see. It will also be really interesting to see which actor portrays him. Either way, he’s an essential piece in the Black Panther puzzle, so he’s bound to appear.

Clea

Clea is an extremely interesting character who is an essential supporting character in the mythos of Doctor Strange. While she hasn’t been officially cast in the 2016 Strange movie, there are a number of actresseses – Rachel McAdams and Amy Landecker, for example – whose roles in the movie are yet to be revealed.

She is actually the niece of one of Strange’s most deadly foes – Dormammu – but she went on to become Strange’s lover and disciple.

She could be a powerful ally to Benedict Cumberbatch’s version of the character and the fact that her inclusion would virtually guarantee the future appearance of the incredibly powerful aforementioned Dormammu makes her appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe very exciting.

Lockjaw

Now we come to the only animal on this list – the Inhuman beast Lockjaw. Lockjaw is a dog-like character who serves in the capacity of the Inhumans’ teleporter, protector and escort to their Royal Family.

While it may be seen by some as harsh to call him a mere supporting character – he’s pretty damn heroic himself, to be fair – he’s not as prominent as the likes of Black Bolt and Medusa, so he will undoubtedly act as a supporting character in the Inhumans’ movie.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is distinctly lacking in animal characters and Lockjaw’s introduction will be a welcome one. It will be very interesting to see how he’s depicted and he will no doubt add a comedic element to the Inhumans movie in 2019.

J. Jonah Jameson

J. Jonah Jameson is a fantastic character. He’s the temperamental and charismatic editor of The Daily Bugle – the newspaper that tends to focus on the adventures of Spider-Man in New York – and is always entertaining in every form of media in which he appears.

The brilliant J. K. Simmons portrayed the character in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy and he will be a hard act to follow, but that makes it all the more exciting when it comes to seeing him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The likes of House’s Hugh Laurie have been linked with the role – and even Simmons himself has been touted as taking it on again – but, either way, we can’t wait to see the angry editor trying to make Spider-Man look bad again with his stubborn views and ludicrous headlines.

Hela

Hela? But you thought this list was only going to include supporting characters and not major villains? Well, the fact is that Surtur is going to be the major villain in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, so Hela is likely to be a supporting, secondary antagonist, and therefore first the bill for this list.

Hela is the Asgardian goddess of death and the rule of the place known as Hel in Asgardian lore – which is basically what most people know as Hell. She’s an incredibly powerful sorcerer and someone with whom Loki has a lot of links.

There are rumours that The Aviator star Cate Blanchett could be playing the character and, while that’s not confirmed, that would be a very exciting prospect.

The Ancient One

The Ancient One is a key character in the mythos of Doctor Strange – the character is the sorcerer’s mentor and the person whom Strange took over as Sorcerer Supreme from – but the forthcoming depiction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a particularly exciting one.

Classically, the Ancient One is a man, but Michael Clayton actress Tilda Swinton will portray a female version of the character in 2016’s Doctor Strange movie.

In the MCU, the Ancient One is merely a title that can be passed on to anybody – much like the title of Sorcerer Supreme – and it can, therefore, be bestowed upon characters of any gender. It will be really interesting to see a female version and the talented Swinton makes it even more exciting a prospect.

Which supporting characters are you looking forward to seeing in the MCU? Do any of these excite you? Have your say below!