Summary
San Diego Comic-Conis always a huge moment for Marvel Studios and theMCU, and 2024’s upcoming event will surely address plenty of questions that fans have. Every Comic-Con, Marvel’s Hall H panels are some of the most highly anticipated of the event. This year’s event will be no different, especially since Marvel will be having a doubleheader.In addition to the usual Hall H panel, Marvel will host “The Ultimate Deadpool & Wolverine Celebration of Life”panel to celebrateDeadpool & Wolverine’s premierethat weekend.
Marvel’s Comic-Con re-debut will surely be bigger than ever since the studio skipped out on Hall H in 2023. The MCU has had a quieter few years with projects either being huge hits or criticized misses, so the future trajectory of the franchise depends on whateverMarvel content is announced at Comic-Con. There are plenty of unknowns even with the MCU’s current projects in production, andfans are hoping that these big questions will finally be answered at Comic-Con.
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The biggest question undoubtedly on everyone’s mind iswho Kang’s replacement will be going forward in the MCU.Kang and his variants were being set up to be the ultimate villain of the Multiverse Saga after his introduction in season 1 ofLoki, so much so that the next Avengers film was namedThe Kang Dynasty.
However, Kang actor Jonathan Majors was dropped from the MCU after misdemeanor charges in 2023. Marvel has likely needed some time to rework their slate, especially since Kang was seemingly the center of the Multiverse Saga. There’s been no word yet on whether Marvel plans to recast Kang or shift focus to a new villain entirely. With the variant concept in the multiverse, it would beincredibly easy to simplyrecast Kang with a new actorwithout having to explain the difference in appearance.
The MCU might even try to feature a new central villain inAvengers 5instead, with fans throwing around the likes of Doctor Doom, Galactus, and even Mephisto. It’s been a while of silence from Marvel, but they may have been waiting for Comic-Con 2024 to announce Kang’s MCU future.
9What Will The New Avengers 5 Title Be?
The Kang Dynasty Title Was Dropped
While Marvel Studios has been relatively quiet about what their plans are with Kang and the future ofAvengers 5, they have made one concrete decision. The next Avengers film was originally titledAvengers: The Kang Dynasty, butthe title has since been dropped and simply referred to asAvengers 5.If Marvel does update fans at Comic-Con about the Kang reworks and the future ofAvengers 5, the film’s new name will likely be announced too.
Jonathan Majors also played Montgomery Allen inThe Last Black Man in San Francisco(2019).
TheAvengers 5rename will depend on which direction Marvel chooses to go in. If they are recasting Kang,Avengers: The Kang Dynastycan remain, but,the fact that the studio dropped the title almost hints that they will be moving away from Kang and focusing on a new villain.Depending on whoKang’s MCU replacementis, their name might be put into the new title instead, or Marvel may even choose to go with a more vague title after this incident.
8What Are Marvel’s 3 Unannounced 2026 Movies?
The New Films For 2026
Comic-Con is usually where Marvel can confirm their upcoming projects along with a timeline of where they will all fall in the slate. It was revealed at Comic-Con 2022 that there would be three additional films premiering in 2026, though the exact films remained unannounced. The announcement came before Marvel decided to change their output schedule, sothe three unannounced MCU projects may be affected by the slowed-down slate. Whether they are or not, Comic-Con would be the place to announce them as 2026 is sooner than it seems.
There are plenty of guesses as to what these three films could be. Considering that they’re currently slated to come beforeAvengers 5and6, the most likely possibility is that they are follow-ups to previous projects.
There are plenty of guesses as to what these three films could be. Considering that they’re currently slated to come beforeAvengers 5and6, the most likely possibility is that they are follow-ups to previous projects.Shang-ChiandEternalsboth haven’t gotten concrete confirmation about a sequel andif they aren’t part of the three unannounced films, that may seal their MCU fate. There could even be new projects about MCU characters that have already been introduced, like a Young Avengers film or even the future X-Men project.
7Which Heroes Will Be Confirmed For Avengers 5?
Over 60 Characters Are Set To Appear
Marvel recentlystated that over 60 MCU characters will return forAvengers 5and6, but none have been officially confirmed just yet. The closest to a confirmation that fans have gotten was when Benedict Cumberbatch said in an interview that looking forward to working onAvengersnext year, seeminglyconfirming Doctor Strange’s involvement. Besides him, the rest of the futureAvengerscharacters have been pure speculation.
There are a handful of heroes that fans can safely assume will appear in the upcomingAvengersfilms includingSam Wilson’s Captain America, Spider-Man, and Captain Marvel. This will also be the film to introduce new members to the Avengers team, such as Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel, and America Chavez. Marvel has confirmed their casts at Comic-Con before, and Hall H would be the perfect stage for the next generation of Avengers to gather.
The MCU’sBladereboot was announced back at Comic-Con 2019, and the film has seen little progress since. The film has undergone a notably troubled production, including the 2023 Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes as well as two director changes.Bladecurrently doesn’t have an official director attached to the project, which is concerning for a film that is supposed to be released in 2025.
It seems thatBladewill luckily get to keep their big-name casting ofMahershala Ali as Ali is reportedly happy with where the script is finally going. This may just be a case of Marvel keeping quiet about the project until there is substantial development considering how many changes the production has already gone through. However, if the lack of progress onBladereally does require the 2025 release date to get pushed back, then Marvel will likely announce it at Comic-Con.
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5Who Will Direct Avengers 5?
The Russo Brothers Are Reportedly In Talks
Avengers 5andAvengers: Secret Warhave yet to get their confirmed directors, and dropping the information at Comic-Con would surely get a huge reaction out of the crowd. Marvel could not only just announce the directors, but even bring them out on stage. Several names have been thrown around sinceAvengers 5and6’s initial announcements, but the most recent report about rumored directors is making waves just a week before Comic-Con.
According toThe Hollywood Reporter,the Russo brothers are reportedly in talks with Marvelto direct bothAvengers5and6. Joe and Anthony Russo have a well-respected MCU legacy as the directors ofCaptain America:The Winter Soldier,Avengers: Infinity War, andEndgame.
The duo has already proven that they can handle directing a large-scale crossover project like an Avengers movie,and their MCU films remain some of the franchise’s most successful to this day. If there is weight to the rumors, the Russo brothers directing the upcomingAvengersfilms would be an announcement worthy of Comic-Con.
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The MCU’sArmor Warshas been in the works as early as 2011 but has yet to receive an official release date. Don Cheadle stated in 2011 that a War Machine film was in the works, andthe project has since evolved intoArmor Warsas the actor is set to star as James Rhodes.It was first announced to be a television series but is reportedly being reworked into a theatrical film instead. Not much else is known about the project at the moment besides the fact that Dominique Thorne is supposed to reprise her role as Riri Williams.
There is an existing MCU project that hasn’t really been addressed since its release but is said to be the predecessor ofArmor Wars.Secret Invasionpremiered in 2023 with Rhodey being featured in a significant plot about the Skrulls.The series ended with U.S. President Ritson declaring war on Skrulls and other extraterrestrials, but the fallout of this hasn’t been addressed yet in the MCU. On the chance thatArmor Warsgets a confirmed release date at Comic-Con, perhaps more information about itsexact ties toSecret Invasionwill be revealed too.
3What Are Marvel’s X-Men Plans?
The X-Men’s Official MCU Debut Is Highly Anticipated
The X-Men have been the big topic on everyone’s mind ever since Marvel regained the rights to the characters in 2019. The studio stated that they’d need some time to properly introduce the group, but fans have already been getting hints ofmutants in several MCU projects.X-Men ‘97has been one of Marvel’s most successful television shows to date, and the likes of Professor X and Beast have already appeared inMultiverse of MadnessandThe Marvelsrespectively. With how meta theDeadpoolfilms are, Wolverine’s involvement in Deadpool’s official MCU debut will surely be commented on.
In terms ofwhat’s next for the X-Men in the MCU, Marvel has confirmed that an X-Men film is in the works. It’s likely that the film won’t be released until well into Phase 7 after the Multiverse Saga, so the mere fact that the film is happening won’t be enough to satisfy fans for now. Considering the huge success ofX-Men ‘97,Marvel would be smart to capitalize off of the characters’ newfound popularityand announce their future X-Men MCU plans at Comic-Con.
A way that Marvel could solve theAvengers 5problems is by making it a part 1 of the followingAvengers: Secret Wars. If there’s too much uncertainty surrounding an entireAvengers 5rework, splitting theSecret Warsstory up into two parts would be the easiest solution.Big franchises such asHarry PotterandThe Hunger Gameshave used this method before,and splitting the film into two parts might even be a marketing strategy in the long run.
In the reality that the Russo brothers really are cast as the directors ofAvengers 5and6, a two-parterSecret Warsstory would make sense. The duo has been asked plenty of times since their last MCU project whether they would come back to the franchise, and they’ve always stated that they’d likely only return if they could do something related to the originalSecret Warscomic series.Getting the Russo brothers confirmed for the films would make the possibility ofAvengers 5being the first part ofSecret Warseven more likely.
1Is Sentry Thunderbolts' Villain?
Lewis Pullman Takes Over The Character From Steven Yeun
Sentry was confirmed to appear inThunderboltswhen it was revealed that Steven Yeun had attended a costume fitting for the character. However,The Walking DeadandInvincibleactor dropped out of the MCU project in early 2024 due to scheduling conflicts.Top Gun: Maverickactor Lewis Pullman has since been chosen to replace Yeun as Sentry, but it stillleaves the question of what exact role Sentry will play inThunderbolts.
Since the Thunderbolts are made up of anti-heroes and former villains, Sentry would fit right into the group.
Sentry is a powerful Marvel hero,but his powers come at a cost. With a dark side known as The Void, Sentry’s character has always been about fighting his inner demons and maintaining his declining sanity. Since the Thunderbolts are made up of anti-heroes and former villains, Sentry would fit right into the group.Thunderbolts*is well underway with production and Comic-Con 2024 may be where Marvel drops more information about the upcomingMCUfilm, including who the main villain of the movie will be and whether it will be Sentry.
