The MCU may have a certain "house style", but it has also dived into a few different specific genres over the years of its existence. From the political thrills of Captain America: The Winter Soldier to the heist antics of Ant-Man, the franchise has managed to go in a number of different directions while maintaining continuity and consistency.
The upcoming Disney+ series Moon Knight will take the story into a whole new genre in the form of a dark adventure tale. This will be a huge contrast from the next series, Ms. Marvel, which will be a lighthearted high school comedy.
Phase 4 has explored a number of different tones and themes so far, and there are plenty more to come. Here are six distinct genres the MCU will dive into in the near future.
Horror
There have been some scary moments here and there throughout the MCU, but no project has focused primarily on horror. This looks to change in 2022, though, as both Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the upcoming Werewolf by Night Disney+ special will have heavier horror elements than the franchise’s other offerings.
Both will focus on magic and supernatural elements - the Multiverse and werewolves, respectively - and they will be darker and more serious in nature.
All of this isn’t to say either project will be a full-on horror piece, though. Multiverse of Madness was previously billed as the MCU's first true horror flick upon its announcement, but this has aspect since been scaled back with its PG-13 rating further establishing that it won't stray too far from the norm.
The same could be said for Werewolf by Night, though Moon Knight's increased age rating overseas could indicate that Marvel's Disney+ projects will push the boundaries a bit further than their movie counterparts.
Still, positive reception for these projects could open the door to even darker fare from Marvel Studios in the future.
Coming-of-Age (Series)
As of the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker is out of high school, so it’s time for Marvel to look elsewhere for their coming-of-age fare. Rather than another movie, the studio is taking the genre to Disney+ with two upcoming projects starring teenage characters attending high school.
First up is Ms. Marvel, which will be yet another six-episode series on the platform. The show looks to be a lighthearted comedy that will serve as the origin story for Kamala Khan under the titular mantle.
Speaking of origin stories, the animated series Spider-Man: Freshman Year will serve as a prequel to the Spider-Man film trilogy in the MCU. Presumably, the new project will show viewers how this version of Peter Parker became the web-slinger.
Both of these projects are sure to appeal to younger MCU fans, and should serve as a nice balance between the more intense offerings from the franchise.
Legal Comedy
There have been comedy movies in the MCU, and even a sitcom (well, more like half of one). However, a courtroom comedy hasn’t been done…yet, that is.
She-Hulk will be the first to dive into this genre, complete with fourth-wall breaking as part of its story. This show will probably have some things in common with WandaVision in that it will likely be a hybrid between a comedy and a superhero adventure. She-Hulk’s episodes will also be about half an hour long, just like several of WandaVision’s.
Even though She-Hulk will be a Disney+ series, it might be closer to Guardians of the Galaxy than WandaVision, as it seems it will be more of a comedy all the way through rather than a comedy with darkness and unease lurking underneath.
Political Mystery
The MCU has explored both mystery and politics in the past, but it will combine the two with the upcoming Secret Invasion series on Disney+.
The show will allow its audience to learn more about the Skrulls, who were first introduced in Captain Marvel. Their shapeshifting power was showcased in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and that power is sure to play a major role in this series, with some favorite MCU characters likely revealed to have been Skrulls in disguise.
While this show won’t be on the same scale as the massive Marvel Comics event it takes inspiration from, it should shake up the MCU in a fun and intriguing way.
Dark Comedy
While WandaVision had both darkness and comedy, its spin-off will combinr the two in a much more overt manner. Agatha: House of Harkness is reportedly set to start production later this year and will see the return of Kathryn Hahn as the titular witch herself.
It is unknown what the plot of the Disney+ series will be or which, if any, comics it will be based on. But the series will most likely show Agatha breaking out of the curse Wanda put on her at the end of WandaVision and what new tricks she subsequently gets up to. Alternatively, House of Harkness could be a prequel series about Agatha’s centuries-long life.
No matter what direction the show takes, viewers can expect some deliciously dark jokes and wacky situations for its titular character.
Holiday Special
Iron Man 3 and Spider-Man: No Way Home both briefly touched on the holiday season. Hawkeye had Christmas cheer as a backdrop for its story. But The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will be the first time Marvel dives into the deep end of the winter celebrations.
Considering the Guardians reside in space and only Star-Lord hails from Earth (a planet he holds some pretty strong disdain for), the special will likely focus on fictional holidays celebrated by the Guardians. This could be similar to how The Star Wars Holiday Special focuses on Life Day rather than a real-life holiday such as Christmas.
As with the Star Wars special, though, the Guardians project will likely see the characters celebrating a holiday similar to the ones on Earth, with traditions such as gift-giving and spending quality time together as a family - in their case, a found one.
