There’s Still Plenty Of Time For The MCU To Set Up The Mysterious Avengers 5

Summary

• Kang the Conqueror’s role in MCU Phase 5 remains uncertain due to the absence of Jonathan Majors in upcoming films.
• The fate of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty hinges on the unknown setup of its climactic events within the Multiverse Saga.
• Deadpool & Wolverine and The Fantastic Four are likely to lead into Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, exploring the multiverse further.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is shrouded in mystery, but there is still plenty of time for the MCU to set things up within the Multiverse Saga. MCU Phase 5 is now halfway done, with 2025’s Thunderbolts* set to round things out with a plot that will introduce Sentry to the MCU and maybe even explore a Dark Avengers story. Like Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, however, not much is known about what might occur within the climactic movie of MCU Phase 5, especially as it pertains to the Multiverse Saga’s climax.

As of now, the fate of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty hinges on the titular villain. Jonathan Majors, who portrayed the character in previous MCU installments, has been ousted from the MCU with no replacement yet confirmed to pick up the slack. This suggests that the most imminent upcoming MCU movies won’t feature Kang the Conqueror, with time to set up the events of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty shrinking with each installment.

Related

10 MCU Phase 5 Questions That Need To Be Answered In Avengers 5 (Or Before)

Avengers: Kang Dynasty is still a couple of years away from release, but it is already expected to answer some of MCU’s Multiverse Saga’s mysteries.

Why Avengers: The Kang Dynasty Still Needs Serious Set-Up

The Infinity Saga started to take shape in earnest by the time MCU Phase 2 started rolling out. While Thanos was teased at the end of The Avengers, there was no concrete plan in place for Avengers: Infinity War. MCU Phase 2 was where the events of Avengers: Infinity War began to materialize, with Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy exploring the concept of the Infinity Stones and Thanos’ clandestine pursuit of them. By contrast, how Kang the Conqueror plans to inflict his will on the MCU in the Multiverse Saga is still uncertain.

Additionally, the protagonists of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty are still unclear. The Avengers have disbanded, while no characters in particular are receiving the lion’s share of the limelight, like Iron Man, Cap, and Thor did in the Infinity Saga. Instead, the implications of the multiverse and the roles of Kang and his superhero adversaries are still unclear, begging the question of when the MCU will begin tying these stories together in light of the fact that no Avengers movie is set to precede Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.

If Thunderbolts* is retitled upon release, this could be a unique version of the Avengers movie that typically punctuates the MCU’s phases.

Deadpool & Wolverine And The Fantastic Four Seem Best Set To Lead Into The Kang Dynasty

Upcoming MCU Phase 5 projects include two that don’t appear poised to explore the implications of the multiverse and Kang’s looming threat. Instead, Captain America: Brave New World seems preoccupied with decidedly terrestrial problems, while Thunderbolts*‘ inclusion of Sentry suggests that he and Void will comprise that movie’s main issues. Deadpool & Wolverine, meanwhile, is resolutely focused on the multiverse, with trailer footage showing the heavy involvement of the TVA and X-Men variants from Fox’s X-Men franchise.

With that in mind, it looks as though Deadpool & Wolverine will be the next MCU movie to directly tie-in to Kang’s titular outing in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Following Thunderbolts* and opening MCU Phase 6, meanwhile, is The Fantastic Four, which promotional images and prevailing theories suggest could take place in a universe separate from the MCU’s Earth-616. Exploring the multiverse further beyond Loki will be integral to setting up whatever nefarious designs Kang has for the events of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty while finally tying the myriad narratives of the Multiverse Saga together.

The MCU Still Has Unannounced Phase 6 Projects

Of course, there is still plenty of opportunity for MCU Phase 6 to feature movies that directly set up Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Marvel’s release slate beyond Blade looks bare, but the studio has several reserved slots without announced projects yet to fill them. Among the most likely to release is the heavily teased Doctor Strange 3, which will no doubt delve much deeper into the multiverse as it picks up from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the incursion that Charlize Theron’s Clea had accused Strange of creating as a result of his most recent exploits.

Beyond Doctor Strange, on whom the multiverse narrative seems to hinge most so far, it is unclear which other projects with unspecified release dates might lead into Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Spider-Man 4, for instance, is rumored to be intended as a street-level outing for the hero, in stark contrast to the multiversal narrative of his previous movie. Whatever the case, the multiversal exploits of Deadpool & Wolverine appear poised to shed a little more light on the future of the MCU.

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is the fifth Avengers film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will bring together heroes, new and old, to face off against the omnipotent Kang the Conquerer. The Kang Dynasty will also mark the beginning of phase 6 of the MCU.

Director

Destin Daniel Cretton

Release Date

May 1, 2026

Studio(s)

Marvel Studios

Distributor(s)

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Writers

Michael Waldron

Cast

Kathryn Newton
, Iman Vellani
, Mark Ruffalo
, Hailee Steinfield
, Anthony Mackie
, Benedict Wong
, Simu Liu
, Benedict Cumberbatch
, Dominique Thorne
, Xochitl Gomez
, Chris Hemsworth
, Brie Larson

Key Release Dates