The Marvel Cinematic Universe is under more pressure than ever to get it right. After years of unchallenged box office dominance and widespread critical acclaim, the tide is turning against the once unassailable box office giant. a major drop in box office figuresa general atmosphere of “superhero fatigue” and the conviction and parole of actor Jonathan Majors, who was originally intended to be the main villain of the next Avengers saga.
All of that and more has led Marvel to reposition itself, releasing fewer new movies per year and moving some titles around the calendar. But that calendar is here to stay, and at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige gave a brief look at what MCU fans can expect in the near (and distant) future.
The X-Men were missing from the announcements, blade (previously listed as releasing in 2025, but not mentioned among the planned 2025 releases, suggesting another delay) and the usual big schedule of upcoming releases. While the Marvel panel featured few new release announcements, Marvel Studios still managed to generate a lot of buzz with a big casting announcement.
Here’s what Marvel announced at SDCC 2024 about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Russos return for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars
The closing title of Marvel’s important but somewhat perfunctory panel centered around the next installments in the Avengers franchise. While Marvel originally said Kang would be the main villain this time around, the company changed its mind after Jonathan Majors was recast following his conviction for assault and harassment, making the future of his various MCU films a bit of a mystery.
Veteran Avengers directors Joe and Anthony Russo came to clear things up. The duo, who previously directed Avengers: Infinity War And Finalare back for the next two Avengers films. The first film is called Avengers: Endgamewill be released on May 1, 2026, while the grand finale Avengers: Secret WarsRelease date: May 7, 2027.
Of course, no announcement like this would be complete without revealing who plays Doctor Doom himself. But the Russo Brothers have taken care of that too…
Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU as Victor Von Doom
… with the biggest mic drop of the evening. Somehow Robert Downey Jr. has returned to the group. The Iron Man actor will play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Endgamemarking his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The move marks a complete departure from Kang and towards Doom as the Avengers’ next Big Bad. The Fantastic Four will appear in each of the next two Avengers films.
“New mask,” said Downey Jr. “Same job.”
Captain America: Brave New World has an official villain
We’ve known for a while that Giancarlo Esposito will be starring in the upcoming Captain America movie, but it wasn’t until this panel that we learned who he’s playing: Sidewinder. Sidewinder is the leader of the Serpent Society, a criminal organization that typically has less grand ambitions than some of Marvel’s other villains, suggesting that this film will be a little more low-key than some of its more fantastical cousins. As Feige said during the panel, this is a spy movie, more in the vein of Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Thunderbolts* presented its first footage
There were not many true announcements about Thunderbolts* — and we still don’t know what the * in the title is all about — but there was some footage shown exclusively to attendees in Hall H. This clip seemed pretty exciting: Quite a few people posting on social media from the panel compared what they saw to James Gunn’s The suicide squadwhich would certainly be a welcome tone for the MCU.
Fantastic Four got a subtitle and some footage
Fantastic Four is the furthest away from all the films whose footage was shown for the first time during the panel, but also probably the most eagerly anticipated. The four members of the Fantastic Family – Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach – appeared on stage during the presentation, and a bit of footage was shown, ending with our first look at Galactus. This footage is not yet available online, but we will update it when it is available.
Find all of Polygon’s coverage of SDCC 2024 news, trailers, and more here.
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