Captain Marvel (2019) set up an MCU story that would have worked much better for Avengers 5 than the multiverse. After Avengers: Endgame, it became clear that the MCU would need the multiverse if it wanted to achieve an Avengers crossover event that large again. Still, while matching or suring Endgame should be a goal for Marvel, the Avengers franchise would benefit from a non-multiverse story before Phase 6.
Though the MCU rarely makes one-on-one adaptations of certain comics or storylines, the franchise has so far incorporated some of the biggest Avengers comic book arcs. That includes the Avengers’ very first mission against Loki, self-contained versions of Age of Ultron and Civil War, and the Infinity Gauntlet event. However, one classic Avengers-related story missing from the MCU is the Kree-Skrull war.
Captain Marvel Told The Kree-Skrull Conflict Story (With A Twist)
The MCU already incorporated the Kree-Skrull war as part of Captain Marvel (2019)’s story. The difference is that, instead of bringing the height of the conflict to Earth and making it a big event, the MCU only established that the Kree and the Skrulls had been at war for years. Marvel also revealed that Captain Marvel believed the Kree, with whom she trained for her entire post-memory loss life, were the ones who were right. From Carol Danvers's perspective as well as from the perspective of the audience during the first few minutes of Captain Marvel, the Skrulls were the threat Captain Marvel would have to face.
However, the prequel MCU movie soon revealed that Talos and the other Skrulls the film was following were actually victims of the Kree Empire’s ruthlessness. Captain Marvel revealed the Skrulls to be refugees who were losing the war against the Kree for years and were now trying to find a new home with the help of the mysterious light-speed engine. Instead of setting up a major war on Earth or even the Skrulls’ secret invasion of the planet, Captain Marvel was about protecting the surviving Skrulls from the Kree Empire. Considering how many times the Avengers and the Fantastic Four have faced the Skrulls, Captain Marvel’s story was refreshing.
The Kree-Skrull War Is What Avengers 5 Needed (Not the Multiverse)
Though introducing the conflict between Kree and Skrulls in Captain Marvel made sense for a Carol Danvers origin story, the Kree-Skrull war could have been an Avengers-level story. In fact, an adaptation of the Kree-Skrull War comic book event could have the perfect Avengers 5 story. Instead of jumping right into the multiverse with The Kang Dynasty, which will only premiere six years after Avengers: Endgame, the MCU’s Multiverse Saga could have had a “smaller,” more self-contained Avengers film in Phases 4 or 5. Marvel’s Phase 4 struggled with the lack of an Avengers movie, a problem that might be carried over to Phase 5.
A Kree-Skrull war adaptation as the Avengers 5’s story would allow the MCU’s Phases 4 or 5 to tell a big crossover story that was still self-contained compared to the vastness of the multiverse. Having the Avengers in the middle of the war between the Kree and the Skrulls would allow for the MCU's new Avengers team, which has been a mystery since after Endgame, to be revealed and fight together before Phase 6’s multiverse films. The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars are both set to be quite convoluted movies, which is why having a self-contained Avengers 5 adapting something like the Kree-Skrull war would have worked.
Can A Kree-Skrull War Story Still Happen In The MCU?
It does not seem like the MCU is interested in reusing the Kree-Skrull storyline, especially not as an Avengers-level story. That said, Captain Marvel’s Skrull story appears to be being retconned in Secret Invasion. Inspired by the comic book arc of the same name, the MCU’s Secret Invasion TV show is set to reveal that Skrulls have been hiding on Earth with the help of their shapeshifting powers. Considering that Talos has been working close to Nick Fury since the 1990s, Secret Invasion will most likely introduce a new Skrull faction that does not share Talo’s appreciation for Earth. Curiously, Talos now has some feud with Carol Danvers.
SWORD now exists in the MCU, including the space base, as revealed in Spider-Man: Far From Home’s post-credits scene. Considering how intertwined SWORD, Kree, and Skrulls are in the comics, there are still plenty of ways for the MCU to revisit the Kree-Skrull conflict. Captain Marvel did not see the Kree Empire’s defeat – Ronan the Acc was in Guardians of the Galaxy, for example – and they could still show up again. The status of both the Kree and the Skrulls in the MCU should become clear during Phase 5, with Carol Danvers back in space for Captain Marvel's sequel The Marvels, and Nick Fury uncovering the “Secret Invasion.”
