When Marvel Studios announced the next Avengers movies at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2022, the plan was for them to both be released in the same year, with the first instalment titled The Kang Dynasty and the Multiverse Saga's finale dubbed Secret Wars.
A lot has changed since then, including a major mishandling of Kang in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Jonathan Majors' legal issues which resulted in him being fired from the role.
As a result, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has lost its title and original writer Jeff Loveness and, while Michael Waldron was then thought to be penning both movies, we've since learned he may no longer be involved either.
Now, as rumours swirl about the Russo Brothers returning to Marvel Studios to helm both instalments, The Cosmic Circus' Alex Perez has dropped some pretty strong hints on social media that Avengers vs. X-Men will be announced next Saturday at the San Diego Comic-Con.
We've heard that the idea is to pivot away from Kang with Avengers 5, so why not take this opportunity to pit Earth-616's Mightiest Heroes against the Fox-verse's X-Men for a must-see battle as their worlds collide during an incursion?
The Russos are keen to adapt Secret Wars, so we'd imagine that will stay the same and likely borrow elements from both the original comic and the 2015 version.
"You know, we haven’t had conversations with those guys about anything that they are up to because we’ve been intensely busy with our own schedule," Joe said in a 2022 interview. "We just always answer truthfully when we’re asked, 'Would you work with them?' Of course we would. We adore them."
"'What would you like to do?' Secret Wars was our favorite series growing up, you know? And then I think it always gets turned into a bigger story. But to be clear, there is no story," the filmmaker concluded.
Something has changed since then and, as we reported earlier today, Marvel Studios may have struggled to find directors willing to take on a high-pressure project like an Avengers movie given the recent struggles faced by the genre. As for the Russos, they're in desperate need of a hit after Cherry, Citadel, and The Gray Man struggled to live up to expectations.
Are you hoping Avengers vs. X-Men is announced at the San Diego Comic-Con next week? Let us know in the comments section below.