Avengers: Secret Wars has the opportunity to unite several Marvel movie teams in a single film. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes last appeared on the big screen in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Since then, there have been no Avengers movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The team’s absence is a huge factor behind the criticism that the MCU’s Multiverse Saga has felt mostly directionless. However, things are about to change. Two of the MCU’s upcoming movies are new Avengers entries.
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2026’s Avengers: Doomsday will debut the new version of the superhero team, while 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars will end the Multiverse Saga. Due to its important role in the MCU’s current saga, Avengers: Secret Wars‘s story is expected to be the most ambitious the franchise has ever seen. With universes likely to collide as incursions happen, several MCU teams and multiverse squads could appear in the Multiverse Saga’s finale, with many teams being perfect for Avengers: Secret Wars.
10 New Avengers
A New Roster For An Existing MCU Team
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The original formation of the MCU’s Avengers lasted for four team movies. The heroes even had the chance to shine in the massive Avengers: Endgame, as most of the MCU’s heroes had been taken out by Thanos’ snap, leaving only a few beyond the original Avengers alive. However, half of the superhero team’s 6-person roster is now out. Black Widow and Iron Man are dead, while Chris Evans’ Captain America was last seen as an old man.
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Thanks to the high influx of MCU projects during Phases 4 and 5, there are several heroes who could join the new Avengers. Established characters like Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, and Sam Wilson as Captain America are likely to play major roles within the new version of the team in Avengers: Doomsday. After the new Avengers debut in the film, the team should once again return to lead Avengers: Secret Wars.
9 Original Avengers
The MCU’s Most Popular Team
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While the new version of the Avengers will take center stage in Avengers: Doomsday, there is still space for the original version of the MCU team to return for the Multiverse Saga’s finale. Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. have already come back to the MCU in different roles, playing Johnny Storm/The Human Torch and Doctor Doom, respectively. Another Avengers star who left the franchise, Scarlett Johansson, is an executive producer on Marvel’s Thunderbolts*.
Robert Downey Jr. is already returning as Doctor Doom in the next two Avengers movies, so a surprise role as Iron Man is not out of the cards.
As such, all members of the original Avengers are still involved with the MCU in some way. Since RDJ plays the main villain of the next two Avengers movies, it would be poetic if, through the multiverse, new versions of Iron Man and Black Widow joined the fray and teamed up with the Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye, and Steve Rogers. The older Captain America could be de-aged like the comics did, with the original Avengers returning to make Secret Wars as epic as expected.
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8 Young Avengers
A Team Set Up During The Multiverse Saga
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Another iteration of the Avengers that could appear in Secret Wars comes in the form of the Young Avengers. As the Marvel Comics team’s name suggests, the superhero squad is made up of younger heroes. During the Multiverse Saga, the MCU has introduced many characters that have either been part of the Young Avengers in the comics or who would be a great fit for the MCU team.
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One of The Marvels‘ post-credits scenes laid the setup for the team’s MCU debut. Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel recruited Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop for the Young Avengers. Kamala Khan also mentioned Ant-Man’s daughter, Cassie Lang, as the team’s next recruit. Well, some Young Avengers recently assembled in a new video. Footage from the Worlds of Marvel experience on the Disney Treasure cruise showed a meeting between Cassie Lang, Ironheart, and America Chavez, teasing the Young Avengers’ formal debut.
7 Thunderbolts
A New MCU Team Debuting In 2025
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Marvel Studios has an Avengers-like project set to be released in 2025. That happens to be Thunderbolts*, which will bring characters from several MCU movies together for the first time. There are some fan-favorite MCU players on the Thunderbolts‘ roster, such as Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, while smaller characters like Ghost and Taskmaster will get a new chance to shine.
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|
Confirmed Thunderbolts Cast Member |
Character The Actor Plays |
|---|---|
|
Sebastian Stan |
James “Bucky” Barnes, A.K.A. The Winter Soldier |
|
Florence Pugh |
Yelena Belova, A.K.A. Black Widow |
|
Wyatt Russell |
John Walker, A.K.A. US Agent |
|
David Harbour |
Alexei Shostakov, A.K.A. Red Guardian |
|
Hannah John-Kamen |
Ava Starr, A.K.A. Ghost |
|
Olga Kurylenko |
Antonia Dreykov, A.K.A. Taskmaster |
|
Julia Louis-Dreyfus |
Contessa Valentina Allegra De Fontaine |
|
Harrison Ford |
President Thaddeus Ross |
|
Lewis Pullman |
Bob (Sentry) |
|
Geraldine Viswanathan |
Unconfirmed |
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The latest Thunderbolts* trailer connected the new MCU team to the Avengers in a major way. The person responsible for putting the team together, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, was revealed to be the one who bought Avengers Tower. As such, the Thunderbolts could be calling the Avengers’ former home their new headquarters. Characters like Bucky and Yelena, as well as Sentry, an incredibly powerful hero who debuts in Thunderbolts*, would be perfect for Avengers: Secret Wars.
6 Fantastic Four
Marvel’s First Family Comes Home In The Next Year
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The Fantastic Four is the only other MCU team to be confirmed to appear in Avengers: Secret Wars alongside the new iteration of the Avengers. In fact, Pedro Pascal and the rest of The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ star-studded cast are set to appear in both upcoming Avengers movies. Based on that, it is expected that Marvel’s First Family will play a major role in both Avengers movies.
The Future Foundation, the organization responsible for building life rafts that save people from incursions, has been teased for the Fantastic Four reboot.
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That makes sense, both in terms of the comics that inspire the final events of the Multiverse Saga and the main villain of the MCU movies. Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four are key to Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars. The Future Foundation, the organization responsible for building life rafts that save people from incursions, has been teased for the Fantastic Four reboot. Adding to that, Kang the Conqueror is out, and since Doctor Doom is the villain of the Avengers movies, the Fantastic Four have to be present in a huge way.
5 X-Men
A Multiverse Version Of The Team Has Been Teased
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It might be too early for the MCU’s version of the X-Men, but another iteration of the team is likely to show up in Avengers: Secret Wars. The reason for that comes from the MCU’s biggest box office bomb. The Marvels‘ post-credits scene saw Monica Rambeu get thrust into a new universe. There, a variant of Kelsey Grammer’s Beast from Fox’s X-Men movies appeared.
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Kevin Feige has shared a major update on the X-Men’s MCU arrival, and it bodes well for Avengers: Secret Wars and the end of the Multiverse Saga.
More than that, Monica was seemingly in the X-Men’s mansion, and Beast mentioned that he was going to talk about her with Charles Xavier. After Deadpool & Wolverine‘s success, it would make sense for Marvel to use more stars from Fox’s X-Men movies while the Multiverse Saga is still going. Avengers: Secret Wars could see this version of the X-Men either aid the Avengers against Doctor Doom or fight the MCU team to save their universe from an incursion.
4 New Guardians Of The Galaxy
James Gunn’s Final MCU Movie Debuted A New Team
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The original Guardians of the Galaxy disbanded at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. While it is possible that Marvel will choose not to continue the cosmic franchise without director James Gunn — now the creative head of DC Studios — the team could still very well appear in other MCU movies. After showing up in two Avengers films, the Rocket Raccoon and Groot could take their new team to help out the Avengers.
Rocket and Thor developed a nice bond in the last two Avengers movies. As Chris Hemsworth is expected to return as the God of Thunder in Avengers: Secret Wars, at the very least, he could call in his Guardians of the Galaxy friends to help take down Doctor Doom. A cosmic team could add variety to the MCU heroes’ plan against Doctor Doom.
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3 Original Guardians Of The Galaxy
An Established MCU Team
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While the Guardians of the Galaxy are no longer together, all members of the team are still alive, including the variant of Gamora in the original’s place. As Avengers: Secret Wars will be an event movie that affects several universes, the threat Doctor Doom poses to the multiverse is too big for the Guardians to sit out. At the very end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord was confirmed to return.
It is true that Peter Quill could come back on his own or briefly join the new Guardians of the Galaxy in one of the next Avengers movies. However, with the multiverse on the line, it would make sense for all original Guardians of the Galaxy members to reunite for one final mission. After that, the heroes could truly go their separate ways.
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2 The Defenders
An Existing Superhero Team That Could Return
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Daredevil: Born Again will be the next major chapter of the MCU’s street-level corner. The TV series will arrive in March 2025, and Daredevil: Born Again will bring back many characters and stars from Netflix’s Daredevil series. Besides just supporting characters and villains, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil will be joined by Jon Bernthal’s Punisher. The reunion between the two characters could serve as the first step to a return of the Defenders.
Netflix’s Daredevil was part of the streamer’s The Defenders Saga. Besides Daredevil, other Marvel Netflix stars include Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and more. Those three heroes joined Matt Murdock as members of the Defenders. There are rumors that Kingpin becoming the Mayor of New York City will lead to the Defenders getting together again. If that happens, the street-level team would add variety to Avengers: Secret Wars‘ hero roster.
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1 Midnight Suns
A Rumored New Team For The MCU
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The MCU has started to see its number of magical and supernatural projects increase over the past few years. That could lead to the debut of Marvel Comics’ premiere supernatural team, the Midnight Suns, in the near future. There have been some rumors that a Midnight Suns movie is in the works at Marvel, though no official announcement has been made.
Major characters like Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch could be part of the team. Since Doctor Strange is one of the most important characters in the Multiverse Saga, there is a chance that he will get to lead the supernatural team, even if he is also a major player in the new Avengers. Doctor Doom is one of the most talented magic users in Marvel Comics, so a team that has multiple magic users would be needed against him in Avengers: Secret Wars.
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Avengers: Secret Wars
Avengers: Secret Wars is the sixth Avengers film and takes place during phase six of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. The film will see several heroes from the prior phases return and battle against a cosmic threat to rival Thanos, and borrows elements of the Marvel Comics event of the same name.
Release Date May 7, 2027 Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe
All Announced Upcoming MCU Movies
-
Captain America: Brave New World
Release Date February 14, 2025
- Thunderbolts*
Release Date May 2, 2025
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Release Date July 25, 2025
- Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
Release Date May 1, 2026
- Spider-Man Homecoming 4
Release Date July 24, 2026
- Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date May 7, 2027
Captain America: Brave New World
Thunderbolts*
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
Spider-Man Homecoming 4