Despite all of the possible new properties and spin-offs Marvel could play with in future, some of the most enduringly exciting prospects remains part of the already established MCU, with Civil War, Planet Hulk and the appearance of Thanos ranking high. And you can add to that the death of Captain America - a flagship comic book moment that will pack the necessary emotional punch to shake the Avengers thread up. The Evidence: It all comes down to contracts again: Chris Evans will not remain as Captain America for much longer, having avowed that he will basically retire from acting for a while when his current obligations are up in 2017. Meanwhile, Sebastian Stan, who plays Bucky Barnes has a 9 picture deal, which implies he's set to go a lot longer than Evans in the MCU. In narrative terms, Marvel have set all of the necessary flags to head towards the climactic event of Civil War (even if it doesn't happen as it does in the comics) - we've seen the introduction of Agent 13, and of Brock Rumlow (as well as a means to facilitate his transformation into Crossbones), and there's a ready made long-term replacement thanks to Stan's contract. It's surely only a matter of time.
