Kevin Feige famously joked about Captain America: Civil War's title, but rumors suggest that Captain America: New World Order might actually make this joke a reality. The 4th Captain America film will be MCU movie number 34 and is scheduled to premiere in May 2024, a whole decade after Kevin Feige announced Captain America: Civil War. Rumors and theories were circulating at the time that the MCU would be adapting the popular and consequential Civil War arc for the 3rd film. Therefore, as a misdirect, Feige initially announced that it was called Captain America: Serpent Society. Of course, that was just a joke, and the MCU moved far beyond it.
Captain America: New World Order will be an exciting entry in Phase 5, something different from the MCU’s classic solo movies thanks to the eclectic cast of characters ing Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson. Aptly, Tim Blake Nelson is finally returning as the Leader from The Incredible Hulk, Harrison Ford is taking over for the late William Hurt as Thunderbolt Ross, Carl Lumbly is back as Isaiah Bradley, and Shira Haas is debuting as Sabra, an Israeli mutant hero. Additionally, Xosha Roquemore has been cast in an undisclosed role, but a theory suggests she could be playing Rachel Leighton, aka Diamondback of the Serpent Society, possibly hinting at the organization’s introduction.
Who Are The Serpent Society?
The Serpent Society first graced comic pages in Captain America #310 in 1985, and over the subsequent decades, they’ve remained consistent of the hero’s rogues gallery. As the name implies, they are made up of snake-themed villains, but the Serpent Society is actually quite complex beyond that, and they’d be cool additions to Captain America: New World Order’s cast. The organization was created by Sidewinder, who recruited fellow villains and criminals like Diamondback, Cobra, Viper, Anaconda, Black Mamba, Asp, and many more. Together, the Serpent Society functioned not dissimilar to a labor union for the mercenaries, ensuring them steady work, guaranteed pay from their contracts, and even some benefits.
The Serpent Society is often overshadowed by Captain America’s more recognizable adversaries, such as Red Skull and Baron Zemo, but the organization’s particular eccentricities help them stand out. They are all modeled on various species of snakes, and they range in talents. While many, like Diamondback, are just capable athletes, others have strange powers, and some even subjected themselves to biogenetic experiments to become more serpentine. Their inclusion in the MCU could signal New World Order adapting Captain America's bird telepathy that’s been missing thus far.
A really intriguing prospect of the Serpent Society in the MCU, whether in its entirety or just Roquemore’s Diamondback in Captain America: New World Order, is how they’ve evolved over the years. The chain of leadership has changed many times, and some of the have even matured into anti-heroes. Diamondback numbers among the latter most predominantly. She, Black Mamba, and Asp together formed the B.A.D. Girls, Inc, a mercenary group of their own, and she even ed S.H.I.E.L.D. for a time. Such moral diversity could make for some intriguing internal conflict in New World Order and beyond.
The MCU’s Serpent Society Could Feature Beyond Captain America: New World Order
As the Serpent Society, and especially specific , were consistently part of Captain America’s stories following their introduction, they can have a long history in the MCU, too. Promptly following Captain America: New World Order comes Thunderbolts, and there’s even a place for the organization in that film. As an independent group of mercenaries and villains, the Serpent Society would surely have to come into conflict with the Thunderbolts, a government sanction team of anti-heroes, presumably intended to supplant the now-inactive Avengers. The inherent team-up nature of the film would lend itself to featuring the Serpent Society as major antagonists.
Their role as mercenaries actually opens up their MCU prospects exponentially. This could allow them to function more as hired guns, but with personality and character, across various projects. In the comics, they were even hired to find the fabled Serpent Crown, an element that could come into play as part of Namor’s extended story. Otherwise, given the Leader’s theorized connection to the MCU’s Intelligencia, introduced in She-Hulk, the Serpent Society could be all part of his plot, and since he should stick around after Captain America: New World Order, so too should they.
Even if Diamondback is the only Serpent Society member to appear in Captain America: New World Order, she’d have a certain longevity in the MCU. She and Captain America have a storied history, so should the rumor about Roquemore’s character ring true, Diamondback will likely be Sam Wilson’s love interest going forward. Hopefully, the MCU can showcase the Serpent Society in its entirety at some point. Funnily enough, during the era of Marvel Television, the Serpent Society would’ve been a perfect candidate for a dark workplace comedy series. Perhaps there’s still a future for that and more if Captain America: New World Order turns a decade-old joke into reality.
