Marvel's Brad Winderbaum On Rumor That AVENGERS: SECRET WARS Will "Reboot" The MCU

Marvel's Brad Winderbaum On Rumor That AVENGERS: SECRET WARS Will "Reboot" The MCU

We have heard rumors that Avengers: Secret Wars will serve as a soft reboot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Brad Winderbaum has now adresssed these claims...

News
By MarkCassidy - Feb 28, 2025 02:02 PM EST
Filed Under: Avengers: Secret Wars

Though there's never been anything too solid behind these claims, several online scoopers have reported that Marvel Studios' Avengers: Secret Wars (and to a lesser extent, Doomsday) will serve as a "soft reboot" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

With everything going on in the Multiverse and the amount of potential paths bringing characters from various alternate universes together presents, it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility if the studio did decide to retcon certain elements of the shared world while building towards a fresh start for the long-running film and TV franchise.

Marvel's Brad Winderbaum was asked about the possibility of an MCU reboot post-Secret Wars during an interview with Screen Off Script.

“You can't really fully reboot anything. It's a very difficult thing to do to a living, breathing fictional universe ... to just start from scratch, because of all the fan investment and love for the stories that have come so far."

It's worth repeating that nobody ever said a full reboot was on the cards, and Winderbaum's response to a question about a soft reboot would probably have been a lot more interesting. That said, as the exec himself makes clear, he is involved with the television and streaming side of the MCU, so Kevin Feige would really be the man to ask - not that anyone would get a straight answer!

Avengers: Doomsday 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.

Both movies are expected to shoot (almost) back-to-back, with production kicking off this April in the UK.

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SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 2/28/2025, 2:22 PM
It will be a soft reboot with the new actors taking over the characters and coexisting with the old characters. Universe 616 will be nuked and rebuilt with various surviving heroes inhabiting it. Certain plot points will remain such as Adamantium coming from Tiamut and what not but it will be restarted as a new MCU. This is where we will get a new Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and so on with Yelena and others being older than them and coming from Universe 616.
SummersEssex
SummersEssex - 2/28/2025, 3:48 PM
@SonOfAGif - lol
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 2/28/2025, 4:34 PM
@SonOfAGif - If you're gonna reboot why on Earth would you keep the Tiamut plot? I agree with getting a new Tony Stark, Steve Rogers etc. But some things just aren't worth keeping. Put Tiamut back in the Earth and have adamantium already be a thing.
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 2/28/2025, 4:40 PM
@ObserverIO - I think a mix of you both would be an excellent idea.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 2/28/2025, 6:11 PM
@SonOfAGif -
Everything they'll say prior is just to mislead you into watching because Avengers Doomsday and Avengers Secret Wars would be too reputationally damaging to cancel - they need both these movies to be a success ($400m budget each) so they'll do anything they can to convince you these are 'event' films.

"Certain plot points will remain such as Adamantium coming from Tiamut"

At what point do people accept that the world building is fricked. Why do people care so deeply about the MCU continuing as opposed to full rebooting and starting over with whoever they want.

Why dick around by bringing over one or two characters then wasting time setting up the X-Men in this universe when they can just start over and have them pre-established?

No fricking around they can start fresh with X-Men interacting with Avengers, interacting with Spider-man, interacting with the Fantastic Four, interacting with everyone.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 2/28/2025, 10:19 PM
@Scarilian - Why so much misspelled words to justify curse words? I'm genuinely curious. I want to answer your questions but I'm curious as to why you came off so angry? I like you a lot as a user and you're one of my favorites but this type of rage is unlike you.
THEKENDOMAN
THEKENDOMAN - 2/28/2025, 2:23 PM
WHo cares.

For [frick]S SAKE
BeNice123
BeNice123 - 2/28/2025, 2:46 PM
@THEKENDOMAN - care bears care.
THEKENDOMAN
THEKENDOMAN - 2/28/2025, 2:50 PM
@BeNice123 - AWWWWWWWW
Goldboink
Goldboink - 2/28/2025, 3:43 PM
@THEKENDOMAN -

Jeebus!
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 2/28/2025, 2:24 PM
too much p155 in the water but you can still drink it
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 2/28/2025, 2:26 PM
He didn't say there won't be a focus on a different reality in the MCU multiverse.
Repian
Repian - 2/28/2025, 2:27 PM
A Dr Doom with Stark's face will be part of the result of that soft reboot...
User Comment Image
Timerider
Timerider - 2/28/2025, 2:49 PM
@Repian - Doom dies unofficially, but what really happens is Doom turns over a new leaf and becomes the hero, he suits up as Tony Stark’s Iron Man and saves the universe.
ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 2/28/2025, 3:20 PM
@Repian - if it were up to me, I would start doomsday with Doom Stark wiping out the Kangs, and end it with Doom Prime Murdering Doom Stark
ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 2/28/2025, 3:21 PM
@Repian - that callback is definitly coming
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 2/28/2025, 4:42 PM
@ProfessorWhy - giggty. i love that idea, meaning marvel would Never do it lol
McMurdo
McMurdo - 2/28/2025, 7:19 PM
@Repian - Stark won't be Doom after Secret Wars. Doom won't be an MCU character after Secret Wars.
Starlight
Starlight - 2/28/2025, 2:28 PM
To me "reboot" means "redoing" something previously done... that's usually because a) the previous thing didn't work and/or b) the previous thing is too old... I don't think any of those reasons apply to the MCU, so I see the cinematic universe just moving along with new stories and characters, in this case mainly just switching to the X-Men world.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 2/28/2025, 2:35 PM
@Starlight - A Remake is redo the same thing. A Reboot is to take it in a different path, A Retelling is blasphemy.
ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 2/28/2025, 3:22 PM
@HashTagSwagg - and theres you, always tarded again
bobevanz
bobevanz - 2/28/2025, 3:44 PM
@HashTagSwagg - you don't know word good ooga booga
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 2/28/2025, 4:40 PM
@Starlight - 'b' applies.

When they reboot in 2028 not one teenager will have even been alive on the Earth when Iron Man was in cinemas.
Starlight
Starlight - 3/2/2025, 7:17 PM
@ObserverIO - shit.... I'm getting old....
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 2/28/2025, 2:30 PM
I don't think there will be a reboot.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 2/28/2025, 3:54 PM
@BlackStar25 - Most likely to be some form of merged timelines such that everything will still be at least loose canon but certain specifics could turn out to have differed slightly if/when needed (like maybe some mutants also turned up to fight Thanos at the end of Endgame or Wolverine was part of the Howling commandos). The mutants will have always have been on 616, even if prior they weren't sort of affair but also won't be the FoxMen and all (or almost all) be recasts.

Now, all that said some established characters in the MCU may end up dead, some who were may return but main upshot will be the newly restored 616 will mostly be the same as it was with mostly the same history similar to how the Arrowverse was after CoIE (or potentialy even less changed than that).
Yetiman
Yetiman - 2/28/2025, 8:52 PM
@Apophis71 - I want Steve Robers and Tony Stark back. Being in new actors if you need to
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 3/1/2025, 5:03 AM
I know many do and if it was animated I'd probably be the same but with live action I'm unsure, recast isn't a given to work anywhere near as good as it did and unsure it is needed with so many more characters and an Xmen/F4 focus.
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 2/28/2025, 2:32 PM
Reboot is best at this point but you need to reboot everyone working behind the scenes for this to make a real difference.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 2/28/2025, 2:32 PM
“You can't really fully reboot anything. It's a very difficult thing to do to a living, breathing fictional universe,"

Yes you can.

You plan for it. Simple as that. Tie up the loose ends and plot threads Figure out how to reintroduce every character. Make a strategically sound plan. Execute said plan. Simple as can be.

The hard thing is when there are investments not from the fans (they complain in when it's just theory but they roll with the punches in practice) but from the investments of producers and creatives.
For example James Ginn was invested in his version of DC and certain projects that he was already working on like Creature Commandos, Peacemaker Season 2, Waller. Even his version of Superman is something that he was working on before they offered him the reboot. So he softboots. Time will tell how messy this will be.

It's the producefrs and creatives that get the most invested. They want sequels and contracts and further seasons. Brad wants further seasons pf Daredevil and in theory right now so do the fans. But after three seasons of Born Again there will be no more story left to tell, the show will start to become monotonous and characters will be killed off or age out and replaced by legacy characters that he fans will hate. Think about it.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 2/28/2025, 2:34 PM
*James Gunn.

He's only James Ginn when he's drunk.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 2/28/2025, 2:48 PM
@ObserverIO -

James Gunnathinkupsomejokesaboutkids.
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 2/28/2025, 2:59 PM
@ObserverIO - The whole point of the MCU was to make it the cinematic equivalent of the 616
Universe. Just like the lore, the continuity is perpetuated. They want this to be the first shared universe that runs indefinitely. Retcons are made where applicable but the foundation consisting of Stark, Natasha, Fury, Banner, Odinson, Barton, Rogers, Vision and the events of phase 1-3 will
always remain the same.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 2/28/2025, 3:14 PM
@CaptainAwkward - The difference is that actors age irl.
Yetiman
Yetiman - 2/28/2025, 8:53 PM
@ObserverIO - just recast them
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 2/28/2025, 10:43 PM
@ObserverIO - Hugh Jackman, Wesley Snipes, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Tobey McGuire, all these actors have aged significantly but that didn’t stop them from playing their roles with conviction. Hugh Jackman till he’s 90. Personally I like it as long as the performance is good Hugh or whoever can keep playing their respective roles till they 110. The MCU doesn’t need rebooting. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 3/1/2025, 3:51 AM
@CaptainAwkward - Well luckily RDJ and co won't have to worry about doing it till they're 90 or 110 because they've all been written out of the universe anyway! Everybody's gone. Except for Hulk and Thor who are nerfed and can't be taken seriously anymore.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 2/28/2025, 2:38 PM
Exactly. They won't be throwing all the history in the bin. At best they'll being over a few variants into the Sacred Timeline, but they won't reboot.
grif
grif - 2/28/2025, 2:44 PM
its actually very easy in fact you just pound that [frick]ing stop button and then start over. nobody wants this anymore
ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 2/28/2025, 3:25 PM
@grif - agrering with you for the first time . Marvel has 100 characters / objects that could get the job done. And Franklin is RightFreakingThere
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