Kevin Feige Has Finally Hinted at Where the MCU is Heading After Secret Wars

Ever since it was announced, many Marvel fans have been certain that Avengers: Secret Wars would hit the rest button on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a big way. While it seems that we are still heading for a complete change for the future of the comic book franchise, Kevin Feige has finally shared a little more what that is going to look like.

There have been longstanding rumors that a post-Secret Wars MCU would be looking to completely wipe the slate clean, recasting all the original cast and effectively rebooting the entire franchise from the beginning. Now, it looks like what we will actually be getting is a little different to what most people expected, but is still going to bring some big changes to the MCU we know right now.

Kevin Feige’s latest comments made ahead of Marvel’s return to Hall H at San Diego Comic Con this week have laid down a much more definite plan for where the world’s greatest heroes will end up in the coming years. Yes, it does seem likely to involve some re-casting, but it will also be a much simpler world than the Multiverse Saga delivered.

Speaking during a press tour in Shanghai, the Marvel Studios boss stopped short of using the dreaded word “reboot,” instead framing Secret Wars as a new beginning towards a “streamlined, simplified, single universe that’s easier for audiences to follow”. He added that while some aspects will feel familiar, “many, many things will be entirely new.” He also gave comic book fans an exact pinpoint of the material that has become the blueprint for this next phase of the MCU, pointing to Jonathan Hickman’s acclaimed 2015 Secret Wars comic run.

Hickman’s version of the story, the second time the world of Marvel Comics was given a cataclysmic shake-up, the multiverse collapses on itself, resulting in many heroes from different timelines ending up in the patchwork reality of Battleworld. After the events of Secret Wars, a new unified universe is created, which sounds exactly like what Feige has planned to redraw the MCU without pretending that the last two decades never happened.

What a “Simplified” MCU Might Actually Look Like

Naturally, speculation is rife about what all of this will look like and there is an expectation that Marvel Studios’ SDCC panel will reveal just a little more detail about the franchise’s next phases. Right now, Feige’s comments have suggested that, just like in the comics, Phase 7 and beyond will take place in a new Earth-616 that has been built from the ashes of Secret Wars.

The rebuilt Earth-616 is likely to fold in characters who have so far sat outside the main continuity, which would explain the future appearances of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the likes of Miles Morales. This would allow any number of new characters to be brought into the franchise without needing to spend a whole movie explaining their origin – they will simply just now exist.

There is also another side to this kind of reset that could help Marvel clear out some of those niggling complaints about loose threads and characters that have been introduced and never seen again. The Eternals, who arrived several years ago to a muted response, could be completely retooled or abandoned completely. It could also help with problematic projects such as Blade, who was also tied to the ending of Eternals thanks to a voice-over in the post credits scene. What is certain is that after several years in which the ever-expanding multiverse left plenty of viewers feeling lost, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars look like they will once again give people the chance to enjoy Marvel movies without feeling like they are being given a memory test.

(featured image: Disney)

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