The future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have been revealed in European Marvel trademark filings according to Reddit user.
SPOILER WARNING: If you want to keep the future of the MCU under wraps, know the information presented might contain spoilers.
The Marvel Studios panel is set to get underway at the San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 23 where it is believed they will announce a few projects as well as update us all on current projects. However, were they expecting to announce all of what was uncovered by Reddit user u/PrinceRajR?
Trademarks for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Avengers: Secret Wars, Captain America: New World Order, Thunderbolts, and Multiverse Saga were filed on July 19.
When Loki was released on Disney+ in 2021, we learned of “He Who Remains” played by Jonathan Majors. This role is expected to be revealed as Kang The Conquer, either in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (February 2023) or before. However, if these trademark filings mean anything, we now know Kang will have a large presence in the MCU with an Avengers film included.
Captain America 4 will star Anthony Mackie as Captain America, taking the helm from Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) and directed by Julius Onah. Now it seems the title of said film has been revealed, Captain America: New World Order. Only time will tell if that is the official name of the fourth film.
Rumors of a movie based around the Thunderbolts have been circulating for a bit now, but became a bit more official when Marvel tapped Jake Schreier as director and Eric Pearson writing the script. The film seems even more official with the Marvel trademark filing of the Thunderbolts name.
MCU fans and media have been speculating where Marvel would take the universe in the fifth phase. Most have guessed at Secret Wars and this seems to be correct. The Marvel trademark filings include Avengers: Secret Wars which leads us to believe the 2015 Jonathan Hickman run will make its way to the screens over the next few years. This film likely is a tentpole film with other movies and tv shows feeding into it, like all other Avengers movies.
The other storyline to weave into the mix is the one we are currently seeing play out, for better or for worse. Spider-Man: No Way Home, Loki and the Doctor Strange sequel have touched on the multiverse. However, Marvel trademark filing of Multiverse Saga makes us believe we are getting more multiversal projects in the near future.
UPDATE July 23: More Possible Marvel Trademark Filings
Additional titles may have been revealed with more trademark filing news. Avengers: Eternity Wars, Captain America: Red, White and Black, Nomad, Celestials: End of Time, Red Guardian: Generation, Runaways: The New Era, Hercules: Rise of the Gods, Shang-Chi and The Wreckage of Time, Midnight Sons, The Black Knight: Origins, Avengers: Excursion, Avengers: Timeless, and Avengers Academy have been filed. It is unknown what these title correlate to in the MCU, but it is a good idea to keep an eye on them.
UPDATE July 24: Marvel Trademark Filings Confirmed
Although the Marvel trademark filings were not for movies to all come out within the fifth phase of the MCU, it was confirmed at least a few of the filings will appear in Phase 5 with others appearing in the Phase 6.
Marvel Trademark Set In Stone
Now, it should be pointed out that just because Marvel trademark filing on July 19 in Europe doesn’t mean these movies or television projects will be made or if they will use those specific titles. This is the studio planning ahead with the purpose of not allowing others to use said titles.
One would think that this is the plan for Marvel, but again until things are official announced by Marvel this is all speculation.
We could here confirmation of the two Avengers films and the Multiverse Saga at SDCC this weekend, but they also may wait until Disney’s D23 Expo in September or a later date.