The Avengers sub-franchise of the MCU occupies a strange spot in the larger series. Though the original 2012 film was where that first batch of movies was building up to, and ended Phase One, the same couldn’t be said of its sequels. 2015’s Age of Ultron released mid-Phase Two, and though the duology of Infinity War and Endgame were the final chapters of what was later dubbed the “Infinity Saga,” they didn’t actually close things out. That duty went to Spider-Man: Far From Home a few months post-Endgame.
But going forward, expect Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to bring future sagas — aka, the newly branded “Multiverse Saga” and whatever else is waiting in the wings — to a close. Kevin Feige spoke to MTV News about how Marvel Studios now looks at Avengers films. “After Infinity War and Endgame, we thought that Avengers movies aren’t cappers,” he admitted. But what changed the studio’s tune is the many groupings in these incoming phases: from this year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to next year’s Captain Marvel and Ant-Man sequels and the recently announced Thunderbolts film, big team ups are helping to widen the MCU’s scope and lay the groundwork for the multiverse.
“Avengers films really should be the capper to a saga,” continued Feige. “Which is really all we wanted to lay the groundwork for today. We are currently in the midst in the Multiverse Saga, which will culminate in two Avengers films.” Both films are due in 2025, and earlier this week, it was revealed that Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton would take the helm on the first of the duology, The Kang Dynasty set to release in May of that year. Both it and November 2025’s Secret Wars will close out Phase 6 and the Multiverse Saga as a whole.
Right now, there are the seeds of a new Avengers team out there, with some fairly obvious candidates, and likely some unexpected wildcards waiting to make themselves known. Waiting six years to bring the Avengers franchise back gives its return some weight, and lets Kang to feel like a real Big Deal…well, more of a big deal than Marvel films usually are.
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