Summary
After much speculation, theMCUis reportedly dropping Kang the Conqueror fromAvengers 5and replacing its initially planned story with another.Avengers: The Kang Dynastywas ostensibly the penultimate movie to conclude the Multiverse Saga, featuring the titular villain in a central role. Halfway through MCU Phase 5, Kang and Kang variants have appeared inLokiseason 1 and 2 andAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which remainsthe MCU’s worst-rated movieon Rotten Tomatoes.
The official upcoming MCU release slatesuggests thatAvengers 5andAvengers: Secret Warswill bookend Phase 6, but it is now more unclear than ever how the first Avengers movie since 2019’sAvengers: Endgamewill look. Story details have been left up to speculation for several years, butDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessset up some cataclysmic stakes forthe MCU timelinewith the introduction of incursions.The Fantastic Four, meanwhile, looks as though it may take place in another universe entirely. Taken together, it seems as thoughAvengers 5will tackle the consequences of an Earth-616 incursion.
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Avengers 5 May Be Moving Away From Kang Entirely
The Hollywood Reporter recently confirmed thatMarvel is removing Kang from the title ofAvengers 5and therefore may be moving away from the villain entirely. AfterJonathan Majors was fired from the MCUand his debut cinematic appearance inAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniadid not fare as well as hoped, rumors began swirling that Kang would be sidelined as the Multiverse Saga’s big bad. While it is not a foregone conclusion that this is the case, Marvel Studios reportedly dropping Kang from the title ofAvengers 5is telling nonetheless.
Loki season 2 offered a suitable way for the MCU to address Kang’s sidelining, as the TVA have dedicated themselves to monitoring his variants, which they see as dangerous.
These rumors have apparently been vindicated by the recent reveal, though it remains unclear how Marvel will proceed. 2024’s San Diego Comic Con will presumably be the arena in which the MCU reveals the new direction and whether it will consign Kang to being a one-time movie villain defeated by Ant-Man and the Wasp. This may be a divisive decision - particularly as Majors' Kang was generally a well-received addition to the MCU - but there is still plenty of scope to replace him satisfyingly.
Avengers 5 Already Has A Story Replacement For Kang
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesssetting up incursions opens many doors for the MCU. While the Council of Kangs introduced in thepost-credits scene ofAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniais one example of a multiversal threat, they weren’t established to be the biggest.Incursions themselves are terrifying enough for the Avengers to tackle, with myriad beyond-Kang-level threats waiting in universes beyond the MCU’s Earth-616.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessconcluded with Clea informing Doctor Strange that he had started an incursion after traveling the multiverse.
Galactus, for instance, who has beenconfirmed as a villain inThe Fantastic Four, is a gargantuan danger both physically and conceptually. There is also the Marvel Comics-inspired possibility that the Avengers could face off with variants of themselves in a universe poised to clash with their own. Another notable potentialAvengers 5story element is the elephant in the room in the form ofThe Fantastic Four’s arch-nemesis and the still-presumed big-bad ofAvengers: Secret Wars: Doctor Doom.
Face It, Avengers 5 Should Just Be Secret Wars Part 1
The fact that Kang the Conqueror had only featured inLokiandAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniaso far into the Multiverse Saga was becoming particularly concerning asAvengers: The Kang Dynastyrounded the corner. Now that it appears he may not feature inAvengers 5, the path for the MCU seems clearer than ever. Namely,it should hone in on the implications of the multiverse and incursions as a whole and turnAvengers: Secret Warsinto a two-part epicin the same vein asAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame.
The fact thatMarvel Studios is reportedly in talks with the Russo brothersto have them direct the next twoAvengersmovies helps this idea given their experience. TheSecret Warsrun of Marvel Comics are also conducive to such a setup, as they were preceded by theTime Runs Outplot, which housed an epic incursion story culminating in the destruction of Earth-616 and the multiverse as a whole, providingAvengers 5prime source material for this story angle.
