In a rumor lent credence by Disney’s continued scrambling in regards to the potential salvaging of the ever-imploding franchise, the latest whisper on the digital streets suggest that following the supposed ‘soft reboot’ set to hit the franchise at the conclusion of the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new status quo will see a number of the eponymous superteam’s no-longer-present members revived and recast.
This suggestion regarding the potential future line-up of the MCU was first raised on December 2nd, courtesy of noted scooper MyTimeToShineHello.
Hosting an impromptu ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for their verified Twitter followers, at one point during MyTimeToShineHello was at one point asked by fellow user @LukeFlux1, “What’s it looking like in regards to Secret Wars soft-rebooting the MCU? Can we expect to see new actors playing Tony, Steve and Natasha post-Secret Wars so we’ll finally be getting those characters in the same universe as the X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc.?”
In turn, the scooper simply but directly confirmed, “Yes to all of it“.
Notably, the three specific Avengers referenced in the above discussion are those whose actors have officially bowed out of the still-ongoing franchise, with Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, and Chris Evans all having departed – with one extra, late-to-the-party solo stop for the Black Widow actress – with the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame.
However, rather than recasting these heroes with actors who will play the characters in a similar fashion, a previous rumor suggests that Marvel will instead choose to go in an ‘All-New, All-Different’ direction with the trio’s on-screen depictions.
On September 21st, fellow scooper CanWeGetSomeToast retweeted MyTimeToShineHello‘s previous claim that Deadpool 3 will see The Merc With A Mouth “embark on a quest to find the perfect Wolverine throughout the multiverse”, whereupon “after encountering numerous variants played by different actors he ultimately concludes that Hugh Jackman cannot be recast,” and added, “Yes, Hugh Jackman won’t be recast until AFTER #AvengersSecretWars.”
“Feige is making Secret Wars the send off to not only the current MCU, but all the Marvel movies that came before Iron Man,” they explained. “It’s the Ultimate (soft) reboot. To make way for something All New, and All Different.”
Further, should this trio of heroes be reborn in the post-Secret Wars MCU, that would leave just one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes without an on-screen depiction: The King of Wakanda himself, the Black Panther.
Following the unfortunate and untimely passing of actor Chadwick Boseman in August 2020, Feige told attendees of Disney’s Investors Day 2020 presentation. “His portrayal of T’Challa, the Black Panther, is iconic and transcends any iteration of the character in any other medium from Marvel’s past. And it’s for that reason we will not recast the character.”
Interestingly, while it at one point seemed that Marvel would avoid recasting the role – despite the wishes of not just fans, but specifically the very black community they wished to be ‘inclusive’ of – out of deference to Boseman’s passing, the studio’s recasting of Harrison Ford as General Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross following the 2022 death of William Hurt threw this theory out the window.
Thus, at current, Marvel’s actual philosophy regarding recasting remains a continued mystery.
Barring any more scrambling from Marvel and Disney, Avengers: Secret Wars will close out this latest chapter of the MCU on May 7th, 2027.