Right now, we have no idea about the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next big villain. Even though there are rumors of a World War Hulk movie being made, Venom’s introduction in the MCU through Venom 3 could result in him being a much bigger threat than Hulk.

If the next main villain of the MCU wants to be taken seriously, then he has to be on the same level as Thanos or maybe even exceed him. He will also need to do more than threaten Earth.

Now, one character who could be the next villain is the creator of Venom’s species, a god-like being called Knull. And right now, hints about him are already in the MCU.

Knull In The MCU

We know what Thor: Ragnarok drew quite a lot from the Planet Hulk comic arc. The World War Hulk storyline continues this, but with a very heavy dark tone. In the story, a grief-stricken Hulk who is powered up through the background radiation from Sakaar tries to take revenge on the heroes he thinks have betrayed him.

Avengers: Endgame has set up this storyline. Viewers would have noticed Hulk getting mistreated by Banner and his grief over Natasha’s heroic sacrifice. This could serve as a distraction from a more serious threat. Venom and the symbiotes coming to the MCU at the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage means that we may see Knull not just in Venom 3 but also in the MCU.

Knull is an evil deity who wants to push the universe into darkness. The danger that he possesses will overshadow the threat that even the angriest Hulk poses. Since he created the Symbiotes, he could be introduced through an adaptation of the King in Black and Planet of the Symbiotes comic arcs.

These are based around a Symbiote army invading Earth. The storyline could be similar to the Chitauri invasion during the first Avengers movie if a movie gets made. Fans might remember that it was also the movie that introduced Thanos. Now, Let There Be Carnage expanded audiences’ knowledge of symbiotes. As such, it would make sense for Knull to be introduced for something like Venom 3 initially.

But maybe he will turn out to be such a big threat that our fave anti-hero might not be able to take him down alone. So contrary to what you might imagine, it’s actually easy to bring Knull into the MCU.

Hints Of Knull In The MCU

The main villain in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder will be Gorr the God Butcher. He is generally seen with a sword that Knull makes. Once Knull used that very same sword to sever the head of a Celestial. This, later on, became the outpost of Knowhere, which was first introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy. After that, Eternals has given us more background about the Celestials. However, there are more questions to which we need answers.

Once the Symbiotes come to the MCU, the stage is set for Knull to come into the franchise through Venom 3. Now, the rumored World War Hulk movie will probably put heroes against one another. This is similar to what Captain America: Civil War did. And some have even speculated whether Hulk might become a villain in future Avengers movies. Since he is an existential threat to the planet, he would be a danger that’s likely to be on par with that of Ultron.

Knull Is A Greater Threat Than Thanos

Knull could match the threat level of Thanos easily. After all, he wants to annihilate everything as well. A film adaptation of Planet of the Symbiotes could quite easily set this story in motion. Recent films have taken the franchise into a new cosmic direction, the likes of which we have never seen before. And this will likely continue.

After all, Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok has shown that audiences love watching stories with alien planets and spaceships. Now, Eternals wasn’t the hit that many predicted. But viewers did enjoy the movie with all of its mythological overtones.

Hulk can next be a part of this after his time on Sakaar and his role in the Battle of the Rainbow Bridge on Asgard. It’s clear that Hulk and Venom are popular Marvel characters, and both of them could potentially take future Marvel Cinematic Universe story arcs into very interesting directions. We don’t know what the rumored Hulk movie will be about or look like. And neither do we know just what role Venom will play in the MCU. However, one thing is for sure the MCU is looking more interesting than ever before.

And the potential that Venom 3 and World War Hulk hold is just the tip of the iceberg.

You might also like: Here’s Why Knull Would Be A Better Villain In Phase 5 Than Galactus.