- An insider familiar with Marvel’s MCU Phase 4 plans claims the studio is working on a massive Secret Wars storyline that will lead to an Avengers finale that could be even bigger than Avengers: Endgame.
- Marvel will supposedly use several films and Disney+ TV shows to tell several sides of the stories leading up to the grand finale, rather than using a two-film combo like Infinity War–Endgame.
- These films would involve all the MCU superheroes, and the villains might not always be villains. Marvel is reportedly working on several surprises for the next Avengers stories.
Marvel revealed more details about its current MCU films and TV series phase in mid-December 2020 when Kevin Feige announced several new MCU details. The top Marvel exec confirmed several casting rumors for new heroes and villains, announced launch dates for some of the Disney+ series that are in the works, and confirmed several other projects that are in the making, including Fantastic Four. But like in July 2019, when the initial Phase 4 roster was unveiled, we got no news about Avengers 5, the likely sequel of Endgame.
As we’ve explained before, that’s not because Marvel is about to dump its multi-billion-dollar franchise. Far from it. Endgame was the biggest Marvel movie of all time — and the biggest superhero film ever made. If anything, Marvel would try to top that. But the studio isn’t about to show its hand early and will likely take a similar approach. And if a Marvel insider is right, the road to the next massive Avengers crossover will be epic. And the next finale might be even bigger than Endgame.
Several heroes and villains are out of the picture after Endgame. Moreover, Marvel now controls all the Fox characters (X-Men, Deadpool, and Fantastic Four). These are the reasons why Marvel will use the first MCU Phase 4 films and TV series to develop new stories that will introduce new heroes and villains, building towards the Avengers 5 puzzle.
Mikey Sutton, who penned plenty of MCU scoops over the years, claims to know how Marvel will orchestrate the next Endgame finale. He explained in a blog post on Geekosity a few days ago that Secret Wars will span the next phases of the MCU, with the action unfolding both in movies and Disney+ shows.
But the finale of the current phase won’t be a two-film adventure like Infinity War and Endgame. Instead, Marvel will use a series of films and TV series to get to the massive finale. In other words, we might get multiple variations of Infinity War before a final conclusion would link all these together.
Marvel will reportedly use the 1984 and 2015 versions of the Secret Wars comics to come up with a story, which will deliver plenty of surprises. For example, Sutten says that Doctor Doom, Galactus, Magneto, and Kang the Conqueror are all key villains from the comics that will appear in these epic Avengers crossovers. But they won’t necessarily be villains all the time.
This story’s central villain will be the Beyonder, who will transport MCU heroes and other villains to alternate Earths or Battleworlds. There, these teams would have to face other heroes and villains. It sounds a lot like Civil War, which lead to Infinity War. But Sutton says “this isn’t going to be Civil War on steroids.”
Marvel will group heroes in villains in particular ways and give us a look at their respective battles.
The Avengers will be facing alternate versions of themselves, the Squadron Sinister. The X-Men will be battling against the Fox mutants, which will make a Brotherhood of Mutants. The Fox actors would reprise their X-Men roles as bad guys.
Magneto, who is yet to be cast in the MCU, will play a superhero version in the story. He’ll apparently lead the charge against Doom at some point. The report also notes that God Emperor Doom, a Doom version, will be used in the MCU after Doom is introduced in a Fantastic Four film.
Spider-Man will be involved in his own Battleworld, on a Planet of Symbiotes. This would be a collaboration with Sony, and that’s where Spider-Man might acquire his black costume. The Spider-verse might be interconnected with this storyline.
It’s unclear whether Mephisto will be involved in these storylines. The same Sutton said previously that Mephisto would have a Battleworld with the Marvel Zombies, but that might not be the case. Instead, that premise is considered for a Midnight Sons film.
Doctor Strange would, however, be at the center of all these stories. HE would be the new Iron Man of the MCU in terms of importance. “Along with the Illuminati, Strange is an integral part in stopping the Beyonder or Beyonders,” the insider says.
These stories will use “pretty much all existing superheroes in the MCU” and will extend over several movies and TV series. But each film leading to the finale will focus on one Battleworld.
We’re likely several years away from these films, and plans might always change — assuming this is accurate information. After all, no matter how exciting Avengers rumors might be, we won’t be able to confirm any of this for quite a while.
