I’ve long said that Marvel should recast the Kang character in order for Avengers 5 to proceed according to the original plan. That is, the highly anticipated sequel’s title should still be Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and it should still focus on the Kang character, even if he’s played by a different actor. The Kang Dynesty is the prelude we need for the massive battle in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Kang is more important than one actor, and it would be a huge disservice to the Marvel comics and the MCU not to keep Kang as the big villain of the Multiverse Saga. Considering all the progress until now, Kang is the only worthy successor to Thanos (Josh Brolin), the main villain of the Infinity Saga.
A report recently claimed that Marvel will start shooting Avengers 5 next year. I said at the time that Marvel not delaying the next Avengers movies indicates that the title and lead villain will remain unchanged.
We now have more evidence suggesting the Avengers 5 title will not change. On the one hand, a reliable source shared some new info about The Kang Dynasty. Separately, Bob Iger laid out Disney’s strategy for the MCU, detailing the expected schedule of movies and TV shows for the coming years.
Before we go any further, I’ll warn you that some spoilers might follow below.
The MCU movie schedule
Marvel has just one movie coming out this year: Deadpool & Wolverine. Last year’s strikes in the industry are to blame. Marvel had to shift release dates, keeping Deadpool 3 as 2024’s only theatrical debut.
Then, 2025 will give us plenty of exciting MCU movies:
- Captain America: Brave New World – February 14th, 2025
- Thunderbolts – May 2nd, 2025
- Fantastic Four – July 25th, 2025
- Blade – November 7th, 2025
Word on the street is that Spider-Man 4 might swap places with Blade, so Sony can get its movie in theaters next year. Blade would then move to an unknown date in 2026.
Marvel still hasn’t changed the Avengers 5 and Avengers 6 release dates, though I always expected them to change:
- Avengers: The Kang Dynasty – May 1st, 2026
- Avengers: Secret Wars – May 7th, 2027
Bob’s plans
When Bog Iger returned to Disney, he seemed to indicate a change in strategy for the MCU. Marvel would put out fewer projects, and the studio would focus on telling stories with heroes people want to watch. Moreover, Marvel would improve the quality of the MCU, which has been a problem in Phases 4 and 5 so far. Marvel’s Kevin Feige seemed to corroborate those plans. But neither exec mentioned specifics.
Fast-forward to early May and Iger offered a more detailed gameplay for the MCU during Disney’s earnings call for the March quarter.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Iger said that the company is finally moving away from “a vestige, basically a desire in the past to increase volume,” which is great news
“I’ve been working hard with the studio to reduce output and focus more on quality, that’s particularly true with Marvel,” Iger said. “We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four, and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two or at the maximum three,” Iger said. “And we’re working hard on what that path is, we’ve got a couple of good films in ’25 and then we’re heading to more Avengers, which we’re extremely excited about.”
Iger did not mention The Kang Dynasty, but THR notes the movie is still listed for 2026. If that’s the case, I’d expect Marvel to keep The Kang Dynasty as the film’s title. There’s not enough time to move to a different villain.
Iger didn’t seem to indicate any changes to the MCU release date plans for next year, either.
Marvel could always announce new release dates for the MCU, especially Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.
Avengers 5 production timing
This brings us to a separate development. Production List has an updated listing for Avengers 5 that says Marvel will start shooting it on December 31st, 2024. The purported summary of the project is more interesting:
Kang the Conqueror has been a foe of the Avengers for decades! Now, witness his ultimate triumph, as he brings all of his vast cross-time spanning legions to bear to conquer the Earth once and for all! Can Earth’s Mightiest Heroes hold back the colossal forces arrayed against them or will they face defeat and subjugation beneath the boot of the Conqueror?!
I don’t think the December 31st start date is accurate. Nobody will be shooting any movie on New Year’s Eve. But Marvel could always start production sometime in December or in January 2025. That would let the studio finish the film long before the current May 1st, 2026, release date.
The listing on Production List might simply feature unofficial information as a placeholder for the movie. But the listing aligns with that recent leak that said Avengers 5 will start filming next year and keep its current release date.
Thankfully, we won’t have to speculate for too long. Sony will have to announce Spider-Man 4 soon. Separately, Marvel is heading to Comic-Con this year, where it’ll surely announce plans for the future of the MCU.