The Multiverse Saga hasn't taken off in the way Marvel Studios probably hoped. Still, despite what some would have you believe, the studio has delivered more hits than misses...even so, there's is a real sense of "Multiverse fatigue" among fans and moviegoers.
Now, they're rushing to the finish line: Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Jonathan Majors' legal issues (and subsequent firing) and the tepid response to Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania also changed things, meaning a returning Robert Downey Jr. will be the MCU's new big bad as Doctor Doom in place of Kang the Conqueror.
According to The Cosmic Circus, Marvel Studios hasn't fully closed the door on Kang just yet. He has been sidelined, but "[is] gone for now. It doesn’t mean that character can’t be brought back later on down the road in some capacity, but if they do, chances are they’ll recast the character if they want to keep him as a villain or go with the Iron Lad route and use a younger actor to become Nathaniel."
This was to be expected, and plans for the TVA might have been similarly scaled back as the site's Alex Perez has heard we won't see the organisation again until Avengers: Doomsday.
As for the MCU's supposed post-Secret Wars reboot, Perez has been told that the world will continue as if nothing happened. The Multiverse will begin anew, "and some changes will be added in which will have ramifications later on."
This will likely be how Marvel Studios brings the Fantastic Four and X-Men to Earth-616, though we've previously heard that He Who Remains created the Sacred Timeline intentionally without them (a plot thread which might have been scrapped now he's a non-factor).
We expect Doctor Doom to make his MCU debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' post-credits scene, but what of the team's other villains?
Well, if this rumour is to be believed, "the film’s first act has a sort of rapid montage of The Fantastic Four going up against multiple low-level villains from their repertoire of rogues. Mole Man is one of them."
Marvel Studios establishing a 1960s-era Fantastic Four only for future adventures to take place on Earth-616 in the present day seems strange and we can't help but wonder whether future movies and TV shows could take place across different realities. That would certainly allow the studio a little more creative freedom with certain characters, similar to the Ultimate line of comics.
As always, let us know your thoughts on these rumours in the comments section below.