The Red Skull has been absent from the Marvel Cinematic Universe for some time now but seems poised to make his return at some point in the Multiverse Saga. As the MCU prepares to enter Phase 5 with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the true story of the Multiverse Saga is beginning to unfold as the franchise barrels toward the epic two-part finale event, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2025 and 2026, respectively. In the time leading up to this finale, the MCU must not forget about the Red Skull, who remains one of the franchise's most intriguing loose ends.
First appearing in Captain America: The First Avenger, the Red Skull was the leader of Hydra, the Nazi's science division. Although the villain appeared to die after gaining possession of the Tesseract, Avengers: Infinity War revealed that the Red Skull had not been killed at all but rather transported to Vormir to be the keeper of the Soul Stone. Aside from another cameo in Avengers: Endgame, the Red Skull has yet to appear again in the MCU. However, his return seems inevitable, especially after he was freed from his duties on Vormir when Thanos took the Soul Stone, leaving him free to show up in several Multiverse Saga projects.
5 Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will finally reveal where Gamora has been throughout Phase 4, a mystery that could directly tie into the whereabouts of the Red Skull. Thanos sacrificed Gamora, the one person whom he loved, on Vormir in order to attain the Soul Stone in Avengers: Infinity War, thereby releasing the Red Skull from his curse. Endgame saw Hawkeye and Black Widow travel to Vormir as well, suggesting that the Guardians may have learned about the Red Skull's connection to Gamora's death from their companions. As a result, the Red Skull might be one of the first people interrogated in the Guardians' hunt for the alternate-reality Gamora.
Red Skull likely wouldn't become the main villain of the third Guardians film, as the High Evolutionary is too important to the MCU to be overshadowed by another major antagonist. However, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the perfect place for the MCU to reintroduce the character once more, especially given the cosmic setting of the franchise, which allows for larger-than-life characters like the Red Skull to appear in small roles without compromising the larger story. Furthermore, with the revelation of his connection to Gamora, it also makes the most thematic sense for the Red Skull to appear in this film as opposed to other Multiverse Saga projects.
4 The Marvels
The Marvels may be a perfect opportunity for the MCU to introduce the Red Skull once more. Very little is known about the mysterious plot of The Marvels, but its promise of a team-up between Captain Marvel, Photon, and Ms. Marvel indicates that it could be one of the biggest MCU films in recent memory. There are few better ways to punctuate a film as epic as The Marvels than with a returning villain to challenge its heroes. While the film already has a villain in the form of Zawe Ashton's mystery character, there may be a way to unite the two antagonists to create an even more intimidating threat.
The big threat of The Marvels simply must be big enough to warrant the presence of three incredibly powerful superheroes. There is no shortage of possibilities regarding who Zawe Ashton will play in The Marvels, with one very intriguing theory stating that she will play the Skrull queen Veranke. Not only would this tie The Marvels into other titles like Secret Invasion, but it would also open the door for the Red Skull's return. Formerly the Nazi scientist Johann Schmidt, Red Skull is well-acquainted with fascist regimes and world domination, making him the perfect ally of the Skrull Empire as he helps orchestrate their invasion of his former home planet.
3 Captain America: New World Order
Sam Wilson will finally fully step into the superhero mantle once held by his friend Steve Rogers in 2024's Captain America: New World Order. As Sam Wilson earns the title of Captain America, his story will no doubt resemble Steve's in a variety of ways. However, there may be no better way to draw a parallel between Sam and Steve than to reintroduce Captain America's archnemesis, the Red Skull. Although the Red Skull has been a worldwide menace in both comics and the MCU, it has always been Captain America who stood against him. Therefore, it should be Sam Wilson's Captain America who stands against Red Skull when he returns.
New World Order does already have a main antagonist in Tim Black Nelson's Leader, but this doesn't exclude the Red Skull from making an appearance therein. In fact, New World Order could see the Leader's Intelligencia return, especially after its suspiciously timed introduction in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Red Skull would make a perfect candidate for the Leader's team of genius supervillains, setting up his inevitable clash with the new Captain America. While the battle between Sam Wilson and the Leader will likely take up much of New World Order's runtime, the film can still use the Intelligencia to set up Red Skull as the villain of Captain America 5.
2 Avengers: The Kang Dynasty
Phase 6's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will finally pit Earth's Mightiest Heroes against the Multiverse Saga's main antagonist, Kang the Conqueror. Given Kang's proclivity for time travel, The Kang Dynasty may redefine the MCU timeline by reframing certain events as elements in the Conqueror's plan. If the MCU adheres to its comic book source material, the film will likely reveal that Kang has taken the form of several conquerors throughout history, which may open the door for an additional appearance from the Red Skull during the time travel antics that ensue, who himself served a maniacal conqueror during World War II.
Kang's time-traveling antics will be a key part of The Kang Dynasty, leaving room for any number of previous MCU characters to appear therein. However, the film will be tremendously more impactful if it uses these returning characters for more than just brief cameos. In fact, Kang can use the Avengers' own time travel tricks against them by gathering the worst villains from their past as the generals in his complete conquest of the Earth-616 reality. This would be the perfect opportunity for the original Red Skull, unhindered by his banishment to Vormir, to return and once more attempt to assert his own control over the world.
1 Avengers: Secret Wars
As the epic finale to the Multiverse Saga, Avengers: Secret Wars could see any number of characters, both from the MCU and from other Marvel franchises, return for one last battle. The very premise of the film allows for any Multiversal variants, including Fox's X-Men characters, the variant Spider-Men, and more, to appear, implying that Secret Wars' cast will be the MCU's biggest yet. While much of the discourse surrounding potential returning characters in Secret Wars has been focused on heroes, the film also provides an opportunity for select memorable villains to appear as well, including the Red Skull himself.
The original Secret Wars comic from 1984 actually included several iconic villains as a part of the Beyonder's scheme. While the Red Skull was not a part of this comic storyline, certain television adaptations of the crossover event did include the character, suggesting that the MCU may choose to do the same. In fact, the potential return of key MCU villains, including the Red Skull, can help Secret Wars outdo Endgame's massive portal scene and make the Phase 6 finale just as impressive as Marvel Studios has promised. If there was ever a time for the Red Skull to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Avengers: Secret Wars is it.
