Marvel has talked about bringing Canada’s Alpha Flight to the MCU

One of the big talking points surrounding Deadpool & Wolverine is that it will officially kick off a “mutant era” for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), following some teases over the past few years. Clearly, Marvel has big plans for the X-Men now that it once again owns the film rights to the popular superhero property.

And while Deadpool & Wolverine is poised to feature appearances from a slew of familiar mutants, there is one noteworthy group of X-Men-related characters that we haven’t yet seen in live-action: Alpha Flight, a Canadian superhero team in the vein of The Avengers. To that point, the team is even led by a Canadian riff on Captain America: the red-white-and-maple-leaf-covered hero Guardian, who hails from London, Ontario.

So, that begs the question: will we ever get Alpha Flight in the MCU? During the press circuit for Deadpool & Wolverine, The Movie Podcast, a Toronto-based entertainment show, sat down with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and asked him exactly that.

“We talk about it. We talk about it a lot,” Feige responded with a laugh. “We have a lot of fellow Canadians at Marvel that discuss that very thing.”

Feige didn’t specify whether a movie or Disney+ series was considered. However, he did go on to refer to a previous part of the interview where they talked about the very first X-Men movie being filmed in Toronto and having a steak dinner with Hugh Jackman at the airport (Pearson, presumably).

“And that dinner you talk about — that was in Toronto. The first X-Men film shot there in Toronto. I spent many months up there,” said Feige.

It’s reassuring, at least, to hear Feige mention that Alpha Flight is on the mind at Marvel. The team was created in 1979 by British-born, Canadian-raised Uncanny X-Men writer-artist John Byrne, who went on to produce a comic series for the Canuck heroes from 1983 to 1994. Outside of the comics, fans may also remember Alpha Flight from the “Repo Men” episode of X-Men: The Animated Series, which explores Wolverine’s history with the team.

For now, it remains to be seen whether Alpha Flight will join the MCU. But even without them, the MCU has been quite Canadian as of late. Of course, there’s Deadpool & Wolverine, which stars Vancouver’s own Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, who is himself a Regina-born character. On top of that, the film was directed by Montreal’s Shawn Levy, co-stars Hugh Jackman as the Cold Lake, Alberta-born Wolverine, was co-written by Toronto’s Paul Wernick (who also co-wrote the last two Deadpools), and even features nods to the CN Tower and the late, great Torontonian John Candy.

And outside of Deadpool, the last few years have introduced a few noteworthy Canadians to the MCU, including Mississauga, Ontario’s Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Regina’s Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk and Markham, Ontario’s Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel. Alpha Flight or not, it’s clear Canada has slowly been taking over the MCU, and we’re here for it.

Deadpool & Wolverine opens in theatres on July 26th. Video game fans who are excited for the movie can also enter for a chance to win ass-shaped Deadpool– and Wolverine-themed Xbox controllers. Yes, you read that right.

Image credit: Marvel Comics

Source: The Movie Podcast