Marvel has mapped out its movie plans up to 2042, studio boss Kevin Feige has said, hinting at a “streamlined, simplified” universe post-Avengers: Secret Wars, a big push for the new X-Men, and plans to eventually unveil a live-action Miles Morales.
Speaking to Chinese outlet Watching Hollywood during a recent tour of Shanghai, Feige described this year’s Avengers: Doomsday and next year’s Avengers: Secret Wars as a conclusion to storylines that started before the MCU itself (such as the fates of some original X-Men). At the same time, Feige also contrasted Secret Wars with the climactic Avengers: Endgame, suggesting that 2027’s blockbuster would act as a new beginning for the franchise, as well as a conclusion of the Multiverse saga.
“We want to do two things,” Feige began (via machine translation). “First, to bring some storylines to a close, those that started long before Iron Man, including the original X-Men characters. Second, to simultaneously set the stage for the future.
“Avengers: Endgame was truly an end, and since then, we’ve tried and experimented with many new things. But [Secret Wars] is a beginning. It will establish a streamlined, simplified, single universe that audiences can keep up with. Some things will be familiar, but many, many things will be entirely new.”
Feige said that the new don’t-call-it-a-reboot post-Secret Wars MCU will hopefully attract a “new generation of audiences” to Marvel, something that tallies with past comments by Feige that, one day, the franchise will eventually bring in new versions of existing heroes such as Iron Man. For now, though, Marvel seems to have one major brand in mind to lead the next saga: the X-Men.
“Fundamentally, the X-Men will be at its core,” Feige said. “Acquiring the X-Men rights isn’t just about… for example, Wolverine is an outstanding character, and we were able to team him up with Deadpool, which is great. But the X-Men are far more than just Wolverine, far more than the original team; fundamentally, it’s a universe, a multi-stage saga. Much of that is what we’re working towards.”
In other words, don’t expect Jake Schreier’s upcoming X-Men movie to be a one-and-done affair (although, honestly, this always seemed a remote possibility). Instead, the X-Men sound like they’ll form the bedrock of Marvel’s storytelling in the post-Secret Wars era, which seems fitting, since the next phase will be known as the Mutant Saga.
“We were just in a Marvel Studios meeting room, planning movies all the way up to 2042,” Feige revealed. “Whether we can make it to 2042? Who knows? Will it be those movies? Who knows? But this is how we approach and plan the vast amount of potential stories in the comics. We’re constantly changing, constantly evolving, but having some guidance helps us act more purposefully… especially with X-Men — it’s already had 10 movies, some very, very good, some I think haven’t lived up to expectations — how do we plan the Mutant Saga in a very grand way?”
Marvel is set to make a splash at this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, returning to Hall H for the first time in two years ahead of this month’s hugely-anticipated Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and this December’s Avengers: Doomsday. Fans are hoping that, alongside more details on both of those, Feige will lift the lid on more of Marvel’s future roadmap — maybe not up until 2042, but at least for the next few years.
Currently, Marvel has not officially announced a launch plan for anything beyond December 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars, though it has acknowledged that its X-Men reboot and Black Panther 3 are in the planning stages. Other projects waiting in the wings include a long-gestating Nova project (now retooled as a movie rather than a Disney+ series), and an ambition to eventually make a Shang-Chi 2.
What else could be on Marvel’s roadmap, leading up to 2042? While many classic characters feel like they’ve run their course (it would be a surprise to see Captain America, Ant-Man or Captain Marvel get further standalone films after the financial performance of Brave New World, Quantumania and The Marvels), others still feel like they have some gas left in the tank.
It would not be a surprise to see Marvel eventually make a Doctor Strange 3, or a Thor 5. I could also see Marvel taking another chance on the Fantastic Four, even if their first outing felt a little underwhelming. And then there’s the hugely popular character of Wanda Maximoff, whose eventual return feels inevitable. Could we finally get a solo Scarlet Witch movie?
Most obvious, of course, is more Spider-Man. Sony and Marvel are clearly keen, and Tom Holland has hinted he expects to return for at least one more Spider-Man film, with plans to eventually hand over his webbing capsules to a younger replacement. Holland recently suggested he would be keen to pass the baton to a live-action Miles Morales — and clearly, this is a character on Feige’s radar, too.
“One of the fun things about this business is that we’re always dreaming and coming up with ideas,” Feige said when asked about the character. “There’s a line in Spider-Man: No Way Home where Electro says, ‘Somewhere there’s bound to be a black Spider-Man.’ Audiences around the world were thrilled because they knew it might be a hint at Miles.
“The good news is, Sony has the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse series, which are very popular and excellent, and Beyond the Universe is coming out next year. But yes, we definitely have plans, and I think a live-action Spider-Man movie has this destiny: to add Miles sometime after the Spider-Verse series ends. We’ve been thinking and discussing more Spider-Man adventures, regardless of agreements or contracts. My production partner, Amy Pascal, is already working on it, and we’ve had in-depth discussions about what the next two, three, four, and five Spider-Man movies might be about.”
See you in 2042 for Spider-Man 9, then? In the meantime, be sure to keep an eye on IGN this weekend for everything from Marvel at SDCC, including all of the big announcements from Hall H as they happen.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
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