Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
The 12th Marvel Studios MCU appearance at San Diego Con took place this weekend, providing a few teases and a few monumental revelations regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as The Multiverse Saga moves forward!
The festivities kicked off on Thursday, July 25, 2024, with a Deadpool and Wolverine panel that saw Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman join Kevin Feige (and several surprise guests) to express their enthusiasm over their respective MCU debuts. After all involved pretty much gushed over the overwhelmingly positive reception of the film, the San Diego night sky was illuminated outside with a Marvel Studios drone presentation that featured Deadpool, Wolverine, and The Fantastic Four! The Fox acquisition of Fox’s movie and television divisions by Disney five years ago is at long last influencing the MCU in major ways!
On Saturday, evening, July 27, 2024, Marvel Studios returned to Hall H where so many positive memories have been made over the years! This year’s presentation opened with a choir singing Madonna’s Like a Prayer in celebration of Deadpool and Wolverine. Several people emerged from the crowd dressed as various versions of Deadpool during the song after which Kevin Feige announced that Deadpool and Wolverine had just achieved the highest-grossing opening weekend of all-time for a Rated-R movie, and that Marvel Studios’ MCU productions had crossed the $30 billion mark at the worldwide box office!
From there, Captain America: Brave New World was promoted with the unveiling of some new footage and with Anthony Mackie, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Harrison Ford, and more joining Kevin Feige on stage. Giancarlo Esposito was announced to be portraying Sidewinder … the leader of the Serpent Society, who were once rumored to have been cut from the film, but that no longer seems to be the case!
Next, Thunderbolts* was promoted with Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and more joining Kevin Feige on stage. David Harbour came in through the crowd in full Red Guardian costume, and the first footage from the film was previewed for SDCC attendees. The Sentry was all but confirmed for the movie!
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
The Fantastic Four was then promoted. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Eban Moss-Bachrach joined Kevin Feige on the film and attendees in Hall H were treated to the first public footage from the film, which included a first look at Galactus! A new title for the film was also revealed: The Fantastic Four: First Steps! I cvannot wait for this movie!
Business picked up significantly from there, as Joe and Anthony Russ (who directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame) were announced as returning for the next two Avengers movies!
Then, as several people dressed as Doctor Doom hit the stage, we learned that before Avengers: Secret Wars would come the film formerly called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty … that film will now be called Avengers: Doomsday and one of the costumed Doctor Doom’s removed their mask to reveal …
the familiar face of Robert Downey Jr!
Yes, the MCU’s esteemed Iron Man is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to portray Doctor Doom!
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
This seems to confirm officially, that Marvel Studios is moving on from Kang the Conqueror and focusing on Doom as the Big Bad for the remainder of the Multiverse Saga!
The returns of RDJ and the Russo Brothers is the news that most people will be focusing on and for good reason. I am personally thrilled about both developments!
After a rough recent stretch, it felt like Kevin Feige, on behalf of Marvel Studios, had regained some of his swagger this weekend. Deadpool and Wolverine looks poised to be Marvel Studios’ biggest hit since Spider-Man: No Way Home and with the Russo Brothers returning to The Avengers franchise and Robert Downey Jr returning to the MCU in a new kind of mask, the future for the MCU looks quite bright!
Avengers: Doomsday was confirmed to be maintaining a Summer-2026 release, with Avengers: Secret Wars following in the Summer of 2027!
Captain America: Brave New World will hit theaters on February 14, 2025, followed by Thunderbolts* on May 2, 2025, and then The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25, 2025, and yes, The Fantastic Four will be appearing in Avengers: Doomsday!
There was no mention of Maheshal Ali’s Blade, and it looks like all Disney+ projects are being saved for D-23 in a couple of weeks.
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