Marvel Studios confirmed the status of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2024 following months of pondering whether the new team-up was cancelled.
Avengers: Kang Dynasty marked one of the MCU's biggest announcements at SDCC 2022, as Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed its development alongside Avengers: Secret Wars to end the ongoing Multiverse Saga.
The film was meant to feature Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror as its villain after his appearances in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and both seasons of Loki. He was even teased to be a bigger threat to the Avengers than Thanos, who wiped out half the universe before the end of the Infinity Saga.
What Happened to Avengers 5: Kang Dynasty?
During the MCU's Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige revealed the status of 2026's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Confirming multiple reports from earlier in 2024, Avengers 5's title was officially changed. This comes after Kang star Jonathan Majors was found guilty of harassment and assault in the third degree in December 2023, leading to his firing from the MCU.
And so, plans to make Avengers 5 a Kang-leading film focused on his Dynasty have ultimately been cancelled. While there will still be a fifth Avengers movie, its story will be very different than initially conceived, much in thanks to its new titular villain...
As of July 28, the day after Marvel's Hall H panel, the official Marvel page for Avengers: Kang Dynasty was still active. However, it will likely be changed now that new information has been confirmed.
Will Kang Get Recast?
Marvel Studios shared its plans for the new Avengers movie without mentioning Jonathan Majors or his character, Kang the Conqueror. All this means is that plans for the Multiversal villain are officially still in the air, at least as far as the public knows.
Kang has not been seen in the MCU since the Victor Timely Variant's role in Loki Season 2. In total, Majors only made appearances in Loki Season 1 and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania along with that second season, where Victor Timely appeared to meet his end.
There is still a small chance Kang gets recast for a future project, especially considering Ant-Man 3's first post-credits scene introduced the Council of Kangs.
Rumors previously hinted that Marvel was looking at actors to replace Majors, although one of them, Luke James, turned down the idea of that specific character.
The Color Purple's Coleman Domingo noted he was aware of his name being in the conversation but that he was not sure how much of it was true. He even saw some support for that idea from one of the MCU's own, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law star Ginger Gonzaga.
That being said, the rumors of Marvel looking for a Kang replacement have seemingly died down, and the character is not currently confirmed for another appearance in the MCU.
What Will Happen in Avengers 5?
While the precise story being told in Avengers 5 is still being kept a secret, fans now know the film's official title — Avengers: Doomsday.
Marvel gave the fandom a jolt by confirming Joe and Anthony Russo would direct both the film as well as Avengers: Secret Wars. The bigger shock came when Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. was announced to play Doctor Doom in Doomsday, making him the film's main villain.
Downey's Doom will take over the position of lead villain from Majors' Kang, putting Doom in a similar position to the one fans see him take in the Secret Wars story from Marvel Comics. The assumption is that this will be a Multiversal Doom Variant that does not come from Earth-616.
For now, it is unclear whether Downey will be from the same universe as the Fantastic Four when they are introduced in 2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps. However, he appears to be in line to be the Multiverse Saga's ultimate antagonist, giving the Avengers arguably their most emotionally challenging foe yet.
Details will be kept under wraps for both Avengers movies for some time, but fans are already going rabid over Downey's return to the Marvel universe. Only time will tell how his transition from Tony Stark to Victor Von Doom translates to the big screen.
Avengers: Doomsday will debut in theaters on May 1, 2026.
Read more about Avengers: Doomsday below:
Avengers 5 Doomsday Title Explained: What Does 'Doomsday' Mean?
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