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An Escapist custom header combining key art for Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Guardians of the Galaxy

Every MCU Movie & TV Project Marvel Canceled, Ranked

The Marvel Cinematic Universe gets bigger every year – but even so, not every big or small screen installment sees the light of day. We’ve rounded up every canceled MCU movie and TV project below, and then ranked ’em based on how intriguing they sound for good measure.

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Note: This list only covers projects set (however loosely) in the MCU that actually entered development (no pitches or vague plans). We’ve also excluded any movies or shows that changed format (Armor Wars), unless Marvel scrapped the original and started over from scratch.

8. Runaways

Key art for Marvel's Runaways Season 1 featuring the core cast

Before Runaways was a Hulu streaming series, Marvel Studios had it earmarked for the MCU Phase Two. They even hired Iron Man 3 scribe Drew Pearce to pen the screenplay (after Runaways‘ co-creator Brian K. Vaughan took a stab at it first) and tapped indie filmmaker Peter Sollett to direct. But ultimately, studio boss Kevin Feige and his team decided Runaways wouldn’t fit the MCU’s slate post-Avengers, and shelved the project. Soon after, the then-independently managed Marvel Television division stepped in, and showrunners Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage wrote a new pilot script that ultimately launched the Runaways series. And that’s why we never got to see Alex, Nico, Gert, and the rest of the gang on the big screen. That said, it sounds like what Schwartz and Savage delivered isn’t a million miles away from what Pearce and Sollett had in mind, which is why we’re ranking this the least exciting canceled MCU movie.

7. New Warriors

Squirrel Girl and Mister Immortal in a behind-the-scenes photo from the New Warriors pilot's set

While the MCU has embraced humor from the jump, Freeform’s New Warriors could’ve been the shared universe’s first outright comedy (a crown that eventually went to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law). New Warriors also would’ve served as the launch pad for a whole Marvel sub-franchise on Freeform, each of them focused on a different member of the show’s titular team. None of that happened, though. Freeform passed on the New Warriors pilot, nobody else picked it up, and that was that. On the one hand, it sucks we didn’t get to see Squirrel Girl, Mr. Immortal, and their pals in live-action. On the other, the set photos circulated online aren’t exactly encouraging.

6. Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider in key art for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

After making his debut in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the MCU incarnation of Ghost Rider was all set to headline his own standalone spinoff series on Hulu. Framed as part of the streamer’s horror-themed Adventure into Fear line-up of Marvel shows, Ghost Rider would’ve seen the return of Gabriel Luna as the Spirit of Vengeance. Showrunner Ingrid Escajeda would’ve kept Luna’s Robbie Reyes LA-based, and pitted him against Lilith, Lilith, Mother of All Demons. But creative differences (not to mention budget concerns) ultimately prompted Hulu to pump the brakes on Ghost Rider. That’s a shame, but given the one Adventure into Fear show that did happen, Hellstrom, was a decidedly underwhelming affair, it’s hard to get too upset.

Related: Industry Insider Talks MJ, Daredevil, and More for Spider-Man 4

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Prequel One-Shots

Key art for Guardians of the Galaxy featuring the full team line-up

Remember when nobody (not even most comics readers) knew who the Guardians of the Galaxy were? It’s unthinkable now, but that was indeed the case back in 2014 – which is why Marvel Studios and filmmaker James Gunn considered bolting four mini-prequels onto the front of Guardians of the Galaxy screenings. According to Gunn, he wrote scripts for the quartet of short films and shot at least some of the short focused on Rocket and Groot. But in the end, Marvel reasoned that the prequel one-shots were overkill and pulled the plug. That’s a bummer, however, we’re not exactly light on Guardians content at this stage in the MCU’s run.

4. Mockingbird / Marvel’s Most Wanted

Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Another Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. offshoot that stalled, Marvel’s Most Wanted would’ve followed the exploits of ex-agents (and ex-spouses) Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird and Lance Hunter. Funnily enough, it’s also a retooled version of an earlier abandoned Mockingbird series focused (as its name suggests) primarily on Morse. Of the two, only Marvel’s Most Wanted made it to the pilot stage, with stars Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood exiting Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in anticipation of a full season order. But that’s not how things panned out, after ABC decided that Marvel’s Most Wanted was not, in fact, what it most wanted. The network didn’t even air the pilot – automatically making it one of the more tantalizing canceled MCU TV shows.

Related: Ryan Reynolds Keeps Pushing Back Against A Fourth Deadpool Movie

3. Damage Control

The Department of Damage Control's cameo in Spider-Man: Homecoming

Like New Warriors, Damage Control is a failed pre-She-Hulk attempt at getting an MCU comedy off the ground. Like the comic book series that inspired it, Damage Control would’ve spotlighted the clean-up crew responsible for dealing with the aftermath of Marvel’s various superhuman skirmishes. It’s a fun premise – so it’s easy to see why ABC gave the thumbs up for an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff devoted to the U.S. Department of Damage Control in 2015. Yet that thumbs up flipped to a thumbs down at some point, and Damage Control was quietly canceled. The DODC has since shown up in the likes of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Ms. Marvel, which just makes us want a full-blown series even more!

2. Eternals

The Eternals ensemble cast in key art for the 2021 movie

Love it or hate, Eternals happened – as a movie. But long before Chloé Zhao’s polarizing 2021 blockbuster hit theaters, Marvel Television tried making an Eternals TV show for ABC. And if you believe the project’s Oscar-winning writer John Ridley, this adaptation was much, much better. Ridley described his take on Eternals – completely jettisoned by Marvel Studios during the format switcheroo – as “so f—king weird” (in a good way) back in 2024. And honestly? We’re up for that. With the MCU becoming increasingly formulaic, Ridley’s concertedly anti-populist superhero series could’ve been just what the franchise needs.

1. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

Cropped Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania key art of Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror

The Multiverse Saga – the overarching narrative supposedly unifying the MCU Phases Four to Six – is, to put it bluntly, a mess. Time-travelling big bad Kang the Conqueror and alternate realities aren’t as compelling a hook as Thanos and the Infinity Stones. Even so, we’d be lying if we didn’t admit we’d love to know whether Avengers: The Kang Dynasty could’ve pulled everything together. That’s not on the cards, though. After firing Kang actor Jonathan Majors, Marvel Studios overhauled the fifth Avengers outing, building it around Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, instead. So, we’ll probably never know how The Kang Dynasty would’ve shaken out – and what’s more intriguing than that?

And there you have: every MCU movie and TV project Marvel Studios canceled, ranked. The bulk of Marvel productions that did see the light of day are currently streaming on Disney+.


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Leon Miller
Contributing Writer
Leon is a freelance contributor at The Escapist, covering movies, TV, video games, and comics. Active in the industry since 2016, Leon's previous by-lines include articles for Polygon, Popverse, Screen Rant, CBR, Dexerto, Cultured Vultures, PanelxPanel, Taste of Cinema, and more.