Not using your marquee characters during most of Phases 4 & 5

Why did it take so long for Black Widow to get her movie? With a star like Scarlett Johansson, who’s been with the MCU since Iron Man 2, you’d think she’d earn her movie before the big Thanos throwdown. For some reason, it came out after the character was dead. Then they didn’t even put it in theaters. I know Hawkeye might not be a marquee name, but he was an Avenger, and his story got demoted to just a TV show. For some reason, Sam Wilson becoming Captain America—with the Winter Soldier as his partner—was also a show. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier should have definitely been a movie instead of a television series. Fans know these characters just as well as they did Black Widow and could’ve brought in an audience at an important time for starting a new story.

Now, here’s the thing: I like Shang-Chi—he’s the master of Kung Fu. The Eternals are deep-cut characters and would’ve been a good counter to that planned DC New Gods film, battling big Jack Kirby ideas against each other. Why couldn’t they crack an Armor Wars movie with Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes, especially with an Academy Award and Emmy nominations on his résumé? What’s the deal with Hulk, and how come he’s yet to have another movie—instead of Anthony Mackie’s Cap getting shoehorned into a Hulk story?

Marvel should use the names people know to draw them to theaters. Charlie Cox’s Daredevil showing up in No Way Home and She-Hulk: Attorney At Law made the interconnected universe feel fun. Ghost Rider needs to get a second chance, perhaps with the Robbie Reyes version from the comics to attract some of Fast and Furious fans A muscle car with wheels on fire is an attractive visual. While they’ve also let that Nova Corps setup from a decade ago atrophy, they should still build new heroes while also building upon what the larger fanbase already knows. That can help generate excitement.