1. A Netflix series following the Young Avengers.
America Chavez. Kate Bishop. Cassie Lang. Marvel hasn't even begun to explore the potential in their young roster of superheroes, but it's about time they started. Young Avengers is snappy and fun, with drama and heart practically begging to resonate with TV-watchers. They're young! They're bright and funny and brilliant and dumb and IN CHARGE OF SAVING THE WORLD WHEN THE GROWN-UPS CAN'T SEE WHAT'S GOING DOWN. That right there is a classic formula. They're ready to be icons. Give me a Paul Feig showrun Young Avengers Netflix series by 2022 or give me death. If possible also give me Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie as producers. Please and thank you.
2. A mini-series centered on Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel.
Picture this: The 2019 Captain Marvel movie fades to black. The credits roll. A new scene begins: Kamala Khan sits at her computer, writing a new piece of Avengers fan fiction. Cut to black. The show premieres a few months later, following young Kamala Khan as she gains her powers and learns what it means to be a hero in a world full of heroes. We're talking about a character who instantly became an icon. Imagine what she could do with more space to stretch.
3. A procedural sitcom starring Jennifer Walters' She-Hulk.
God knows the superheroes of the MCU could use a good lawyer by now. So who better than Jennifer Walters, Bruce's attorney cousin who happens to be way more adept at handling Hulk powers than he ever was? The year 2020 could really use Laverne Cox or Aubrey Plaza starring in a Brooklyn Nine-Nine-style legal series produced by a comedy great like Amy Poehler or Mindy Kaling.
4. A solo film centered on Miles Morales as he takes on the mantle of Spider-Man.
We have had so many Peter Parkers. Similarly to Kamala in relation to Carol Danvers, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is primed and ready for Miles Morales that universe gets Peter Parker. Hell, it's already ready right now. We've had three different men over the past decade playing the same character, but there's more that can be done with the costume than more rehashings of Peter's adventures. Give us Miles. It's time.
5. A film featuring Gwen Stacy's Spider-Gwen.
Hollywood seems intent on churning out movies about people with spidey-powers for the rest of our natural-born lives and beyond, so why not work off of that and go for Spider-Gwen? She hasn't been around that long but she's got great word-of-mouth — a very useful thing when getting people to fork over twenty bucks for a movie. And after we watched Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy die in an iconic fridging, giving that character a life of heroism all her own in the modern Marvel way seems like a nice way to leave some old bad habits behind and declare a new era. Plus, can't you just picture right now how fucking adorable hordes of little kids will look like in footie-hoodie hybrid costumes?
6. A fourth solo Thor movie — with a different Thor in charge.
Marvel made a pretty big deal out of announcing that the mantle of Thor would be taken over by a woman more worthy than the original Thor Odinson. That big deal then paid off in impressive comics sales. So why not back all that up by bringing Jane Foster's Thor to the big screen? She's already played by an Oscar-winning actress, and a way to shake up a segment of this mega-franchise after what will have been almost a decade.
7. A tale of two Hawkeyes in the form of a Netflix series.
This one might be tricky to do after the veer the MCU took with Clint Barton's character in Age Of Ultron. But the world needs to see Matt Fraction's vision of Hawkeye — most especially Clint's relationship with fellow Hawkeye Kate Bishop. Hopefully we'll get Kate in Young Avengers, but we need more of this sharp-shooter in our lives — with bonus points for a thoughtful depiction of her and Clint's platonic, layered, fascinating dynamic and the world of grounded non-powered superheroism built around them. Double bonus points if we can get David Aja and Annie Wu as art directors to retain as much of the flavor of the comic as possible.
8. A solo film following Natasha Romanoff's Black Widow during Avengers off-season.
Scarlett Johansson has proven her ability to bring in massive bank at the box office in indies and franchises alike, but somehow — somehow — she's never gotten her own title in the MCU. The cinematic universe Old Guard of the Avengers will probably be cycling out after Infinity Wars, but with the right writer/director combo a Black Widow solo movie following Natasha on a journey that has nothing to do with the Avengers could be a great last hurrah. God knows it's been a long time coming.
9. A Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel team-up movie.
Two women. Very different backstories. A shared deep, abiding need to help people however they can. This could be a movie centered around two generations of women and their unique relationship with each other — as well as their affinity for jumping into hairy situations headfirst, kicking ass, and saving the world. Give it to me. Give it to me now.
10. A miniseries adapting Runaways.
Another beloved Marvel property that has not yet gotten its time in the adaptation sun. People have been flat-out begging for Runaways to be brought to some screen or other for years — even Guardians Of the Galaxy director James Gunn has made his interest in a Runaways movie public knowledge. These kids also set themselves apart as the children of villains — and you can bet new perspectives will be key going forward. And if Marvel does double-down on a younger generations' stories with its next phase, you can bet there'll be tears if these kids aren't included.
11. A Hulu series centered on Doreen Green's Squirrel Girl.
We are all going to be very tired come 2020. We're going to need some relief. Some whimsy. We're going to need a girl with squirrel powers. She will be there, right when we're ready to give up and never watch another movie for the rest of our lives. They could start her out as a short to air before Inhumans, letting her grow popular enough as a cult figure that audiences clamor for a full series run. It'll be a good balance to years of brood. It could be the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt of Marvel's canon.
12. An animated feature following the adventures of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
Diversifying form and audience is crucial to any institution seeking true longevity. Moon Girl and her Devil Dinosaur are still incredibly new to the Marvel Comics roster — so new that we may be getting ahead of ourselves — but if this is as great as it looks it might just be what Marvel needs to snag even younger audiences in an epic way. Also: She's pre-teen genius whose constant companion is a DEVIL DINOSAUR. Little kids around the world will kneel at her feet and beg their parents to buy every last piece of that merch.
13. A whole new Avengers movie with none of the original team.
The Avengers movies cannot continue on forever as they have been. Public and creative exhaustion alike were already palpable after the release of Age Of Ultron, and the only way to keep a property this huge plugging along while bypassing the fickle nature of mass audiences is to find a way to keep it fresh. The Avengers need new blood, in other words, and while I don't have a crystal ball I'd bet that'll be even more true after the third and fourth Avengers movies wrap up with Infinity War. So what about after that? Marvel will hopefully have that new blood in spades by then, so why not give Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth a long break by subbing in characters like Kate Bishop, Kamala Khan, Jennifer Walters, and Jane Foster to fight alongside T'Challa and Carol Danvers? You've gotta pass the torch sometime.