It's now been over 5 years since Marvel Studios last released an Avengers movie. While COVID and last year's strikes have to take some of the blame, it's fair to say the MCU's heroes should have re-assembled by now.
As we write this, Avengers 5 (previously titled The Kang Dynasty) is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 1, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars set to follow on May 7, 2027.
With Disney CEO Bob Iger pushing for Marvel Studios to get back top quality over quantity, there are concerns that there's no longer enough time to effectively build to the stories which need to be told in those movies. Then, there's the fact the Multiverse Saga's new big bad, Kang, is reportedly being sidelined.
It's easy to forget that we only saw Thanos in a few brief scenes before Avengers: Infinity War so the villain - or some Variant of him - can still work, especially as Loki and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania have at least established the time-traveller's presence in the MCU.
According to scooper Daniel Richtman, regardless of the changes being made behind the scenes, both of the upcoming Avengers movies remain on track to be released as planned in 2026 and 2027.
We'd bet on Marvel Studios not having much say in potential delays because Disney needs some guaranteed box office hits and a two-part event like Secret Wars could turn around both their and the MCU's recent struggles.
Neither of the upcoming Avengers movies has a director after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton stepped down from the fifth instalment last year. The Kang Dynasty also lost its title and writer Jeff Loveness following Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania's poor performance and Jonathan Majors' legal issues.
Michael Waldron (Loki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) is now penning both movies.
We don't know what's in store with either movie, but Robert Downey Jr. recently confirmed he's open to playing Iron Man again. "That role chose me," he said. "And look, I always say, 'Never, ever bet against Kevin Feige.'"
"It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win," the actor added.
Despite Downey's willingness to return, Kevin Feige has vowed not to undo Tony Stark's heroic sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame. "We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way," he confirmed last year.
Stay tuned for more Avengers updates as we have them.