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Sure, most people thought that someday there'd be an Avengers movie, an X-Men movie, and a Spider-Man movie... but Deadpool? Guardians of the Galaxy?! The idea of that happening was implausible just 10-15 years ago, but now it's a reality - a reality we all enjoy. As Marvel Studios continues to go deeper and deeper into its longboxes to find the next big characters and teams for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we thought we'd do the work for them.

As someone who's been covering this since before the advent of the MCU and during a time when a Power Pack movie was in talks (still waiting on that one), I've taken a look at all of Marvel Comics to determine the biggest characters or teams that haven't made their way into the MCU (yet). Up until recently, that'd include the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom, but with those now firmly in the mix, here are the big five Marvel characters and teams that aren't in the MCU (yet).
 

Biggest Marvel characters not in the MCU: X-Men

Call me biased, but.... the X-Men are the quintessential Marvel comics story. Sure, Spider-Man is great and all, Captain America hits me in the feels, but the X-Men franchise is the core of it for me. When Marvel movies started to be made in the late '90s, X-Men stood head and shoulders above Spider-Man and the others, and if and when the X-Men finally make their MCU debut, I believe it will be the same. The X-Men aren't just a movie in the MCU - they're a phase, and more. So far we've had Wolverine and Deadpool make their MCU debuts, but in many ways, that's just a leak before the floodgates of a full-on mutant invasion of the MCU.

And I hear you - the X-Men are more than just a team, they're an entire side of the Marvel Universe. But just like we had to wait for the introduction of Spider-Man in the MCU first to pave the way for characters like MJ and others, the X-Men and their other glimmering gems, such as Excalibur, Mystique, and more, had to come first.
 

Biggest Marvel characters not in the MCU: Miles Morales / Spider-Man

In many ways, Miles Morales is the biggest new character Marvel has created in the past 25 years. But due to some legal issues and contracts signed in the '90s, Marvel Studios can't do anything with Spider-Man until the owners of its movie & TV rights, Sony Pictures, deem it so. They have reached an agreement for Peter Parker and some other characters, but Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has gone on record saying Sony has turned them down on the chance of bringing Miles Morales to the MCU. Much like Peter Parker, though, it's not a matter of if it'll happen but when. Once Tom Holland's Spider-Man grows up to be full-on dad-mode, maybe then Miles Morales will have room to be the new teenage Spider-Man.
 

Biggest Marvel characters not in the MCU: Ghost Rider

In 2013, Marvel got back the movie & TV rights to Ghost Rider (and Blade). At the time, however, Ghost Rider was pegged more for a TV hero, debuting in ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series and some furtive plans for a solo show. But since then, Marvel Studios has given that era's TV shows the cold shoulder - meaning Gabriel Luna's Ghost Rider isn't MCU until it is (again). While that's unfortunate, it opens the door to doing it again but better - whether it be motorcycle-drivin' Ghost Rider, muscle-car-drivin' Ghost Rider, or even horse-ridin' Ghost Rider. We can't wait to see it.

Biggest Marvel characters not in the MCU: Gwen Stacy

Gwen Stacy died on that NYC bridge that fateful night, after being thrown from the bridge by the maniacal Green Goblin. For years, decades even, that was the end of her story, but then something amazing happened; she lived. Not through a comic book-y retcon the way some heroes come back from the dead, but instead by way of the multiverse, where we found versions of her that survived and thrived as a superhero. One was as Spider-Woman (Spider-Gwen to you and I), and another was Nightbird.... she even inspired a mashup of Gwen Stacy and Deadpool called Gwenpool that Marvel quickly retconned to not be Gwen Stacy but be a standalone character, perhaps because of the potential they saw in the character that they didn't want to automatically be given to Sony as part of its overall movie/tv rights deal.

Biggest Marvel characters not in the MCU: Mystique

You know what I said about the X-Men being one big category - it's true. But Mystique... she isn't an X-Man. Not just from her being a villain most of the time or an anti-hero in the best of times, but Mystique wasn't originally created for the X-Men franchise - she was created for the Avengers side of things, debuting in Ms. Marvel and didn't become a significant part of the X-Men line until four years later.

Much in the same way the Punisher and Deadpool shouldn't be tied down to any one thing, the potential of Mystique in the broader MCU is much bigger than the character's potential just on the X-Men side of the MCU. She can and should be involved with the X-Men, but in many ways, she could be the next Nick Fury of the MCU - the glue (or the thorn) tying everything together.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• All the upcoming MCU movies, TV series, and specials on the horizon
• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst