Doctor Strange 2 could set up an Avengers 5 villain more epic than Thanos

Sitting in a theater waiting for the latest Marvel movie to start may seem like a distant memory now, but Avengers 5 is nevertheless on the horizon. Even if this movie is still years away, you can expect the Marvel Cinematic Universe to start teasing its next Thanos-level supervillain long before then. So as we look forward to Phase Four, it's worth speculating on what fearsome foe the super team, now in its new evolution, will face. Perhaps the answer is lying in some lesser-known MCU properties and an upcoming movie.

Many comic book characters take their inspiration from myths and legends. DC is full of these characters, from Wonder Woman and Aquaman to the Batman villain Robin Hood. In Marvel, this inspiration is less obvious, but one character the comics publisher loves to use Morgan le Fay, based on the witch of King Arthur legends. She's one of those Marvel villains it seems every hero has fought at one time or another, which makes her perfect for an Avengers face-off.

Morgan Le Fay (sometimes spelled Morgan Le Fey) first appeared in Black Knight #1, but was later introduced into the Spider-Woman series. She's faced off against the Avengers multiple times, attempting to possess Spider-Woman's body, luring Scarlet Witch to assist her in creating an alternate reality, and reanimating a bunch of zombies in the catacombs under multiple European cities.

Because of her ubiquity, different versions of Morgan le Fay have appeared in different comic multiverses. This allows for all sorts of different takes on her, and it isn't just restricted to the comics. Elizabeth Hurley played the sorceress in the third season of Hulu's Runaways, which is technically part of the MCU. (But, as we've seen before, the movies don't have to take their cues from the TV shows.)

However, this doesn't mean Morgan le Fay can't appear in a future Avengers film. The Dr. Strange sequel, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, will explore the different multiverses well known to any Marvel comics fan. This could also connect to her famous Age of Ultron plotline in the comics, in which a plan to stop Ultron through time travel inadvertently created a world where technology never advanced and Morgan ruled the planet with her magic.

In that story, it takes an epic superhero team-up that includes the Defenders and Iron Man. With a little rewriting, this could be the premise of the MCU's next big crossover — or maybe just an Easter egg in Doctor Strange 2.

It wouldn't be the first time Morgan le Fay appears in a Marvel movie, either. She's the villain in the little-known 1978 Dr. Strange TV movie, where the character was portrayed by Jessica Walter. Introducing her into the MCU would be an interesting way to reference Marvel's movie past, even if it's not one of the most memorable films.

There's also a deep history of Arthurian legend being told through film, with a legacy stretching from The Sword in the Stone to Monty Python and the Holy Grail to the upcoming A24 feature The Green Knight. Marvel has explored all sorts of different genres in its 23-movie history, but we haven't visited the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable — yet.

Many people claim Marvel movies are the new mythologies of our age. What better way to prove this theory than to have them face off against a villain from actual mythology, and one with a history deeply entrenched in Marvel's history.