The spectacular Deadpool & Wolverine success and the way Marvel handled its Avengers 5 problem show that the studio has what it takes to make tasty lemonade with the lemons in the Multiverse Saga.
The MCU’s Phases 4 and 5 have hardly been a match to the previous chapters in the overarching Avengers universe. Marvel appears to be correcting course so it can end the current saga on a high note.
Renaming Avengers: Kang Dynasty to Doomsday and introducing Robert Downey Jr. as the main Avengers antagonist in these movies is certainly the best way to set things in motion and raise expectations that the MCU will return to its previous form. Having the Russo brothers return to direct two more Avengers adventures, including Secret Wars, is another cherry on top.
The best of all is that Marvel isn’t taking any more time off. The pandemic and the industry strikes have already caused enough delays. Doomsday and Secret Wars are sticking to their most recent release dates rather than being pushed back.
That’s good news for fans dying to see the Avengers assemble again. Production should start soon, and rumors are beginning to pile up.
A leaker said recently that work on Avengers: Doomsday will start in early 2025. It might overlap with the Spider-Man 4 production, with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man appearing in both movies. That’s not the only Iron Man-era Avenger returning to the team.
A leaker claims that a fan-favorite team member will get a big role in Doomsday, including the redemption arc we’ve been dying to see. This is where I tell you that big spoilers will follow below. Proceed at your own risk.
We don’t need any leaks to figure out the general story of Doomsday and Secret Wars. The movies will probably follow Marvel’s playbook for Infinity War and Endgame.
First, the Avengers will lose, and they’ll lose badly to a villain who might be even more exciting than Thanos (Josh Brolin). It’ll all go down in Doomsday, and I can’t wait to see the new team of Avengers attempting to beat Doctor Doom.
Then we’ll probably see the Avengers team up with all the heroes from the multiverse in Secret Wars, probably courtesy of the TVA. The heroes will have to defeat Doctor Doom to ensure the survival of the multiverse or one timeline.
Since the MCU doesn’t have any Avengers on hand presently (that’s sometime in 2026, MCU time), I can’t wait to see who will make the first team. Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) will start assembling the new team in Brave New World. Unless someone else creates a different team of superpowered individuals the world will call Avengers.
Until we get our official answers, we have an incredibly interesting new leak. It details the potential return of a beloved Avenger.
Is Wanda alive?
According to Murphy’s Multiverse, well-known leaker MyTimeToShineHello claims that the Russos and writer Stephen McFeely have already given Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) a large role in Doomsday. It’s unclear what Wanda will be up to in Avengers 5, but this can only be a redemption story for the beloved character.
Many fans hated what Marvel did with Wanda in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. They felt like WandaVision should have redeemed the character. In the finale of the Disney Plus series, Wanda realizes what she’s done wrong, and she fixes things. That should be enough, some Marvel fans would tell you. I’m afraid I have to disagree.
I think Wanda never really had to face the consequences of taking an entire town prisoner. The events in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are a natural evolution of her madness following WandaVision under the obvious influence of the Darkhold.
As the big villain of the Doctor Strange 2, Wanda only reaffirms what we already know. She’s a spectacular villain because she’s a spectacular superhero, maybe the strongest Avenger. And let’s not forget that her story arc in the movie contributes to the larger Multiverse Saga story. I still hope we’ll get to see some characters from Earth-838, where Wanda wiped the floor with the Illuminati.
With that in mind, Wanda’s arc needs the proper redemption we all expect. We didn’t see her die at the end of the movie because it was too soon for her to die. She has only started her recovery by destroying the Darkhold. Rejoining the Avengers in Doomsday and fighting Doctor Doom could complete Wanda’s arc.
I’ll also point out recent rumors swirling around Wanda’s return. Marvel might still be working on a standalone Scarlet Witch project. That is, we have new reports on the matter claiming the project isn’t dead. As for Elizabeth Olsen, she also seemed to want a happier end for her Marvel character.
“I think Im dead. I would beg to leave a window open [to return] I would like to figure out how to cleverly [be] beyond dead. We need to find the smartest writers to figure out how to make this all make sense,” the actress told Jimmy Kimmel a few days ago.
If this Doomsday rumor is accurate, then the smartest writers are already on it.
