The Avengers' new leader isn't who you're expecting

The Avengers are one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's biggest staples. The team brought the franchise to its first billion-dollar box office sensation, taking it to a whole new level of success, and they have proceeded to do that over and over again, with the next three Avengers movies all doing the same.

The team isn't officially together anymore, quietly disbanding after Avengers: Endgame and the losses they suffered in the midst of their big victory, but its surviving members will reunite (and be joined by a ton of new heroes in the process). That's right, they will be back to battle a new threat in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

There have been a lot of rumors about who the team's new leader would be, with one of the more prominent ones suggesting an incredibly unlikely choice. A more recent report, however, negates that, saying that the team will be led by a great veteran hero in a new role.

Captain America will lead The Avengers in new movies

According to Marvel insider Alex Perez, Sam Wilson's Captain America will be one of the leaders of The Avengers during Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. This comes from the scooper's most recent Q&A with fans (via The Cosmic Circus) in which they answer questions about the MCU's upcoming titles and tease some of what they have heard.

With that in mind, it's not too surprising that the subject of The Avengers' new leader has come up given that it's been such a highly-discussed topic among fans in recent months. There have been a number of differing reports about who could lead the charge, and Sam Wilson has been among the names that have come up. And that makes sense due to how reliable a teammate and hero Sam has proven himself to be. However, the more recent reports have suggested that Marvel was going in a direction outside of the previously obvious choice.

It was recently reported that Avengers: Doomsday would have more of a focus on magic, which would make Doctor Strange the likely candidate as the main Avenger, leading the team in the battle against Doctor Doom. Other rumors have suggested that the team wouldn't have any leader in a bid to differentiate it from the original iteration of The Avengers.

That version was led primarily by original Captain America Steve Rogers, while other members like Black Widow and Iron Man would lead from time-to-time as well. Being that Steve was a literal captain who led a team of people to both safety and victory in the 1940s, it made sense that he do the same with his superhero colleagues. But that's certainly not discounting anyone else's efforts on the team, especially Black Widow who led them through much of the aftermath of The Blip that Thanos caused.

It sounds like we actually could have a similar scenario in the future Avengers movies with Sam Wilson being the primary leader (especially after those earlier rumors that suggested he could be) while also having other veteran characters, like Doctor Strange perhaps, lead them through specific missions.

Sam knows how to work as part of a team. Not only was he a veteran Pararescueman for the United States Air Force, he was a close teammate of Steve Rogers and Black Widow, working closely with them to stop any threats that came their way (and track down the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes). He's fiercely loyal, even to those he doesn't always get on with (see: Bucky Barnes) and now he's acting as a mentor to his successor as the Falcon, Joaquin Torres.

There is no one better suited to being a team leader than Sam Wilson, and if he has indeed become the next leader of The Avengers, it's a well-deserved position for him.