As Marvel fans count the days until Spider-Man: Brand New Day premieres and pore over the footage in the recently released Avengers: Doomsday trailer, Kevin Feige and Co. have one eye turned to the future. From the beginning, Marvel Studios has always been mindful of what comes next as they build excitement for what’s coming out in the present day. We’re seeing it now with the X-Men reboot coming together and the potential of the Mutant Saga. Marvel has always planned things years in advance — a necessity when trying to juggle this many interconnected projects. Feige has now revealed how far into the future Marvel’s plan goes, and fans aren’t sure what to think.
Per a post from the Watching Hollywood account on Weibo (via DiscussingFilm on X), Feige shared that the MCU plan currently runs through 2042. “As for whether we can hold on until 2042? Who knows. Will it be those movies that will be made? Who knows,” he said, acknowledging that even the best laid plans can change at a moment’s notice.
Understandably, fans had a wide range of reactions to this. While many expressed excitement over the possibility of getting to watch Avengers movies with future generations, others had a more cynical response. “How about we focus on making the next 2 years consistently good before worrying about 2042?” wrote one X user. “Marvel planning through 2042 is wild because half the audience is still trying to remember what happened in Phase 4,” said another. “Planning that far ahead shows confidence, but the real challenge is keeping each phase fresh and meaningful,” added another, highlighting the challenges Marvel faces moving forward.
Kevin Feige says they have plans for the MCU through 2042.
“As for whether we can hold on until 2042? Who knows. Will it be those movies that will be made? Who knows.”
(Source: https://t.co/lByzCkEps2) pic.twitter.com/yTWwK0vpcW
In 2022, when Feige first revealed the original slate for Phases 5 and 6, he indicated that Marvel’s plans ran through 2032. Now, four years later, another decade has been tacked on. This is likely related to Marvel’s shift in output. In an effort to get the MCU back on track after a few uneven years, Marvel is scaling back, releasing fewer movies and TV shows annually. This year, only two MCU movies hit theaters, and next year there’s just one. It’s possible that the slower rollout has led to certain projects being pushed back, adding more time to Marvel’s gameplan.
Still, it’s worth wondering if 2042 is a bit too far in advance. That’s 16 years from now. For context, the entirety of the Infinity Saga unfolded over an 11-year period. It’s impossible to tell how things are going to play out between now and then. During the Multiverse Saga years, we’ve seen signs of superhero fatigue settling into the pop culture zeitgeist, with multiple Marvel and DC movies failing to meet expectations. Yes, Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday are going to be massive hits (Doomsday has already earned $16.5 million from ticket pre-sales), but it feels like the days of B- and C-list superhero characters being able to carry a blockbuster film are over. General audiences will still show up for the big names, but they’re more selective than they’ve been before.
Of course, the entertainment industry is cyclical by nature. There was a superhero movie boom in the 2010s, the bubble arguably burst in the 2020s, and the genre conceivably could experience a rise again in the future. Especially if Marvel knocks it out of the park with projects like X-Men and Black Panther 3, they could win back the trust of the audience, sparking a new wave of exciting projects. All that said, it’s going to take a massive effort to come even close to replicating what the Infinity Saga accomplished. That era of Marvel was a perfect storm, the shared universe concept felt fresh and exciting, and it was fun for moviegoers to watch the puzzle come together in real time. The Multiverse Saga struggled to leave as meaningful an impact, so hopefully the Mutant Saga is more focused.
It’s also important to keep in mind that this isn’t a confirmed road map. Feige is well aware that things could change at any point in time. Even when Marvel was riding high in the 2010s, things had to be tweaked (remember the Inhumans movie?), so it’s a good thing that Feige is keeping an open mind. For all we know, he may not even be running Marvel by the time 2042 rolls around, and Feige’s successor could have a different vision in mind for the MCU. It’ll be interesting to see what happens, but Marvel isn’t planning on going anywhere any time soon.
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