Comic-Con 2022: Marvel Teases Mysterious New Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti Series

Marvel Comics closed out its Next Big Thing panel at San Diego Comic-Con with the tease of a new project from Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti. Slated to arrive in 2023, not much else is really known about the mysterious series from the all-star creative team of Jonathan Hickman (X-Men, Avengers, Fantastic Four) and Valerio Schiti (A.X.E.: Judgment Day, Empyre). However, what is known is this would be Hickman's first Marvel project after leaving the X-Men franchise. As for Valerio Schiti, he's busy with Kieron Gillen on A.X.E.: Judgment Day.

The teaser released by Marvel has the phrase, "What Happens When the Powers That Be Meet the Natural Order of Things?" Hickman was a member of the Next Big Thing panel but didn't speak until the end, where he revealed how this new piece of work is "Sandman for the Marvel Universe." The prolific writer also revealed how he's been working on this series for three years, which is around the same time he began his X-Men tenure with House of X and Powers of X.

"It's probably too early to talk about my next thing. Especially in any way that would answer your question in a satisfying manner, but it's definitely not X-related," Hickman told AIPT during a Q&A session. "In fact, unless I come back into the office to do something later on, I'll intentionally steer clear of doing 'mutant stuff.'"

He continued: "At best it would feel like commentary, and at worst something like that would probably read as me 'writing over' everyone. And that, obviously, doesn't interest me at all."

Some other big announcements from Marvel's Next Big Thing Panel include writer Christopher Cantwell finishing up his Iron Man run with Issue #650, the Spider-Man/X-Men crossover Dark Web and Avengers Assemble Alpha from Jason Aaron and Bryan Hitch.

What do you think this secret project from Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti could be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!