When Marvel Studios regained the rights to the Fantastic Four and X-Men franchises from 20th Century Fox, it was cause for celebration among most Marvel fans. However, Kevin Feige and company were left to figure out how and when to reintroduce Marvel's First Family and mutants.
We've just met the Fantastic Four of Earth 828, of course, and Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier will helm an X-Men reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars is released. Rumour has it that the movie will essentially reboot the MCU, with certain roles recast and the introduction of a new timeline shared by the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man (who still belongs to Sony Pictures).
The Cosmic Circus has shared some insights today, revealing that the post-Secret Wars MCU will combine elements from all the different realities we've visited (and have yet to visit) to create Earth 616 as it was "originally."
As the site puts it, "Back when Avengers 5 was still 'The Kang Dynasty,' one of the big twists was how the Earth we have seen in these films and shows was not Earth-616, but rather a version of Earth-616 cultivated by He Who Remains that removed many heroes from what was ORIGINALLY Earth-616. This would have been called Earth Prime."
"It’s why Doctor Strange vaguely remembers the Fantastic Four as a 'band' that charted in the 60s instead of them being world-renowned astronauts who gained powers after a space exploration," the piece explains, "or why Erik Lehnsherr never became Magneto, or why Charles Xavier was a simple college professor."
"The reset expected in Avengers: Secret Wars would alter that course of events and bring with it an Earth that was always meant to be filled with Avengers, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. And we’d basically be in the middle of a timeline where everyone in the world thinks that this has always been the case since the beginning of time," it concludes.
This isn't all that different from how The Flash TV show handled its reset following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths (which, as we're sure you'll remember, made it so that Supergirl, for example, had always been part of the Arrowverse).
There are a few other interesting tidbits in the article, including the Eternals not returning in the next Avengers movies, the door being open to Kang returning down the line, and the fact that "everything is fair game to be brought back" after the reboot, including "previously dead heroes and villains."
Interestingly, "certain events that we know happened in the MCU will have occurred in a different way" as well, suggesting Marvel Studios will use this opportunity to make a few retcons and reshape this franchise for a new era of storytelling.
There's never been a franchise like the MCU, and it will be nearly 20 years old by the time Avengers: Secret Wars is released in December 2027. It's time for a reboot, and time for some fan favourite characters (Iron Man, for example) to return with new faces.
Let us know your thoughts on these rumoured details about the MCU's future in the comments section.