Summary
The controversy surroundingCaptain America: Brave New Worldcontinues, and as the Marvel Cinematic Universe heads toward the end of its divisive Phase 5, many have claimed that Julius Onah’s maligned movie is hardly the essential viewing it should be. There’s no typicalAvengersmovie to round off Phase 5, with viewers instead looking ahead to the multiversal clash ofAvengers: DoomsdayandSecret Wars. Although it goes some way to setting that up, most thinkCaptain America: Brave New Worldisn’t exactly an MCU must-watch.
There hasn’t been a full-blownAvengersmovie since the devastating events ofAvengers: Endgame, but as Harrison Ford’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross reminds fans inBrave New World, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are currently out of action. It’s thought that this is whyThunderbolts*has the caveat that theAvengersare MIA, although the fourthCaptain Americamovie doesn’t seem to directly cue Jake Schreier’s upcoming Phase 5 swansong. Instead, its post-credit scene teases the return of an unexpected team that hasn’t yet had its time to shine.
Captain America: Brave New World Hints at the Illuminati
Although the MCU didn’t invent the post-credit scene, it’s become synonymous with the idea since Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury hinted at forming the Avengers during 2008’sIron Man.Brave New Worldwas not only criticized for its post-credit scene mirroring the final conversation between Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson/Captain America and Ford’s Ross, but because it wasn’t very clear.Brave New World’s post-credit scenehad Wilson visiting an incarcerated Samuel Sterns/the Leader (Tim Blake Nelson) on the Raft, with the latter making a vague mention of the mysterious ‘others’ on the way.
Many had assumed that Sterns’ look at the ‘probabilities’ had somehow led to him uncoveringRobert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doomout there in the Multiverse, while others thought it could be a hint at the Fantastic Four coming into conflict with the heroes of the mainline Earth-616 if their reality is consumed during the events ofThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. Speaking toThe Wrap, Onah confirmed that the Illuminati was featured in early drafts ofBrave New World, but he stopped short on confirming who was on his roster:
“I’m not going to say! I’m not going to say (laughs). Let’s just say things are purposely left vague in that post-credit for a reason.”
Instead of teasing the potential power of Doctor Doom ahead of his rumored debut inFirst Steps, Onah suggests thatBrave New World’s post-credit scene is giving fans a bizarre throwback toDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Sam Raimi’s 2022 movie delivered an Illuminati lineup of Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter, John Krasinski’s Mister Fantastic, Lashana Lynch’s Captain Marvel, Anson Mount’s Black Bolt, and Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier. It’s true that Chiwetel Ejiofor’s version of Baron Mordo survived, but withBenedict Cumberbatch confirming he won’t be inDoomsday, there isn’t much connective tissue to bring back the Illuminati in the nextAvengersmovie. Added to this, mainstays of the comic book Illuminati like Stewart’s Professor X and Mount’s Black Bolt were killed off. Even though it’s true that Earth-838 having its own Illuminati means other realities likely do, it feels like a clumsy way to bring back the team of brilliant minds.
The Illuminati’s Role in Marvel Comics
First appearing in 2005’sNew Avengers #7, the comic book version of the Illuminati was a superpowered think tank that came together in the aftermath of the Kree-Skrull War. Each of its members refused to join a worldwide group of superheroes due to the dangers of various outsiders, so instead, formed the Illuminati as a covert group that regularly meets to exchange information as some of Marvel’s brightest minds. Importantly, the Illuminati has had a part to play in the likes ofWorld War HulkandSecret Wars, as well as a run-in with the Sentry. The MCU has cued all of these, and withLewis Pullman playing Sentry/the VoidinThunderbolts*, a more obvious tease of the Illuminati could take a revamped roster through to the events ofDoomsdayand beyond.
Multiverse of Madnessimplied that Stewart’s Professor X was the one from the same reality asX-Men: The Animated Series, while another version of Lynch’s Maria Rambeau took on the role of Binary inThe Marvels. Krasinski has downplayed the idea of returning to play Reed Richards, and with Pedro Pascal’s Mister Fantastic expected to be a major part ofDoomsday, a very different Illuminati is presumably on the way. In terms of who else could make the cut, Namor and Black Panther have both appeared on the team in the comics, meaning Tenoch Huerta and Letitia Wright or the rumoredrecast of Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challacould appear this time around.
Elsewhere, everyone from Beast to Captain Britain, Hulk to Captain America have been recruited along the way. With increasing speculation thatChris Evans could reprise his role as Steve Rogersin the nextAvengersmovies, the return of the Illuminati as a much bigger presence starts to make sense. Also, if the Illuminati returns from the shadows in the next twoAvengersmovies, it could explain how Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom looks like a Tony Stark variant. With everyone from Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine to Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man speculated to return to the MCU, a ‘new’ Illuminati could easily be made up of Multiverse variants who’ve banded together for villainous reasons. Despite Sterns suggesting the mysterious ‘others’ are the bad guys, it’s also possible the Illuminati are a misunderstood group trying to save the Multiverse.
The problem is that the Illuminati don’t actually appear inBrave New Worldand Onah isn’t some franchise overseer like Kevin Feige. Some assumed the post-credit scene was referring toAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’sCouncil of Kang post-credit scenefollowing Jonathan Majors’ firing, while the mention of ‘others’ is vague enough to point to anyone. The MCU has been making the most of its multiverse variants in everything fromLokitoDeadpool & Wolverinewithout the need for the Illuminati. The MCU is notorious for abandoning its post-credit scenes, and like fans are still waiting for a payoff fromDoctor Strange’s Baron Mordo tease, it’s possible thatCaptain America: Brave New World’s Illuminati setup is left to gather dust from the sidelines as the franchise heads into the much bigger arc ofDoomsdayandSecret Wars.
