Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has confirmed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will not get a full reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars ties up Phase Six in 2027 – but he does have a few ideas for where to go next.
The baseball-cap-wearing comic book movie mastermind teased what’s next for Marvel’s film ambitions during a conversation with Josh Horowitz of Happy, Sad, Confused. There’s been some confusion amongst fans when it comes to where films like Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars will leave Earth’s mightiest heroes upon their premiere, but Feige didn’t mince words when asked if next year’s team-up film will deliver a reboot.
“No,” he said, “but I look to the comics, as I always do, in terms of our storytelling. In both the Secret Wars – but particularly the [Jonathan] Hickman Secret Wars from 10 years ago – there’s a nice roadmap to where we can go.”
Hickman’s Secret Wars was published through 2015 and 2016 and tells a multiverse-ending story involving heroes and villains from across the Marvel universe. It also, apparently, will help guide the ever-expanding MCU after its take on Secret Wars debuts next December.
Longtime MCU watchers weren’t sure what the event could bring to the live-action movie universe, with a reboot being one idea that’s been on the minds of many. Feige has danced around the subject before, saying in 2025 that, while the upcoming X-Men movie will help “reset” the MCU, it won’t necessarily be a reboot.
“Reboot is a scary word,” he told Variety at the time. “Reboot can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Reset, singular timeline — we’re thinking along those lines. … X-Men is where that will happen next.”
Theories of a potential MCU reboot were backed up when, just last month, Doomsday and Secret Wars co-director Joe Russo said this year’s Avengers film would put the cinematic universe “back to phase zero.”
“Look, we were with Rob [Downey Jr.] earlier today,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “We were both talking about this concept that we are back to phase zero. This is starting over from scratch. We want to make sure everybody feels like this isn’t leaning on anything from the past.”
Despite promising yet another celebrity-filled clash big enough to crash the multiverse, we know distressingly little about Secret Wars so far. It was only today we got to see a proper Doomsday trailer ahead of its premiere later this year. With Doctor Doom looking to make quite the impact on the MCU, Secret Wars itself is sure to introduce fans to a totally new chapter for the superhero universe.
Avengers: Secret Wars premieres December 17, 2027. Before its arrival, we can still look forward to next week’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, December 18’s Avengers: Doomsday, and more.
While we wait for updates, you can read about what a new Doctor Doom poster revealed about this year’s team-up movie. You can also see Feige talk about Adam Driver’s potential in the MCU, as well as what it’s been like to fail to bring Blade to theaters.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
