Photo Credit: Marvel Comics
The return of Zemo, who is perhaps the most underrated villain in the MCU, could freshen up the Marvel franchise in a big way.

Baron Helmut Zemo is played by Daniel Brühl in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The character played a major role in Captain America: Civil War, as he was largely responsible for pitting Steve Rogers and Tony Stark/Iron Man against one another. He also had a minor part in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney+ series; additionally, an alternate version of Zemo, voiced by Rama Vallury, showed up in Marvel Zombies.

Why could Zemo’s return be a great move for the MCU?

According to a new rumor shared by scooper James Mack, Zemo is going to appear in a future project. No further details are available at this time, meaning it’s unclear which MCU project, exactly, Zemo is supposed to appear in. It’s also important to stress this is just a rumor at this time, and it should be treated as such, as there’s been no confirmation from Marvel about Zemo returning.

Having said that, Marvel Studios would be wise to bring Zemo back. Along with being a great villain in Captain America: Civil War, there are plenty of untapped stories in the comics featuring the iconic villain that could be adapted into a movie or a TV show. Zemo, for example, is responsible for creating the first iteration of the Thunderbolts; while the Thunderbolts, now known as the New Avengers, are already part of the MCU, a compelling storyline could see Zemo create his own team of supervillains that the New Avengers then have to fight.

That’s just one example. There’s plenty more that could still be done with Zemo — given that MCU stories are largely focused on the heroes and their relationships with one another, an interesting way to flip that idea on its head would be to bring him back, give him his own stand-alone project, and really develop him as a villain who will keep returning rather than just treating him as a one-off.