Avengers: Secret Wars, and Beyond
With the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a bit of a disarray, I thought I’d have some sort of delusion of creative grandeur, and take upon myself the task of laying out the next decade or so for MCU movies. Also, I can’t say that there haven’t been some great movies since Endgame, but things could be better. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 is the most recent MCU project, and it was spectacular, but now it is leaving the theaters, and much of what we have to look forward to is somewhat concerning. This is what I would do base off of what we already know is in the works, and what I think would be great to see.
Secret Invasion – Episode 5 – July 19th, 2023
The 4th of 6 episodes of Secret Invasion just came out this week, and it is in my opinion, the best episode so far. Even though the superheroes are few and far between in this series, Marvel is managing to tell a good story, and that is what matters most. I like that they brought in the power enhancing machine to create Super Skrulls, and I like the focus on Nick Fury.
Loki Season 2 – October 6, 2023
I hope they don’t cancel this because of what is going on with Kang actor Jonathan Majors. I think that they should release it since it was filmed before all of the controversy came to fruition, and a lot of other people worked really hard on this series. And honestly, if Jonathan Majors can’t come back, I will be fine with them recasting the role. Marvel has done it before, and it has worked out just fine. Having said that, I look forward to more time line lunacy with Loki, and his variant Sylvie. I like the whole concept of the TVA that they set up in the first season, and I thought that season was good overall. Hopefully, this one will be great.
The Marvels – November 10, 2023
This seems like it is essentially a sequel to three different projects; Captain Marvel, Wandavision, and Ms. Marvel. Captain Marvel was a decent movie, Wandavision was a really good series, and so was Ms Marvel, so although I’m not super excited for this movie, I do have hope for it. However, this movie is one that I had little faith in before, and now that movies like Thor 4, and Antman 3 didn’t do so well, I have less faith. I do think that Captain Marvel is becoming a more likable character, and the other two are good as well. I like that they are bring the Kree back into the story, and hopefully we will see what the survivors of the Nova Corps are doing now. I’m also excited to see if they introduce Nova in this movie.
Echo – November 29, 2023
I’m hesitant about this series, but I am hopeful as well. Echo was a good character on Hawkeye, but she could have been a lot better. The whole series was all right, but it could have been a lot better as well. That aside, Echo is set to take place not long after Echo shoots Kingpin at the end of the Hawkeye series. On IMDB it states that “Maya Lopez must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots, and embrace the meaning of family, and community if she ever hopes to move forward.”
Iron Heart – 2024?
Riri Williams takes on the mantel of Iron Heart, and the legacy of Iron Man. The character seemed decent enough when she appeared in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but at this point, I don’t find myself particularly excited to see this series, but I do plan on watching it, and I’m looking forward to seeing the villain, The Hood on screen.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos – 2024?
The character of Agatha was great in Wandavision, but I don’t think it would be good for her to have her own series. It would be great to have her character come back though.
Daredevil: Born Again – Spring 2024
I am actually excited for Matt Murdock to come back as the devil of Hell’s Kitchen, and fight crime. I feel like he should team up with Gordon Ramsay with a title like that. The Netflix Daredevil series was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed Daredevil in the She-Hulk series. There is a lot of talk about this series being much different from the Netflix series, and that combined with the fact that the MCU has been struggling gets me worried.
Deadpool 3 – May 3, 2024
The first two Deadpool movies were a lot of fun. They had great action sequences, dialogue, and interesting characters. Ryan Reynolds is definitely the right person to play Deadpool, and he ultimately confirmed that by convincing Hugh Jackman to play Wolverine again. We just got some great set photos of Wolverine in a version of the classic blue and yellow suit, fighting Deadpool near a giant 20th Century Fox sign. That along with all of the rumors of Deadpool causing mayhem for the multiverse make me more than excited to see the third movie for the merc with a mouth.
Captain America: New World Order – July 26, 2024
Throughout the course of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Anthony Mackie has portrayed Sam Wilson in a funny, and charismatic way. His character really got to shine in Falcon and the Winter Soldier even though that series wasn’t great. I think it was good though. I look forward to seeing Sam Wilson as Captain America, and I hope they give him the tactical responsibility that goes along with the title. Ultimately, though, I hope to see a rebooted universe about two or three years after the Avengers: Secret Wars movies.
Thunderbolts – December 24, 2024
A lot of entertaining and interesting MCU characters are set to return in the Thunderbolts, and there are a couple of possible new characters as well. One of the fun things about Thunderbolts is that it is going to bring a team together who all got their start from a few different movies and shows. The Thunderbolts will bring back Bucky, Ghost, U.S. Agent, the new Black Widow, and Red Guardian for its main team. This is a team of misfits similar to DC’s Suicide Squad, but I feel like it’s different because some of these characters are more like anti-heroes.
Thaddeus Ross will return, but he will be played by Harrison Ford. Ross was originally played by William Hurt, and he did a spectacular job, but unfortunately, he passed away. When we last saw Ross, he was Secretary of State, and right before the blip, he was working hard to enforce the Sokovia Accords onto the Avengers. It will be interesting to see what he has been up to since the Avengers brought everyone back. There are rumors that he will become President of the United States. I could see that happening somewhere near the end of Captain America: Brave New World since he’ll be in that as well.
It’s also heavily rumored that we will see the extremely powerful Sentry appear in Thunderbolts, possibly as a villain. If this does happen, the Thunderbolts are going to need some extra help to take him down. If you can’t tell by the three paragraphs that I wrote about this movie, I am excited to see what Thunderbolts has to offer.
Blade – February 14, 2025
I think this one could be a lot of fun, and have a unique presence of its own in the MCU. The Disney Plus special: Werewolf by Night was really good, and it shows that there can be a more scary side to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’d prefer that the Blade movie have a style more similar to other MCU projects like say Moon Knight, but I think the appeal is there. The Blade movies with Wesley Snipes were fun. Although some were better than others, that franchise led to X-men (2000) which led to Spiderman (2002) which eventually led to Iron Man (2008). The unfortunate fact is that we haven’t heard much about the new Blade movie since it was announced, and now with the Writer’s and Actors on strike, it seems like it may be a while before we do.
Fantastic Four – May 2, 2025
They say that the 3rd time is the charm, but technically, this will be the 4th live action version of the Fantastic Four team. The first one was titled, “The Fantastic Four,” and it was supposedly only made because the studio that owned the rights to make a movie would have lost the rights if production didn’t start by a certain date. Casting speculation has been all over the place for this movie, and little is known about the plot except that it won’t be an origin story. I’d prefer if they hold off on the Fantastic Four until we have a reboot of the whole MCU, but given their history in the comics, the Fantastic Four from this upcoming movie could survive into a new time line. No matter what happens after Avengers: Secret Wars, I’m just hoping that maybe the 4th time will be the charm when it comes to a Fantastic Four movie.
Avengers: Kang Dynasty – May 1, 2026
This movie will be the first time the Avengers have had a full team up since Avengers: Endgame. Of course, a lot of the Avengers from that team have moved on in one way or another, and this movie will feature a team made up of some veteran characters such as the new Captain America, and War Machine; and some new characters like possibly Shang Chi, and She-Hulk. Originally scheduled for 2025, this movie recently got pushed back a year, and with Kang actor Jonathan Majors fate up in the air as well as the Writer’s and Actor’s strike going on, it could get pushed back even further. I like the idea of the Avengers fighting a few Kang variants, but I think I would prefer to see a Kang movie that has Iron Man, and the original Captain America leading the charge.
Avengers: Secret Wars – May 7, 2027
This movie has been pushed back a year as well, and that is largely due to Marvel’s initiative to spread their projects out. If that is what they need to do to make sure that the movies and series’ are good then so be it. My theory is that if they get enough of the right people working on these movies then they could have continued at the original rate they were going at. Unfortunately, the guiding vision didn’t seem to be there for many of the last several projects, and they suffered for it. So, if slowing down will help make the movies better then I’m all for it.
Avengers: Secret Wars is set to bring back a lot of old faces including those from the Fox Universe, and Sony Universe. We’ve already had a taste of this with Spiderman: No Way Home, and Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but Secret Wars looks like it is going to be those times 100. This is definitely going to involve a lot of fan service, but I personally think that they can deliver a great multiverse crossover story, and have some great fan service. With several not so great multiverse movies coming out recently, Avengers: Secret Wars has a lot weighing down on it. Hopefully, it can live up to the hype.
Armor Wars – ?
I believe the original plan for Armor Wars was to have it as a series that takes place before Avengers: Kang Dynasty if not at least before Avengers: Secret Wars. With the reboot that I’m hoping for, it would probably be best for Armor Wars to come out before Secret Wars. An Armor Wars movie in the potential new MCU would most definitely involve Tony Stark. And while I do want Tony back in action as Iron Man, I want War Machine to have his time to shine.
The story will be about the world trying to get a hold of Stark tech now that Tony Stark is gone. This is a different story from the comics, but makes sense for the MCU. This seems like a good premise to me, so if they have a fully developed plot then I wouldn’t mind seeing this one before Avengers: Secret Wars, and before a reboot. It also makes sense for this story to happen soon since Tony has been gone for a little while now. And I know they used the five year blip to tell more stories, but those five years have now passed, so Armor Wars should be coming out soon.
If they make this after the reboot that is only confirmed in my head, I’d like to see the creator of the Sentinels, Bolivar Trask stealing Stark Tech for his Mutant hunting robots. They could possibly still give the attention to War Machine by having Iron Man get captured or injured in the beginning of the movie.
Wakanda – ?
A Disney Plus series about Black Panther’s homeland of Wakanda could be perfectly set in a rebooted Universe. The episodes could set up many of the differences between the world of the MCU before and after Avengers: Secret Wars. This would be a great opportunity to introduce us to a new T’Challa, and I’m not talking about the orignal T’Challa’s son. It was devastating that Chadwick Boseman died so young, and it was a shame that he didn’t get to play the character of T’Challa for very long.
Wonder Man – ?
Wonder Man is an actor in the comics, and a member of the Avengers. It is rumored that in the MCU, White Vision will become Wonder Man. Although, I’m not a huge fan of Wonder Man, I believe that’s mostly because I don’t know much about him. He is a main character in one of the Avengers animated series, and his consciousness is programmed into the character of Vision, so the MCU could be doing a reverse story line which could be pretty interesting. The character sounds like fun, so hopefully, this show will be good.
Shang Chi – 2
This could be a tricky one for general audiences to accept, but the events of Shang Chi can almost exist entirely separate from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The presence of Trevor Slattery won’t ruin things, at least not in the way that I want to do the reboot. Shang Chi 2 might not be called Shang Chi 2, but his origin of training to be an assassin while growing up, and eventually taking the Ten Rings from his maniacal dad could still remain the same. The next Shang Chi movie could also take place before Avengers: Secret Wars. After all, the first one came out in 2021, and Secret Wars is set to come out in 2027.
The Future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
In this hypothetical reboot of the MCU, many of the same events would have transpired, but the X-men and the Fantastic Four would have been involved. Since it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to have Thanos as the main bad guy any time soon, it makes sense to say that there was an Infinity War, but the good guys one. They also could have lost, but figured out an Endgame event where Tony Stark survived.
We’ve already seen how the events of the Infinity War played out on Earth 838 in Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, and our new MCU could take off after something like this. A reboot would be a great opportunity to bring back Ultron while also introducing other classic villains. Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Natasha Romanov could all come back. They don’t need to have all of the spotlight, but they could definitely play pivotal leadership roles as the world of Superheroes expands.
This would be a great opportunity for stories like World War Hulk, and possibly another take on the Civil War story. It would also be good to have the Avengers and Fantastic Four involved in events like Onslaught, and the possibly the Phoenix. There is also the X-men vs Avengers story line, of course.
Over in the world of the DCU, it sounds like James Gunn and Peter Saffran plan on setting up an established world of heroes. The Justice League may not be formed, but these heroes are aware of each other, and it seems like they may have teamed up before as well. I’d like to see something like this for the MCU except that I would already have the Avengers as an established team. In fact, most of the teams would be established such as the X-men and the Fantastic Four. This approach may prove to be a mistake for the DCU, and the MCU, if they go for it, but it sounds better than seeing everyone’s origin stories again.
I do have an idea for an X-men movie that is an origin story for Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Thunderbird, and Sunfire, but I think that it would be even better to have the team further along then that. We have seen a fairly established X-men team, and we have seen a new X-men team on the big screen, but we haven’t had a very comic accurate established team before, and I don’t know about you, but that’s what I would like to see. And I think it could work really well.
The groundwork of these characters has been laid out with all of the many phases of the MCU as well as its heroic predecessors of Fox’s X-men, and Sony’s Spiderman films. And there were a few other movies in there too like Blade and Daredevil that got the ball rolling.
With a reboot, there will no doubt be those people who aren’t as familiar with the origins of these heroes and villains, but a well told story that includes a little bit of back story can work. Star Wars: A New Hope was Luke Skywalker’s origin story for becoming a Jedi, but the we didn’t need to see the entire origin stories for the other characters to be engaged by them. Having said all of that, it’s time to get into the nitty gritty of what I think should happen after Avengers: Secret Wars with a soft reboot.
X-men: Genosha
This movie would show an established team of X-men made up of Cyclops, Storm, Phoenix, Beast, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, Colossus, and Bishop. There would be many students in training such as Jubilee, and New Mutants characters. There is a strong history here, and it is shown that the original roster was the same as in the comics. This movie would have a large focus on Mr. Sinister and his connections to many of the X-men such as Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Phoenix, and Wolverine. Magneto would also be involved, and start out in seclusion.
Tensions are high between humans and mutants. Genosha is touted as a safe haven for mutants, and is secretly controlled by Mr. Sinister. He lures some of the X-men there, Magneto investigates the island himself. Meanwhile, in the states, Xavier and the rest of the X-men deal with the Friends of Humanity and other groups causing issues.
Wolverine: Trail of Blood and Tears – Series
My focus with this new X-men team in the MCU would be on characters like Cyclops, and Storm. Wolverine will be there but the story wouldn’t focus on him as much. I still think he is a fascinating character, and there is a lot to tell about him, especially given his age so I would have an adaptation of my fan fiction story, Wolverine: Trail of Blood and Tears where Wolverine regains his memories through the power of the Mind stone and ends up cleaning up the streets of Madripoor while hunting down his enemies.
Avengers: Ultron Unlimited
Ultron returns to fight the Avengers who are made up of Captain America, Iron Man, Ant-man (Hank Pym), Wasp, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk, Hawk Eye, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Vision, and Quicksilver. I don’t have many details for this movie, but Ultron’s programming design would be stolen by Bolivar Trask at the end of this movie.
Fantastic Four
This movie would be set in outer space, and would have events that lead to an Annihilation event that will include a Kree/Skrull war. Nova would play a big role in this movie as well as Nova Prime.
Thor: Asguardians of the Galaxy
This Thor movie would focus on the epic fantasy and magical side of the character. Thor would take the new iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy on a grand adventure. Hercules would be involved as well. The Warriors Three also come through and clash with the Guardians. Norse Mythology including mythical beasts would play a large role in this movie.
X-men: Avalon
Magneto seeks asylum for mutants on the his asteroid base, the Avalon. He claims that his intentions are peaceful, but he truly wants to eradicate humans from the Earth once all of the mutants are safe aboard the Avalon. Sentinels are even more powerful than before. Wolverine would make the ultimate sacrifice, and have end up having the metal ripped out of his body by Magneto. Xavier shuts down Magneto’s mind, but there will be grave consequences for this action.
Avengers: Annihilation
This story would take elements of the Korvac Saga, the Kree/Skrull War, and the Annihilation event. Thor would still be with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and they would team up with the Avengers, the X-men, and the Fantastic Four to take on Annihilation.
Planet Hulk
Hulk loses control again, and the Illuminati determine that he must leave Earth. He travels to a gladiator planet, and becomes the ruler over the course of the movie. In the end, his new world is destroyed, and he believes that the heroes of Earth are to blame.
World War Hulk
Hulk comes back and wipes the floor with the heroes of the Earth.
Fantastic Four
This movie would have a focus on the growing abilities of Reed and Sue’s son, Franklin Richards. Other conflicts are yet to be determined. The X-men would make a small appearance here with the Fantastic Four going to Xavier to help Franklin control his abilities.
X-men: Onslaught
Magneto’s psyche has survived inside of Xavier’s mind and attaches itself to his dark side. The evil entity known as Onslaught is born. The X-men, Fantastic Four, and Avengers team up to take on this threat.
Avengers: Civil War
This would be another take on the Civil War story line. The Captain America: Civil War movie was great, but I think this is a story that can be told again in a different way. I would focus on making it more similar to the comic book story line, and it will be great to involve the X-men, the Fantastic Four, and other characters like Daredevil, and the Punisher.
And Beyond
These are not all of the projects that I would have, but they are the main ones. I would definitely have some more projects such as another Shang Chi movie, and a Sentry movie. I think it would be important to have some Spiderman movies in there, and some sort of Daredevil project. It’s a work in progress, but that essentially lays out the world that I would like to see post Avengers: Secret Wars. Let me know what you think about this, and what direction you think the MCU should go after Secret Wars.
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