Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will bring an end to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Multiverse Saga, and it sounds like there might be cosmic plans in place for the MCU's next big event.
In his latest Q&A, The Cosmic Circus' Alex Perez shared some interesting rumors about the upcoming Avengers movies, which X-Men characters could appear, and the multi-film crossover storyline that the events of Doomsday and Secret Wars might set the stage for.
Perez has heard that the studio wants characters from "previous Marvel Legacy films" to appear in the next Avengers films, with "nothing and no one off limits. Nor formats either." We're not sure exactly what he's referring to here, but he could be suggesting that certain animated characters are being considered.
He also teases that, after Secret Wars, "the countdown to Annihilation begins."
Annihilation was a 2006 crossover storyline that focused on a number of space-based heroes and villains, including Nova, The Silver Surfer, Thanos, Ronan the Accuser, several members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and, of course, Annihilus, who is rumored to make his MCU debut in the Nova Disney+ series.
As for the X-Men characters that might show up on Avengers 5 and 6, Perez believes that Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Beast (Kelsey Grammar) are definite, and he's heard that Channing Tatum will reprise his Deadpool and Wolverine role as Gambit.
If this is accurate, you can probably bet on Xavier, Beast and Gambit being a part of the X-Men reboot in some capacity, possibly as mentors to the younger members of the team (we have heard that Marvel is casting actors in the mid to late-20s range).
Marvel is also said to be interested in utilizing the Shi’ar Empire at some point, so if they end up being introduced in the X-Men movie, it could open the door for the mutants' involvement in Annihilation.
What do you make of these latest rumors? Be sure to let us know in the comments section.
Avengers: Doomsday will feature the return of Tony Stark/Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. The movie arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027. Both films will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Have another look at some photos Downey Jr. shared to Instagram after the big reveal below.