10 MCU Characters Who Desperately Need To Return To The Franchise Despite Their Deaths

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has killed many characters over the years, and the franchise could be improved by the return of some of them. Since the end of the Infinity Saga and the start of the MCU's Multiverse Saga, the shared universe has been going through a bout of instability. One way to ensure that the MCU could more easily escape this rough patch is by bringing back dead characters who have the potential for new stories in future MCU movies.
Marvel has already begun that process. After a single MCU appearance, Ultron is reportedly coming back to life in the planned Vision series. That project and Agatha All Along could also include the return of Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch, another character seemingly dead in the MCU. Among all the MCU movies and shows are several deceased characters who could shake things up with a comeback, and here are the 10 MCU characters who need to return to the franchise despite their deaths the most.
10 Phil Coulson Died In The Avengers (2012) Close Phil Coulson is a special case, as the nature of his status varies, depending on who is asked. At the moment, Agents of SHIELD has not been made MCU canon like Daredevil and Netflix's The Defenders Saga series were. As such, Coulson's official MCU status is that the character had a tragic death in The Avengers. While his demise helped get the team together, Coulson had the potential for more.

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Clark Gregg's lead role in Agents of SHIELD showed how exciting Coulson could have been in the mainline MCU if he had more time. With Maria Hill and Talos' deaths in Secret Invasion, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury is short of people to trust in the MCU. The moment is perfect for Coulson to enter the picture again, with the character being an excellent choice to connect different franchises, as he did in Phase 1, at a time when the MCU feels disconnected.
9 Kang The Conqueror Died In Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) Close Kang the Conqueror was shockingly killed at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. That death never seemed final, as the character was poised to be the main villain of the MCU's Multiverse Saga. However, with Kang actor Jonathan Majors' firing from the role, there is a huge chance that Kang will not return. Robert Downey Jr. getting cast as Doctor Doom to face the Avengers also increases those odds.
The role could be simply recast for Kang's story to be wrapped up in a more satisfying manner than it was.
Despite Majors' firing and RDJ's impending MCU return as Doctor Doom, the franchise should still bring Kang back to life. The role could be simply recast for Kang's story to be wrapped up in a more satisfying manner than it was before Doctor Doom comes around. The character does not need to have the same major villain role, but after the Multiverse Saga focused a lot on him and his variants, a better ending is needed.
8 Gorr The God Butcher Died In Thor: Love And Thunder (2022) Close The MCU has developed a nasty habit over the years of killing villains after a single appearance. Many of those characters deserve to come back for more, but Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher is easily one of those who deserves a second chance the most. While Thor: Love and Thunder was disappointing after Thor: Ragnarok delivered the best MCU entry for the God of Thunder, Bale stole the scene every time he was onscreen.
Sadly, he was not present as much as was needed. Despite his name, Gorr did very little "God butchering" on the big screen, with his kills happening offscreen for the most part. The MCU needs to see the character live up to his potential, as Bale's Gorr could have easily been one of the franchise's best villains if treated with more care. In the comics, Gorr's consciousness was transferred to his sword, which the MCU could adapt.
7 Quicksilver Died In Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) Close Avengers: Age of Ultron featured two major deaths. Since the MCU is already walking back on one of those, with Ultron returning in the Vision series, then the other could also be reverted. Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver died in his MCU debut, being too slow to save Hawkeye and get out of the way of speeding bullets at the same time. The character should not have had a hard time surviving that situation, and it cut his potential short.
With Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch getting a huge role in the MCU since then, Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver could have quite a bit to do in an eventual return. Besides reconnecting with his sister, Marvel Studios is working on an X-Men reboot movie. Quicksilver's return would be timely, allowing the MCU to explore Magneto as a father to the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in live-action.
6 Ikaris Died In Eternals (2021) Close Richard Madden's Ikaris is one of the easiest deceased characters to bring back to the MCU. That is because, as their name states, the Eternals have a long history of dying and coming back to life in Marvel Comics. The team's MCU debut also established their long history, and the deceased characters could be brought back with a new body and their memories from a previous backup.
All deceased team members from Eternals:

Richard Madden's Ikaris
Salma Hayek's Ajak
Ma Dong-seok's Gilgamesh

As one of Marvel's Superman-like characters, Ikaris would be a formidable hero to have on the side of the Avengers as the team takes on Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom and other possible multiverse threats. The character's surprising antagonist role in Eternals was not the best use of Ikaris. He is one of the most heroic Eternals in the comics, and with Madden in the role, the MCU could easily make him a popular hero in a future appearance.
5 Jane Foster Died In Thor: Love And Thunder (2022) Close Natalie Portman's Jane Foster had one of the most tragic deaths in the MCU. The character was absent from the franchise for several years, returning in an adaptation of one of Jane's most iconic stories from the comics. Portman clearly had a lot of fun getting to play the Mighty Thor version of Jane Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder, delivering a performance that balanced levity with intense emotion.
Jane's death after a battle with cancer and reconnecting with Thor was extremely sad. However, the MCU has already teased the character's return, with Jane Foster arriving in Valhalla. Marvel Comics showed how Jane could return, as Odin and Thor managed to bring her back from Valhalla. The MCU's path forward for Thor could lead to him having a family that includes Love — Gorr the God Butcher's daughter — and Jane as the Mighty Thor, perhaps setting up Chris Hemsworth's MCU retirement.
4 Loki Died In Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Close There is currently a version of Loki in the MCU, but it is the variant that escaped in Avengers: Endgame during the heroes' Time Heist, not the original. The MCU's main Loki died trying to take out Thanos at the start of Avengers: Infinity War. That version of Tom Hiddleston's character is the one who could return to the MCU, leaving the story of the character from Disney+'s Loki intact.
The TV series ended with the Loki variant becoming the protector of the multiverse, a role he could keep serving in the future. Jane Foster's Valhalla tease could lead to her meeting Loki there, as he also died while fighting. Thor 5 being a film set both in Valhalla and Earth or space would allow the franchise to revisit the hero's MCU history and have an emotional meeting with his brother, Loki, again.
3 Thanos Died In Avengers: Endgame (2019) Close Both versions of Thanos in the live-action MCU have been killed. However, the Infinity Saga's main villain still has the potential to return for more stories. After the MCU debut of Harry Styles' Eros, who is Thanos' half-brother, the chances of seeing the Mad Titan come back have increased. Josh Brolin also teased a return as Thanos to Comicbook.com, and the comics have the perfect story for that to happen.
The Dark Guardians were a version of the Guardians of the Galaxy assembled by Eros in order to stop Thanos from resurrecting. After Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 saw the debut of a new iteration of the team, Styles' Starfox, aka Eros, could join it and go looking for Thanos' resurrection vessel. After Kang's story fizzled out, having villains like Doctor Doom and Thanos would revitalize the MCU.
2 Black Widow Died In Avengers: Endgame (2019) Close As one of the MCU's original Avengers, Black Widow's death is one of the franchise's biggest. It was also incredibly sad, with Black Widow and Hawkeye fighting to see who would sacrifice their lives for the other, showing the love they had for each other. As Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow movie — which was a story set in the character's past — showed, the MCU could still do more with Natasha Romanoff.
If RDJ is coming back to the franchise, then Johansson could very well end up making an MCU return in the upcoming Avengers movies. Last year, it was reported that Marvel was considering resurrecting Black Widow and Iron Man for a new Avengers movie. With RDJ back, that could happen, even if he is already playing Doctor Doom. Black Widow teaming up with Yelena Belova and the original Avengers to save the multiverse would be an epic ending that would make her return from the dead worthy.
1 Scarlet Witch Died In Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022) Close Finally, Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch is the dead MCU character that the franchise most needs to bring back to life. Wanda Maximoff's status was left open to interpretation after Mount Wundagore collapsed on her and an explosion of red energy went out in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, Agatha All Along's trailers have seemingly confirmed that the Scarlet Witch really died in the movie.
Scarlet Witch could reportedly come back in the MCU's Vision series.
Despite her death, Olsen's Scarlet Witch still has a lot of potential in the MCU. After WandaVision, Wanda became one of the MCU's most popular characters. A return to the franchise is needed to explore the Scarlet Witch's path to redemption after her murderous multiverse journey. Scarlet Witch's powers are perfect to help the Avengers save the multiverse from Doctor Doom, and the character would also make sense as a lead of the MCU's magic/supernatural corner, making the most of her possible return from the dead in the MCU.

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
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