While Marvel‘s focus is currently on Avengers: Doomsday, the more important movie for the MCU‘s future is Avengers: Secret Wars.
Marvel is taking a huge gamble with Doomsday and Secret Wars. The studio won’t release any other movies between Doomsday and Secret Wars, meaning the latter will be the MCU’s only 2027 theatrical release.
It’s a seismic shift in strategy for Marvel, which used to release three, sometimes four, movies a year. Kevin Feige explained to Empire why Marvel has elected to scale back in 2027.
“We always try to focus on quality, but when quantity is so much, you get spread thin. We didn’t want to be spread thin, and the Avengers is as important as it comes,” Feige said. “And Secret Wars, in particular for Empire readers, who know the comics, is a setup in and of itself to the future, to what’s next. So really, it was landing those two movies and setting up 2028.”
Marvel is not bulletproof to criticism. Some fans believe the studio has been in a creative rut the past few years, and Avengers: Doomsday feels like a nostalgia play that relies on the MCU’s proven stars and not its emerging talent. Still, Doomsday will be a huge event in 2026 thanks to promising early ticket sales. Even if it suffers creatively, it should gross over $1 billion.
Avengers: Doomsday is building toward a sequel. In turn, Avengers: Secret Wars is building toward the future, which adds even more pressure on the film.
Why Secret Wars has to succeed where Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania failed
Avengers: Secret Wars has a tall task ahead. As the final movie in Phase Six, it must establish what to expect in the Mutant Era in Phase Seven. It’s Marvel’s only movie in 2027, so the studio is betting big on Secret Wars.
Marvel must learn from the mistakes of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. As the first movie of Phase Five, Quantumania had to introduce the Multiverse Saga’s villain, Kang, and build toward the future Avengers movies. The movie failed critically and financially, setting Marvel back creatively. Marvel cannot afford to have another setback like that in Secret Wars.
Avengers: Secret Wars is simultaneously saying goodbye to one era while ushering in a new one. If Marvel can stick the landing in Secret Wars, there is hope the MCU can defeat superhero fatigue and reestablish its stronghold on movie culture.
