Marvel’s Imperial Storyline: The Key To MCU’s Cosmic Expansion

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There’s growing talk that Marvel wants to expand its cosmic side with more movies exploring the universe beyond Earth. So far, we’ve only gotten glimpses of this with the Guardians of the Galaxy introducing characters and groups like the Nova Corps and the Kree, and the recent, somewhat underwhelming, Secret Invasion series which focused on the Skrulls.

The Marvel Universe has a wealth of stories perfect for large-scale, sci-fi space movies. While characters like the X-Men could introduce exciting new alien races like the Brood and the Shi’ar, a recent Marvel comic storyline is particularly well-suited to showcase the vastness and scope of the cosmic side of the MCU.

Imperial Could Launch The MCU’s Rumored Cosmic Movies

In 2025, Marvel was running multiple big crossover events simultaneously. The storyline One World Under Doom was already happening when Age of Revelation began. Fortunately, the two stories didn’t conflict because One World Under Doom took place in the present day, while Age of Revelation was set in a future version of the multiverse.

Alongside the One World Under Doom storyline, another story unfolded in space, featuring a massive war between most of the major alien races in the Marvel Universe. This story, called Imperial, would be an ideal foundation for Marvel to begin building its cosmic movie franchise.

Looking back, the whole thing was a crazy scheme orchestrated by Black Bolt, the Inhuman king! He teamed up with his brother, the villainous Maximus, and they basically set up a game with the Grandmaster. They ordered hits on leaders from different alien worlds, just to see how everything would explode. And explode it did – it quickly turned into a full-blown war between everyone involved. It was wild!

At first, it appeared someone from Wakanda was responsible for the killings, leading various alien forces to target Wakanda and its leader, T’Challa. The Kree-Skrull Alliance, headed by Hulkling (a former member of the Young Avengers), was suspected of involvement in the assassinations. Ultimately, the Kree-Skrull Alliance was defeated.

The biggest surprise was that almost everyone, aside from Richard Ryder’s Nova, decided to conceal the Inhumans’ involvement in the war. Black Bolt’s goal is simply to defeat the Kree and become their new leader. Star-Lord participates in the cover-up to respect his father, who died in the conflict, which unfortunately destroys his friendship with Nova.

The establishment of a new galactic council marked a turning point for the Marvel Cosmic Universe, paving the way for fresh storylines and comics. This development offers a strong foundation for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to explore space-based adventures, potentially becoming its equivalent to Star Wars.

The MCU Needs To Explore Various Alien Races

One of the biggest advantages of starting the MCU’s cosmic story with a war setting like Imperial is that it allows for the introduction of multiple alien races without feeling like too much at once. The focus would be on building alliances and defining sides in the conflict.

Marvel fans are already familiar with the Skrulls and Kree, and their ongoing conflict. The Inhumans were previously introduced, and although Marvel hasn’t focused on them much, Black Bolt’s appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness brought them back into the spotlight. Plus, the planet Sakaar exists within the Marvel universe, and it played a role in the Imperial storyline.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has already shown the Nova Corps, though it was defeated before the events of the ‘Kree-Skrull War’ began. Bringing back Richard Ryder as Nova would be a natural fit for the story, and it’s something Marvel Studios has been considering for a while.

Okay, so we’ve got all these pieces moving on the board, and honestly, the Shi’ar are a must. Their history with the X-Men, especially the relationship between Lilandra and Professor X, is too good to ignore. Plus, introducing someone like Gladiator would really solidify Marvel’s cosmic universe. And let’s be real, what we really need is a massive space war epic. Imagine the possibilities – it could be a blast!

The best part is that the ‘Imperial’ series could introduce a variety of alien races, pitting them against each other. Then, a few years down the line, the ‘Annihilation Wave’ could be unleashed, causing massive chaos. ‘Imperial’ would serve as the setup, followed by individual character films, and ultimately, ‘Annihilation’ could be a universe-altering event on the scale of Thanos’s actions in the Marvel movies.

The New Cosmic Marvel Could Bring Back The Inhumans & The Eternals

Sophie Mutevelian / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Marvel Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection

Expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe to include more alien civilizations could revive two previously unsuccessful properties. One is The Inhumans, who didn’t gain traction despite a promising setup in the MCU’s television series, largely due to its performance on ABC.

It was always going to be challenging to make the Inhumans work as heroes in a movie. But using Black Bolt as a hidden villain in a story like ‘Imperial’ could actually solve that problem. Because they’d be the antagonists, audiences wouldn’t be expected to sympathize with the King or his people, allowing for a compelling portrayal of their conflict with the Kree.

A second film could focus on the Eternals. While many people weren’t impressed with The Eternals when it first came out, it’s actually a better movie than it gets credit for. It tried to do a lot, and perhaps would have worked better as two separate films, but it featured strong concepts and enjoyable characters.

That movie hinted at the Celestials returning to judge Earth, but that hasn’t happened yet. A large-scale cosmic war could bring the Eternals – including new characters like Eros and Pip the Troll – back into the story. This would make future installments more exciting and set up a great direction for Marvel’s cosmic side.

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2025-12-31 00:31