The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most successful and highest-grossing film franchise in history. The team behind the MCU has created an astonishing amount of blockbuster movies and shows since the debut of the original Iron Man film in 2008. Things will continue to branch off further and bring in exciting new characters. Likely, they will even bring in a new generation of fans. They have an amazing network of characters still to draw from too. Marvel media have existed for over 80 years now with many of the personalities we know and love first appearing as far back as 60 years ago. There are hundreds of characters still to bring to the big screen.

Updated April 6th, 2023: This article has been updated with additional canceled Marvel movies that we'd like to see still and to reflect the announcement of Thunderbolts being part of the MCU Phase 5 slate of films.

Marvel has done an excellent job bringing lesser-known names into the mainstream and making them as relevant as more established characters. For example, most people had never heard of the D-list Guardians of the Galaxy characters until the first film was announced. There is rarely a character that does not get brought back in a slightly different role, whether it is in a solo movie, spinoff Disney+ show, or as a supporting character in another Marvel film.

However, on rare occasions, some ideas were pitched, looked to be happening, and eventually didn’t go anywhere. Sometimes those plans have been integrated into the MCU elsewhere. Others were potentially better left incomplete. There are still a few ideas that most fans would get behind if given the chance. These plans deserve a second chance. It’s still possible some of these unproduced ideas may still happen one day. For these reasons, take a look at the best unproduced MCU movies that deserve another chance.

The Incredible Hulk Sequel

Edward Norton as Hulk in The Incredible Hulk 2008
Universal Pictures

The Incredible Hulk has had a bit of a complicated place within the MCU. Released in 2008, the same year as Iron Man, the film was distributed by Universal Pictures. Universal Pictures still owns film distribution rights to the characters, and following Marvel's acquisition by Disney, the studio has not been keen to make a Hulk solo film. Given that The Incredible Hulk is the lowest-grossing film in the MCU and the lead character was recast from Edward Norton to Mark Ruffalo for The Avengers, the film was often forgotten.

Related: Obscure Marvel Characters That Deserve Their Own Films, Ranked

While a direct sequel to The Incredible Hulk seems unlikely due to the distribution rights owned by Universal Pictures, Marvel Studios has still found ways to continue the Hulk's character arc. He has been a major part in all four Avengers movies, a supporting player in Thor: Ragnarök, and was a guest star on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, in many ways, acted as a sequel for The Incredible Hulk, which also included the villain The Abomination. Captain America: New World Order seems to be both a sequel to the Captain America franchise and The Incredible Hulk, as it will see Liv Tyler return as Betty Ross, Tim Blake Nelson as The Leader, and Harrison Ford stepping into the role of Thunderbolt Ross for the late William Hurt.

Power Pack

Power Pack Movie Is Still Rolling Forward at Marvel
Marvel Comics

Power Pack was one of the ten properties Marvel Studios presented as collateral to Merill Lynch when they took out their $525 million loan to start producing their films independently. The studio opted for Iron Man and put their focus on setting up The Avengers with characters like the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America. Marvel Studios revealed plans to develop Power Pack as an MCU film in 2017, but no word has been made on the status of the project. The MCU seems to be prioritizing The Young Avengers. Meaning Power Pack might have to wait until after the Multiverse Saga. The young superhero team could be a fresh start to a new era of the MCU.

The Runaways

Marvel's Runaways Won't Have Traditional Villains in Season 1
Marvel Studios

Shortly after the release of Iron Man, Marvel Studios announced plans to adapt Brian K. Vaughn's critically acclaimed series Runaways. In 2010, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist director Peter Sollett was hired to direct with a script by Drew Pearce, who would later be hired to write Iron Man 3. Later that year the film was put on hold, with the studio looking to prioritize The Avengers. While many expected it to be part of Marvel's Phase 3 lineup, it was missing from the 2014 announcement. Eventually, Runaways was repurposed into a television series that aired on Hulu from 2017 through 2019 for three seasons.

Related: Explained: How the MCU Appears to Be Assembling the Young Avengers

With Marvel Studios bringing characters from their television series into the MCU like Charlie Cox's Daredevil, Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin, and Jon Bernthal's Punisher, there is a chance the Runaways could make their MCU return. A feature film focused on the teenage superhero could reintroduce the characters to audiences and also show them to a wider audience. The young heroes would fit right in with Marvel Studios growing roster for The Young Avengers.

Hank Pym’s Ant-Man Prequel

Ant-Man 2 with Michael Douglas as Hank Pym
Marvel Studios
Disney

In the MCU, Hank Pym is the original Ant-Man and worked alongside his wife, Janet Van Dyne, as the superhero duo Ant-Man and the Wasp. Michael Douglas plays an older version of Hank Pym in the film, but at one point Marvel Studios briefly considered a prequel film focusing on a young Hank Pym. The idea was proposed by Ant-Man director Peyton Reed in 2015, but Marvel Studios instead decided to expand Scott Lang's Ant-Man story.

Following the disappointing box office and critical reaction to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it appears the Ant-Man part of the MCU franchise might be over and done with. However, if Marvel Studios wanted to find a way to breathe new life into the series, they could go back and do a period piece film focusing on a young Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, showcasing how they fell in love and some old threats they faced.

Inhumans

Marvel's Inhumans comic characters
Marvel Comics

Unlike the DCEU or Star Wars, which have bad habits of announcing projects that never happen, Marvel had a good track record of seeing all projects through to completion. Inhumans is one of the most high-profile exceptions. Announced in 2014 as part of Marvel's Phase 3 lineup, the film was set for release on November 2, 2018. The original idea behind bringing Inhumans into the MCU was to have a species of superpowered characters that could fill the void left by the X-Men, whose film rights were owned by 20th Century Fox. To lay the groundwork for Inhumans, elements of the franchise mythology were introduced in seasons two and three of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

By 2016 the film was removed from Marvel Studios' schedule and replaced with Spider-Man: Homecoming and Ant-Man and the Wasp. Later that year, it was announced the project would be adapted into a television series on ABC. Inhumans premiered in 2017 and was a critical dud. Between that series and the fact that Marvel had gained the rights to the X-Men and mutants back, it seemed the Inhumans as a franchise was done.

Yet, following Anson Mount reprising his role as Black Bolt in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there is hope the Inhumans might one day return. The Inhumans as a franchise has a lot of potential. The filmmakers could now focus less on trying to make them an X-Men replacement and instead focus on a film that delves into the complex workings of the Inhuman Royal Family.