Call of Duty Vanguard is first and foremost an impressive submission into the different theaters of World War II. Beyond that, the entire Call of Duty franchise is increasingly becoming a fixture in pop culture. Previous entries in the series saw crossovers featuring John McLane (the protagonist in the Die Hard franchise), Rambo, and Jigsaw (Saw franchise), as well as an online casino video slot in the game’s style where players can win bonuses and free spins. In Call of Duty: Vanguard, the crossover idea takes on new proportions.
Call of Duty and Marvel
According to famous data miner Nanikos, Call of Duty: Vanguard may have even more surprising crossovers: Marvel and Attack on Titan. In recent years, Marvel is best known for its Marvel Cinematic Universe. This MCU combines a comic-based world of crossovers where superheroes work together, and storylines in one movie affect those in other movies. Based on images of Captain America’s shield, the MCU could stretch into a Call of Duty: Vanguard spin-off.
Call of Duty and Attack on Titans
Where the MCU is a universe of crossovers and entangled storylines, Attack on Titans is a lesser-known anime series where a group of friends battle man-eating titans of mythological proportions. How exactly the tie-in would work, isn’t known yet, but an Attack on Titans sword is confirmed in the game and could be a new type of melee weapon.
Funnily enough, guns are hardly the weapon of choice for the band of titan fighters. That makes the CoD – AoT crossover more surprising than previous pop culture references. John McLane and Rambo blend right into the world of Call of Duty, whereas the characters, culture, and arsenal for the Attack on Titans series as a few degrees removed from the familiar multiplayer game.
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Fans of both Call of Duty and Attack on Titans (and there’s considerable overlap) will be eagerly anticipating how the crossover will actually flesh out. Attack on Titans has a final season lined up for January 2022, which would be great timing for the crossover.
That same window of opportunity can’t be found for Captain America’s shield. The release of Falcon and the Winter Soldier (where the shield plays a significant role) predated Cod: Vanguard by over six months. Considering their publishing schedule, Activision will have three more Call of Duty installments before the release of the fourth Captain America movie or second season for Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Perhaps even more puzzling is the hint at incorporating Indiana Jones. As this movie is scheduled for 2023, it could be a while before the whip is an actual melee weapon in CoD: Vanguard. On the other hand, Indiana Jones stomps around in some of the theaters featured in Vanguard, and just around the same time, too. Whether you’ll be able to aid him in recovering the Ark has not been confirmed.
