The Two MCU Veterans Marvel's Kevin Feige Will Likely Never Work With Again

With Marvel Studios embracing the multiverse, there are more opportunities than ever for characters from the past to come back into the fold. This has already happened with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning as their respective Spider-Men for "No Way Home" and a host of familiar faces in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." However, there are two names from Marvel's past that fans probably shouldn't expect to see reprise their roles anytime soon, or at least as long as Kevin Feige is in charge. 

The book, "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios," written by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards, contains the following passage, "If the Inhumans could be rehabilitated, apparently everyone in MCU history was on Feige's call list — except Edward Norton, the franchise's first Bruce Banner, and Joss Whedon, whose Agents of SHIELD characters remained in limbo." Norton butting heads and being fired from Marvel has been well-documented. He has a reputation for being a bit of a control freak on film sets, which caused behind-the-scenes issues on "The Incredible Hulk." This is why Mark Ruffalo replaced Norton as Banner.

Whedon sent the MCU to the stratosphere with 2012's "The Avengers." But the partnership came crashing down, as the book mentions Feige reportedly wasn't pleased with Whedon's ideas for "Agents of SHIELD" that contrasted with the plot points of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." Given the allegations of on-set misconduct and abuse levied against Whedon coming to light, it's all the more reason why the director returning to the MCU is unlikely.

With this knowledge, the chances of Edward Norton popping up somewhere in the Multiverse Saga seem slim. Joss Whedon is also probably last on the list to direct "Avengers: Secret Wars," but fans may still wonder whether the characters featured on "Agents of SHIELD," the source of contention between Whedon and Kevin Feige, could still appear in some Marvel projects. 

Rumors circulated that Daisy Johnson, aka Quake (Chloe Bennet), would be in "Secret Invasion," but she does not appear. One could imagine the more grounded "Agents of SHIELD" figures popping up in more Earth-bound Marvel projects, such as "Armor Wars" and "Ironheart." "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios" states those characters are in limbo, making it sound like there aren't plans for them to return. 

The bad blood between Feige and Whedon is all too real if those characters are abandoned. After all, "Inhumans" was an infamous flop, but Black Bolt (Anson Mount) still has a brief role in "Multiverse of Madness." The fact that "Agents of SHIELD" characters are even more forgotten about, despite the show lasting seven seasons, speaks volumes. If Feige ever decides to step down from Marvel and let someone else take the reins, there could be a chance for Quake and her teammates to return. But, for now, "Agents of SHIELD" might as well have occurred in a completely different dimension.