It’s time to forget all about 2023’s mediocre MCU releases and look forward to what’s coming soon. On that note, Echo is about to premiere on Disney Plus, with Deadpool 3 set to be the only Marvel movie of the year. You’ll have to thank the strikes for that, though the real culprits are the studios, including Disney.
The extended break is good news for Marvel, however. It gave the studio extra time to ensure the future MCU stories are better than what we got from Phases 4 and 5 so far. I said a few times that Avengers 5 and Secret Wars will probably be delayed, considering all the projects Marvel has to get through first. And that might be indeed what happens, according to an insider.
More interestingly, Marvel leaker Alex Perez revealed the current Avengers lineup for Avengers 5, providing a few exciting spoilers. It’s not just Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) absent from the team on account of them being either dead or retired. Plenty of others will be missing in action in Avengers 5, though they might all return by the time we get to Secret Wars.
Beware, big spoilers might follow below, so avoid them if you want to be surprised.
The Avengers 5 team
Perez detailed the future of the Avengers team in a series of tweets. He said that Avengers 5 is “NOT coming out 2026.” Marvel has plenty of work to do to set up the first Avengers movie since Endgame, which premiered in 2019.
He then mentioned the Avengers members who would be part of the new team, according to current events: Captain America (Anthony Mackie), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Falcon, Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Wong (Benedict Wong), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Katy (Awkwafina), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly).
I know; I was surprised to read the roster above as well. Some big names are obviously absent. Others are unexpected. Like Katy. It looks like Sam Wilson will recruit whoever he can. That’s how desperate they’ll be to handle the likely multiversal threat that’s coming. If they need more Avengers, I’m always ready to serve. I can type really fast, and I know (some) things.
I’ll also say that such a team is practically asking for a beatdown. However, they do have the Hulk and Captain Marvel in it.
Perez explained in a follow-up why Katy was there. He also said that Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) will not show up as She-Hulk until absolutely necessary. As for Wakanda, the country is going through some difficult times after Wakanda Forever.
What about Spider-Man? He will be a part of the Avengers for Avengers 5. He’s just disconnected from the team.
Then, “everyone and their mother” will be in Secret Wars. But Perez said he was only giving us the current team of heroes. And the team is lacking in members, which is why the film is being delayed.
The insider also tackled other big names absent from this Avengers 5 lineup. It’s not just Spidey (Tom Holland) missing from this roster. There’s no Thor (Chris Hemsworth) or Daredevil (Charlie Cox) in it.
Where is everybody else?
Also obvious is the lack of a certain Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). He won’t appear in Avengers 5. Not only is Strange away with Clea (Charlize Theron) after Doctor Strange 2, but the events in Deadpool 3 might also impact his story.
Perez also tackled the Young Avengers, which aren’t on the initial Avengers team. Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) is forming her team of young heroes, which will include America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), Cassie (Kathryn Newton), and others.
The Fantastic Four will not be in Avengers 5 either. As for Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), she is still stuck in that alternate universe we saw her in at the end of The Marvels.
That’s all according to Perez, who has often been right about Marvel’s MCU plans.
That said, Marvel is yet to announce any MCU delays. But now’s probably not the time to do it. Marvel doesn’t need to. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if such announcements were coming in the near future.
