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!

Marvel Executive Producer Brad Winderbaum talks about the possibility of a full MCU reboot as "AVENGERS: SECRET WARS" approaches 👀

"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… pic.twitter.com/4wHsqdAoSo
— Screen Off Script (@ScreenOffScript) February 27, 2025

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.

AVENGERS: SECRET WARS Rumors Point To Long-Awaited Reunions... With A Dark Twist - Possible SPOILERS

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68 Comments

1 2

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 - 2/28/2025, 3:48 PM

@SonOfAGif - lol

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 - 2/28/2025, 4:40 PM

@ObserverIO - I think a mix of you both would be an excellent idea.

THEKENDOMAN - 2/28/2025, 2:23 PM

WHo cares.

For [frick]S SAKE

BeNice123 - 2/28/2025, 2:46 PM

@THEKENDOMAN - care bears care.

THEKENDOMAN - 2/28/2025, 2:50 PM

@BeNice123 - AWWWWWWWW

Goldboink - 2/28/2025, 3:43 PM

@THEKENDOMAN -

Jeebus!

harryba11zack - 2/28/2025, 2:24 PM

too much p155 in the water but you can still drink it

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 - 2/28/2025, 2:27 PM

A Dr Doom with Stark's face will be part of the result of that soft reboot...

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 - 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 - 2/28/2025, 3:21 PM

@Repian - that callback is definitly coming

MotherGooseUPus - 2/28/2025, 4:42 PM

@ProfessorWhy - giggty. i love that idea, meaning marvel would Never do it lol

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 - 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 - 2/28/2025, 3:22 PM

@HashTagSwagg - and theres you, always tarded again

bobevanz - 2/28/2025, 3:44 PM

@HashTagSwagg - you don't know word good ooga booga

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.

BlackStar25 - 2/28/2025, 2:30 PM

I don't think there will be a reboot.

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).

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 - 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 - 2/28/2025, 2:34 PM

*James Gunn.

He's only James Ginn when he's drunk.

MakeAmericaGrea - 2/28/2025, 2:48 PM

@ObserverIO -

James Gunnathinkupsomejokesaboutkids.

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 - 2/28/2025, 3:14 PM

@CaptainAwkward - The difference is that actors age irl.

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 - 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 - 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

ObserverIO - 2/28/2025, 4:44 PM

@ProfessorWhy - exactly. And Secret Wars is right there too! Literally a story where the multiverse ends and is rebooted.

ObserverIO - 2/28/2025, 4:44 PM

By Franklin!

Knightrider - 2/28/2025, 2:50 PM

I think it needs a reboot.

You don’t have to start from scratch, like people now know who Cap is and Iron Man, so I would focus on X-Men and establish a world where Avengers already exist

MakeAmericaGrea - 2/28/2025, 2:51 PM

@Knightrider -

🤝

ObserverIO - 2/28/2025, 4:46 PM

@Knightrider - existed. They're all dead, aged out or retired. Or somehow all three like Cap.

MakeAmericaGrea - 2/28/2025, 2:51 PM

Disney execs will 100% reboot the MCU.

Meaning they will focus on a different reality, with mostly or all different actors as the core main original Avengers and a bunch of other characters.

MisterBones - 2/28/2025, 3:02 PM

They will definitely soft reboot to an extent once the X-Men come. No way they don’t and they know it.

Apophis71 - 2/28/2025, 4:04 PM

@MisterBones - True, but everyone differs on what they call a soft reboot, was post CoIE in Arrowverse a soft reboot or a continuation of linear storytelling that simply had a narrative reason why some things changed?

It is akin to the what counts as canon and/or retcon, example being Wanda whose origin kept being changed in the comics (ie who her parents were) or was it simply she learned what she previously believed was 'always false', folk will differ on how they look at all of that.

When communicating to the GA studio execs etc will tend to avoid saying or admitting to the word 'reboot' as can turn off those who have differing takes on what that could mean end of the day unless it is a full stop then restart scenario as has been the case with DCEU/DCU even if they blurred the lines a tad with the likes of Peacemaker.

bobevanz - 2/28/2025, 3:13 PM

Nobody is saying to redo it all over again with the same order and movies. I just want the mutants and everyone in one cohesive universe with correct origins and backstories. Dumb asses

1 2

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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...

AVENGERS: SECRET WARS Rumors Point To Long-Awaited Reunions... With A Dark Twist - Possible SPOILERS

Anthony Mackie Reveals When AVENGERS: SECRET WARS Begin Shooting; Says It "[Will] Be A Changing Of The Guard"

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.