Marvel Studios Has Reportedly Made A Huge Change To The MCU's Future

25.03.2024 - 19:57 / gamerant.com / Ademilade ShodipeDosunmu

Marvel Studios has made a change to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s advance slate that officially marks a major pivot for the franchise after the high-profile 2023 controversy surrounding one MCU star came to a head earlier in the year.

The Avengers have been the central focus of the MCU from its onset and led the franchise through the phenomenal success of the Infinity Saga and into the record-shattering Avengers: Endgame, the fourth mainline Avengers film and the last to feature the original lineup. A new set of heroes would be introduced for the following Multiverse Saga headlined by Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, but things would get complicated when Majors was eventually found guilty on charges of reckless assault and harassment levied against him in 2023.

While Jonathan Majors' Kang role was officially dropped by Marvel Studios following the conviction, the issue of what the future would hold for the character Kang was still up in the air as the studio has a myriad number of ways to recast and rework the character. However, a graphic posted to X by Boardwalk Times has confirmed at least one major change that many fans suspected would be the case. The graphic, used to showcase ROI at a recent investor meeting, confirms that the name for the next Avengers film has now internally returned to the default Avengers 5 after being changed from Avengers: Kang Dynasty. This is a clear signal that Kang’s central role in the ongoing saga is likely going to be scrapped or massively shrunk.

This move was previously reported as being in the works after the disastrous introduction Kang got in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantimania, a film that shocked Disney with massively negative reviews after its release and reveal of Majors’ Kang. While Disney initially remained silent on the accusations against Majors when they were first aired and let him carry on in Loki season 2 as planned, the situation certainly couldn't have helped the character’s chances of remaining a prominent antagonist. The image has little else by way of significant revelations other than the massive difference between the ROI of Star Wars and The Avengers compared to Frozen, which massively outperformed the award-winning franchises that already sported stellar returns themselves.

Enough time has passed since the incidental reveal to take it as settled, leaving a lot for fans to theorize. Rumors have consistently suggested that Avengers 5 andSecret Wars will have another villain join Kang, and now that character seems destined to overshadow the former Thanos of the Multiverse Saga. While there’s only speculation as to what the studio will do now, Dr. Doom has a lot going for him in terms of taking up the central villain role of the saga. In