Marvel Movie Clues That Might Reveal More About The MCU

For years, Marvel Studios has planned its upcoming comic book movies well in advance. As of this writing, the Disney-owned production company has 10 superhero films scheduled all the way through 2019. Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe know that hints of future storylines have been peppered throughout the films since the first Iron Man way back in 2008. Now that audiences have reached Phase Three of the MCU plan, we've compiled a list of clues from recent movies that may give an idea as to where this grand story is going. Beware though, we'll be getting into spoiler territory for people who haven't seen up through Ant-Man.

In 2014, Marvel confirmed that a film was in development based on the Inhumans, superpowered royals who live secluded from the rest of Earth's society. Since then, a group of super people—also called Inhumans—have appeared on ABC's Marvel Universe show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. But so far, zero Inhumans from the comics have appeared on-screen, leaving longtime Marvel wondering: where are Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, and the rest of the royal family? The hints are few and far between. The end of season two delivered a mysterious, deadly artifact that's harmful to Inhumans into S.H.I.E.L.D's clutches. Two important questions—where it came from, and what it's for—may be answered in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D season three, but it's possible that the artifact will play a big role in setting up the conflict between humans and their Inhuman cousins when the movie comes out in 2019. If the show manages to stay on the air that long, that is.

When Ant-Man hit theaters in the summer of 2015, no one could have predicted a veiled reference to Spider-Man, one of the characters long ago taken out of its hands by a deal with Sony Pictures. But there it was, spoken to Falcon as he's trying to get intel on Ant-Man: "We got guys who jump. We got guys who swing. We got guys who climb up walls." Is it any more significant than an Easter Egg? Possibly. The reference seems to indicate that, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man is already fighting crime, drawing attention. When Ant-Man and Spider-Man both appear in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, they should be at similarly early, but established points in their respective superhero careers. It's likely that Spidey will make more than just a cameo in Civil War. With that innocuous set-up, he could play nearly as big a role as he did in the Civil War comics this movie is adapting.

During the first post-credits scene at the end of Ant-Man, Hank Pym gives his daughter Hope van Dyne her mother's super-suit. Slightly different from her comics counterpart, van Dyne essentially has a clean slate within the MCU. The head of Marvel films, Kevin Feige, has said that the Wasp's official reveal won't come in Captain America: Civil War. Regardless of Ant-Man's involvement in that movie, it's safe to believe that fans will get to see van Dyne wear the Wasp suit in a second film in the Paul Rudd-starring franchise, hopefully titled Ant-Man and The Wasp. If Ant-Man was about Fathers and Daughters, Ant-Man And The Wasp could be about Mothers and Daughters. That means van Dyne could struggle in getting to know Scott Lang's daughter, Cassie. Between that and the search for original Wasp Janet van Dyne in the Quantum Realm, the possible Ant-Man and The Wasp film could get to much deeper familial places than its predecessor.

In 2014, Marvel announced that Chadwick Boseman would appear in Captain America: Civil War as Prince T'Challa, paving the way for his 2018 solo film, Black Panther. T'Challa is leader to the highly advanced African nation of Wakanda, which jealously guards the mighty metal Vibranium—the same metal used to make Captain America's shield. Audiences saw in Avengers: Age of Ultron that the war criminal Ulysses Klaw had stolen a small portion or Vibranium, which is mined only in Wakanda. That stolen metal will likely play a part in Boseman's Captain America: Civil War storyline. And since Marvel cast an actor of the caliber of Andy Serkis to play Klaw, it's pretty much a sure thing that he'll reprise his villainous role in the Black Panther.

There isn't a lot we can say about the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring Doctor Strange movie, in development since 2010 and slated for a November 2016 release. But the exciting climax to Ant-Man shows the titular character shrinking ever smaller, disappearing into the abstract Quantum Realm. Some eagle-eyed fans have spotted what appears to be a small creature with wings on-screen during Ant-Man's descent, setting up the possibility of a rescue of the original Wasp, Janet van Dyne, who we learned had been lost in the realm before the movie's story begins. And since the hidden universe of the unseen is the domain of the good Doctor Strange, don't be surprised if we pay a repeat visit to the Quantum Realm in his movie.

Moreover, the magic doings of Madame Gao in Marvel's Daredevil series on Netflix also sets up plenty of potential for more mystical weirdness. Think about it: Doc Strange lives in the Village in New York, and Madame Gao ran a drug smuggling ring in Hell's Kitchen using magic kung fu. Sure, we're likely to see most of this play out in the second season of Daredevil and the forthcoming Iron Fist Netflix show, but Gao may also come into play when Doctor Strange hits the screen in late 2016.