We recently brought you an article about Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Four rumors that we hope ARE true, so now it’s time to reverse things. We know very little about Phase Four, but what we do know sounds great – let’s hope nothing ends up spoiling it!

As the most successful movie franchise of all time, the MCU is talked about a lot – and a lot of that talking relates to rumors of what’s to come in the franchise’s future.

A lot of those rumors turn out to be true but, of course, a lot of them turn out to be speculative nonsense as well. In the case of these rumors about the fourth phase in the franchise, we really hope it’s the latter, because they sound terrible to us.

Here are seventeen Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Four rumors that we really hope aren’t true.

No Rescheduling Of Inhumans

The Inhumans movie was originally scheduled for the end of Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Three but, as most people now know, the third phase will now end with the second Avengers: Infinity War movie (whatever that ends up being called).

The immediate reaction of fans was to believe that the Inhumans movie would simply be moved to one of the early slots in Phase Four – but rumors are now suggesting that’s not the case and that would be a real shame.

Cancelling the Inhumans movie indefinitely is not what we want. It has the potential to be fantastic – even though the characters are a little obscure (look at Guardians of the Galaxy for proof of how good that can turn out) – and, just because Inhumans are being explored on the small screen in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel Studios shouldn’t scrap their big screen opportunity.

Here comes a rumor about a supernatural hero we’d love to see in the MCU, but not like how he’s rumored to appear.

Wesley Snipes as Blade

Look, we’d love to see Blade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – it would be awesome to see a vampire hunter fighting alongside the existing superheroes of the franchise – but rumors of Marvel Studios having held talks with Wesley Snipes about reprising the role are just crazy.

Snipes was fantastic as Blade in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but he’s now 53 years of age and not exactly looking like an immortal half-vampire.

If Phase Four rumors of Blade adding to the supernatural superhero contingent are true in the wake of Doctor Strange’s introduction to the MCU, we’re all for it. But it needs to be a young, fresh talent playing him – not an ageing actor who had his chance years ago.

And now for a rumour that is incredibly unlikely, given the current circumstances, but one that is terrible nonetheless.

Jane Foster as Thor

Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster has been one of the most underwhelming characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date and the fact that we haven’t seen her since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World is a very good thing.

Portman quite openly dislikes her role in the MCU and, quite frankly, it shows. Her character is uninteresting and her relationship with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is pointless and lacks any kind of chemistry.

And yet, Jane Foster becoming Thor in the comics led some fans to believe that would happen in the MCU. With Thor: Ragnarok being the only Thor movie in Phase Three – and Portman not being in it – Phase Four became the rumored point of entry for this new version of the character. Given that Portman seems to be done with the franchise – which is a great news, to be honest – this seems very unlikely, however.

Let’s carry on with the list with a rumor about the potential return of a villain in Phase Four.

Thanos to Return

Thanos has been built-up as the big-bad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the end of Phase One. He appeared in the mid-credits scene of 2012’s The Avengers, has since appeared in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and the mid-credits scene of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, and will really make his presence felt in 2018 and 2019 in the Avengers: Infinity War movies.

After such a big build-up, his inevitable and ultimate defeat will be a glorious climax to the first three phases of the MCU – and it really should be the last we see of him. But that’s not what is necessarily being rumored to happen.

In the comic books, the Mad Titan is known to be very persistent and he keeps coming back for more. That really shouldn’t be the case in the MCU and we want to see a new villain given the opportunity to shine in Phase Four of the franchise.

And now for another rumor about a potential villain in Phase Four.

M.O.D.O.K. as a Villain

M.O.D.O.K. has actually long been rumored to appear as a villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, in light of the fact that there looks to be no sign of him in Phase Three of the franchise, Phase Four is rumored to be an opportunity for him to make his debut in the MCU.

He is George Tarleton – a man subjected to mutagenic process that gave him superhuman intelligence, perfect memory and the ability to solve abstract mathematical problems nearly instantaneously. He can also calculate the mathematical probability of any given event occurring to the extent that he is essentially precognitive.

He has been a foe of the likes of Captain America and Hulk in the comic books, but he’s simply far too cheesy to appear in a movie and would look silly. His over-sized head means he has to wear an an exoskeleton and sit in a hoverchair. Even in a franchise with aliens and gods, that’s just too silly.

And now for a rumor about the potential introduction of a new type of character in Phase Four.

Cosmic Beings as Big-Bads

For most people, it will take a really powerful villain to successfully following Thanos as the big-bad in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and that has led to rumors of all kinds of cosmic entities potentially providing the opposition for the superheroes of the MCU in Phase Four.

With the head of an ancient Celestial being appearing in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie, rumors of other abstract beings like the Celestials appearing in Phase Four – such as the Beyonder or Galactus (if Marvel Studios can acquire him from Fox) – have been rife.

However, we’d actually like to see the big-bad of Phase Four being someone more Earthly and intimate – a new type of big-bad. Someone like Norman Osborn, Doctor Doom (again, if Marvel Studios can acquire him for Fox) or a supervillain team like the Masters of Evil would be a much better option.

And now for a rumor about a very different kind of hero.

A Howard the Duck Movie

Although the rumors in this case are more tongue-in-cheek than anything else, there have been a number of factors sparking suggestions that a Howard the Duck movie could be on the cards in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The first is that the character obviously appeared in the post-credits scene of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Such scenes are often teasers, which has led people to believe it was teasing a movie based on the character. The second is the success of Fox’s Deadpool movie. If a character as wacky as Deadpool can have a successful solo movie, why not Howard the Duck? And finally, the fact that Kevin Feige has teased a “very different” Phase Four has led some fans to believe weird characters might get their own movies.

Of course, Howard the Duck got his own movie in 1986 and it was so bad that another should be out of the question. We don’t want to see his unique brand of “Quack-Fu” on the big screen ever again.

Now let’s skip to an alarming rumour about the MCU’s flagship superhero.

Harley Keener as Iron Man

Oh, good God, no. There’s a terrible rumor about Phase Four concerning Iron Man in Phase Four. The rumor suggests that Robert Downey, Jr. – who is currently 51, remember – will be stepping down from his role as Tony Stark. That’s upsetting, but it’s believable. What isn’t quite so believable is the rumour about who could take on the Iron Man mantle in his place.

Remember Harley Keener – the young boy played by Ty Simpkins in Iron Man 3? That annoying little swine? That whining little runt? That horrible little… you get the point. Well, apparently, he could be the next Iron Man.

Really, Marvel Studios? You would really subject us to that? After the awesomeness of Robert Downey, Jr., you would let the most annoying thing about the worst film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe take over his role? No, thank you.

And now we move on to a bunch of characters who have already achieved massive mainstream success elsewhere.

Marvel Studios Acquire the X-Men

As much as we’d like to see the likes of the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and as cool as it would be to see the X-Men, introducing mutants into the franchise in Phase Four – a rumor that has gained some traction since it was announced that Hugh Jackman wouldn’t be continuing as Wolverine for much longer – would be a terrible idea.

It just wouldn’t make sense. The Inhumans have already managed to hide from humans for God-knows-how-long; it would be impossible to believe that mutants had done the same thing, especially considering how many there are and how active they generally are (it’s not as if the X-Men hide).

Given the amount of reality-warping power and dimension-traversing power that can potentially be thrown around in any given superhero universe, there’s always the opportunity to cross over two universes that way, but having mutants suddenly appear in the actual MCU would be stupid.

And now we move on to the possibility of an existing Avenger getting his first solo movie.

A Hawkeye Solo Movie

Like Black Widow, Hawkeye probably deserves a solo movie. He was treated pretty terribly in The Avengers movie – he was a brainwashed slave to Loki for most of it – and that alone warrants giving the character some respect back, but a solo movie would just be boring.

That’s not to say that the character isn’t good. He’s one of the most popular in the comic books – his solo series is one of the best out there – and he was fleshed out considerably in Avengers: Age of Ultron. But Jeremy Renner’s take on the character just isn’t interesting enough.

Renner works well alongside Natasha Romanoff and his fellow Avengers, but Marvel Studios just hasn’t done enough with him to make fans want a solo adventure based on the character.

And now we move onto the first rumor relating to the MCU’s television characters.

Recasting of TV Characters for Movie Roles

Rumor has it that some of Marvel’s Netflix characters could get their own movies in Phase Four, and that it could be triggered by appearances in Phase 3’s big Avengers: Infinity War finale. But if Daredevil star Charlie Cox’s comments are anything to judge by, those movies could come with new actors in the roles.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has spun-off into episodic shows like the aforementioned Daredevil and Jessica Jones – and recasting the leading characters for the movies would totally undermine the canonicity of those shows, which would be a crying shame.

The shows in question have proven to be huge successes – with many fans saying they’re even better than the movies – so why shouldn’t the actors who made those shows so successful be rewarded with a big screen spin-off in Phase Four? We really hope Marvel Studios doesn’t recast them.

And now we move on to a character who really deserves another solo movie.

Still No Hulk Sequel

The Incredible Hulk, released in 2008, was the second movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Edward Norton originally took on the part of Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk. When Norton departed the role, Mark Ruffalo stepped in for 2012’s The Avengers.

While rumors vary about the potential future of the character – some say he will finally get a solo sequel – the most prominent rumor about the character is that he will still only appear as a supporting character in movies starring other Avengers.

Even though there has already been an MCU Hulk movie, there are still some supposed problems with the rights to the character (Universal apparently still has some control over them) and it is understood that Marvel Studios thinks that his rogues gallery is very weak. Moreover, if, as expected, the Planet Hulk concept is touched upon in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, this would prove Marvel Studios don’t believe that Hulk stories are worthy of their own movies any more – and that’s a real shame.

And now we move on to a potential solo movie for a character who isn’t even an Avenger.

A Nick Fury Solo Movie

Don’t get us wrong, Nick Fury is awesome. Samuel L. Jackson IS the character. Nobody could have played him better. But do we really want a Nick Fury solo movie? At this stage, the answer is undoubtedly “No”.

An origin movie really wouldn’t be possible, as Jackson is already 67 years old. And, as he is irreplaceable, it wouldn’t work to put a younger actor in the role. Also, is he too old to make a movie based on the current character believably action-packed enough? It just wouldn’t make sense, and it probably couldn’t be anywhere near as exciting as the movies that are built around Marvel Cinematic Universe characters who are actual superheroes.

Rumors of a Fury movie in Phase Four are probably nonsense, and that’s a good thing. We are far more interested in seeing the character popping up randomly to help out the Avengers when they need him.

And now, we move on to a young superhero who we would like to see in his own movie eventually, but not in Phase Four.

Total Avengers Overhaul

Nobody really expects the Avengers line-up to stay the same in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – it’s already changed since the initial line-up, and Phase Three has only just started with Captain America: Civil War – but rumors of a total overhaul of the original line-up aren’t good.

We can take a few of the original roster leaving, but to not have any Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, Black Widow, or Hawkeye as part of the group in Phase Four would be terrible.

The likes of Vision, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, Falcon, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel are all great, but to have only non-originals on the Avengers team in Phase Four would be greatly disappointing.

And now we move on to a potential story arc from the comic books that would totally ruin everything.

Avengers Disassembled

No! We do not want the Avengers to disassemble in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, therefore, we certainly do not want the Avengers Disassembled story arc to occur! Phase Three will already have seen the Avengers torn apart in Captain America: Civil War, but at least that story is acting as a plot device in the build-up to the Avengers: Infinity War movies – with the threat of Thanos prompting the previously split Avengers to reconcile and reunite.

An Avengers Disassembled movie would undoubtedly signal the end for the MCU Avengers. That’s something we’re really not prepared for.

The comic book version of the plot saw the Scarlet Witch causing the split, after losing her “children” (which she actually created subconsciously from the essence of the demon Mephisto) and, blaming the Avengers, she uses her powers to form rifts in the team.

And now we move on to the rumor causing the biggest concern for Phase Four.

Avengers: Infinity War Triggers a Complete Reboot

The problem with giving a character as powerful as Thanos a bunch of items as powerful as the Infinity Stones is that the writers can essentially have him do ANYTHING with them.

The completed Infinity Gauntlet is presented as a reality-warping super-item in the comic books and, if that turns out to be the case in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, reality could be rewritten entirely.

That gives Marvel Studios an excuse to start again – a bit like the time-traveling exploits of Fox’s X-Men franchise did – which could essentially render everything that’s happened up until then in the MCU moot. That would be a real shame – even though it would allow for the introduction of previously absent characters and seamless recasting – and, sadly, it is rumored as being a real possibility.

And that’s that, folks! We hope you enjoyed this article!

What do you think? Would you hate to have these rumors be true? Which other Phase Four rumors do you not want to see happen? Have your say below!