Marvel Studios is making a return to San Diego Comic-Con after a three-year absence. Hall H became the home of many legendary Marvel Studios announcements during the San Diego Comic-Con, with new feature films, streaming series, and casting announcements being revealed. There were rumors that Marvel would be skipping SDCC this year, but Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed the studio will be in attendance during the Thor: Love and Thunder press conference. Understandably, fans are ecstatic at the latest news, with speculation swirling on social media regarding the bombshells Marvel could potentially drop. ComicBook.com has compiled a list of 10 announcements fans want to see Marvel make at SDCC this year.
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“We’ll be at Comic-Con next month, which we’re excited about,” Feige shared during the press conference for Thor: Love and Thunder. “First time since we were on stage there three years ago talking about this movie and many others. And now, I think, almost, not everything but almost everything we discussed three years ago, that was released so we are excited to go and talk about the future.”
Feige recently hinted that Marvel would be revealing details on what’s to come after Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “As we’re nearing the end of Phase 4, I think people will start to see where this next saga is going,” Feige told Total Film. “I think there have been many clues already, that are at least apparent to me, of where this whole saga is going.”
Speculation immediately went to Secret Wars being the next saga to take over the MCU. The 2015 comic book crossover included Incursions, where multiple Earths collided with each other, leaving some destroyed in the process. Of course, Incursions were namedropped in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a building block to a potential Secret Wars movie event.
Feige teased, “We’ll be a little more direct about that in the coming months, to set a plan, so audiences who want to see the bigger picture can see a tiny, tiny, tiny bit more of the roadmap.”
Continue reading to see the 10 announcements we’re expecting from Marvel at San Diego Comic-Con.
Scarlet Witch Movie
Marvel was able to keep it a surprise, but Scarlet Witch was the secret villain of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Her journey from the WandaVision Disney+ series to Doctor Strange 2 found Wanda Maximoff influenced by the Darkhold, as she searched through the Multiverse for her twin boys Tommy and Billy. Doctor Strange, Wong, and newcomer America Chavez were able to defeat the Scarlet Witch, who was left for dead in the ruins of Mount Wundagore. Scarlet Witch has a loyal following, and something tells us her arc isn’t done just yet. There is still time for Marvel to redeem the character, and there’s no better way to do that than in a solo film.
Elizabeth Olsen has teased what she wants to see happen next for her character, and she recently addressed the possibility of a Scarlet Witch standalone movie.
“I think I would,” Olsen told The New York Times when asked about making another movie. “But it really needs to be a good story. I think these films are best when it’s not about creating content, but about having a very strong point of view – not because you need to have a three-picture plan.”
When speaking to ComicBook.com, Olsen revealed she doesn’t have a specific future in mind for her character, but she did like the idea of something from comic book writer James Robinson’s “Witches Road” story that would see Wanda older.
“I think fans usually have the best ideas and I genuinely don’t know where we go from here and what the limitations are of the MCU because I don’t follow what their plans are,” Olsen said. “I feel like the fans always know what the plans are, even when they’re not announced. And so, I don’t. I do have this image…. There are a few images in my head of, I think they’re from ‘Witches Road,’ as she’s aging and decaying, while using her power and there’s something in that, this older woman, who’s aging from her power, that I’m interested in. And I don’t really know what that means, but I kind of would love to be old.”
Thunderbolts
Reports of a Thunderbolts movie were officially confirmed when Jake Schreier responded to the news that he would be directing the Marvel project. The superhero team has seen many different iterations in the comics, but their origin starts with Baron Zemo bringing various villains together to masquerade as heroes after the Avengers and Fantastic Four went missing. With an official Avengers team no longer operating in the MCU following Avengers: Endgame, this is the perfect opportunity for opportunists to step into the limelight. And yes, Schreier did confirm his involvement in Thunderbolts, but that’s not the same as Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige walking out onto the stage to announce the project, while also bringing the cast out with him.
The cast for Thunderbolts is not known at this time, though characters such as Yelena Belova, U.S. Agent, Abomination, and Winter Soldier could find themselves on the team. Countess Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julie Louis-Dreyfuss) has been making appearances recruiting Yelena and U.S. Agent, so it’s possible she could be the driving force behind a Thunderbolts team.
Hawkeye Season 2
Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop was the breakout star of Hawkeye, even with the shocking return of Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. With Avengers originals like Steve Rogers retiring, along with the deaths of Iron Man and Black Widow, a new generation of heroes are stepping up to replace them. Clint Barton has always considered himself a family man, and getting back to them for the holidays during Hawkeye was his main goal. It’s only a matter of time until Jeremy Renner passes the Hawkeye mantle over to Hailee Steinfeld, and her adventures should continue in Season 2 of Hawkeye.
After Disney decided to list Hawkeye in the Limited Series category for the 2022 Emmy Awards, the Mouse House pivoted to recategorize the show, giving Hawkeye a better chance at seeing a possible Season 2. The official Disney Studio Awards page now has Hawkeye listed for “Outstanding Comedy Series” instead of “Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.” Obviously, the words “Limited Series” points to a series only having one installment instead of multiple seasons. But since Hawkeye has been recategorized, the odds lean more favorably for our Hawkeye stars to once again return to Disney+.
Moon Knight Season 2
Moon Knight is one of the new heroes to make their debut on Disney+, with Oscar Isaac portraying mercenary Marc Spector, who suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder. Isaac brought Marc, Steven Grant, and Jake Lockley to life, giving each identity their own signature speech and personality. Together with Scarlet Scarab (May Calamawy), they were able to defeat Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke). The post-credits scene saw Jake Lockley working with the moon god Khonshu, teasing the possibilities of what a Season 2 could look like.
Marvel made a similar change Moon Knight that it did with Hawkeye. According to Variety, Marvel planned to submit Hawkeye and Moon Knight for Emmys consideration in the limited series category, a field reserved for shows that “tell a complete, non-recurring story, and not have an ongoing storyline or main characters in subsequent seasons,” per Television Academy rules and regulations.
However, after Marvel Studios teased “the epic series finale” in a Moon Knight finale trailer, fans on social media noticed the wording changed from “series finale” to “season finale.”
“We all agreed that this [show] is what we’re going to focus on. This is the story,” Oscar Isaac previously told Variety of Moon Knight’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “And if there’s any kind of future, I think it just depends on if people like it, if people want to see more, and if we find a story that’s worth telling.”
Young Avengers
Kate Bishop comes back up once again when you start discussing the long-rumored Young Avengers project. The seeds are definitely planted for Marvel to announce some sort of Young Avengers project, whether it be a feature film or streaming series on Disney+. The majority of heroes who have appeared in Young Avengers comics have been introduced in the MCU: Wanda and Vision’s twin boys Billy (Wiccan) and Tommy (Speed), Kate Bishop, Patriot (Elijah Bradley from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), America Chavez, Kid Loki, and Ant-Man’s daughter Cassie Lang.
Marvel reportedly began listening to pitches from writers for a Young Avengers movie in 2020. Feige has openly spoken about the possibility that the characters could be used in the future, saying, “anything from the books that we haven’t yet done in film is always on the table.” To take it a step further, Feige previously told ComicBook.com that the movie studio would love to produce another 20 years of movies.
Captain America 4 Title
Captain America 4 was officially announced after the finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with Anthony Mackie taking up the shield on the big screen. Series showrunner Malcolm Spellman is returning to pen the script with Dalan Musson, which will likely continue the adventures of Sam Wilson as he embraces his role as the new Star-Spangled Avenger in the MCU. A release date and director have yet to be announced, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see the film receive an official title at San Diego Comic-Con.
Producer Nate Moore told ComicBook.com how Sam’s first solo film will set itself apart from the first three Cap movies.
“I think, he’s not Steve Rogers and I think that’s a good thing,” Moore said on ComicBook.com’s Phase Zero podcast. “Because to me, this new Cap is Rocky. He’s going to be the underdog in any situation. He’s not a super soldier. He’s not a hundred years old. He doesn’t have the Avengers. What happens with this guy who announces publicly kind of, without the support, ‘I’m new Captain America.’ What happens next? I think is fascinating because he’s a guy. He’s a guy with wings and a shield, but he is a guy. So, we’re going to put him through the wringer and make him earn it, and see what happens when he is outweighed, outclassed, out-everything. What makes somebody Captain America? I’m going to argue it’s not being a super soldier. And I think we’re going to prove that with Mackie and Sam Wilson.”
New Fantastic Four Director
Kevin Feige tantalized fans with a mention of the Fantastic Four in 2019 during Marvel’s last appearance at SDCC, so it’s only fitting that an update on the movie comes this year. Spider-Man director Jon Watts was originally slated to helm Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot, but decided to step away to spend a little time away from the superhero blockbuster space after making three Spider-Man movies in five years. The search for a replacement continues, with Marvel reportedly looking for a “big name” to step behind the camera. Could that big name be revealed at SDCC?
Though a shortlist of directors has not surfaced from the “large mix of candidates,” Feige is said to be “taking a lot of shots at some big names,” according to the report. “One source close to process [says], ‘Kevin doesn’t want [to] oversee [the] entire shoot and after not having to worry about that with Raimi [on Doctor Strange 2], he is very game to [the] same outcome with this shoot.”
One name that constantly comes up in fan discussions to direct Fantastic Four is John Krasinski, who recently played a Reed Richards variant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Krasinski is one of the creative minds behind the A Quiet Place franchise, so he would be more than capable of steering the First Family ship.
Deadpool 3 News
There might not be one project with more anticipation behind it than Deadpool 3. Ryan Reynolds’ Merc With a Mouth, along with the X-Men, transitioned from Fox to Disney after the latter’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox. Fans always want updates, and periodically news has come out regarding story details, what delays the creative team has faced, and more. Can you imagine the reaction Ryan Reynolds would get if Marvel brought him out on the SDCC stage to provide an update on Deadpool 3?
When asked what’s taking them so long to get the movie out the door, Deadpool 3 scribe Rhett Reese said they’re trying to make it the best film in the trilogy. “We want to make it great,” Reese said in a wide-ranging interview with The Playlist. “We’re in the laboratory working on it with Ryan Reynolds all the time, and we’re very much entertaining ourselves.”
He added, “So, hopefully, that translates and ultimately will entertain the world. But you know, it’s a marriage between Fox and Disney and it’s two different universes and it’s not easy. But it’s also a wonderful challenge and, you know, high-class problems to be able to merge those, those worlds. So, we’re, we’re enjoying it.”
In the same interview, Reese expressed excitement on being one of the filmmakers to help tie the Marvel Cinematic Universe together with the Marvel world previously built by 20th Century Fox.
“Obviously, it’s like, it’s two completely different regimes, right? So, it’s two different bureaucracies,” he continued. “It was Fox, all these different people, and now it’s not those people anymore. It’s these [Disney] people and these people do things their way. And we were used to doing things our way, so there are differences, but I think the great part is that Marvel’s been incredibly supportive.”
Daredevil Disney+ Series
The Man Without Fear is reportedly finding a second life on Disney+. Daredevil headlined Netflix’s catalog of Marvel street-level shows, culminating in the team-up limited series The Defenders starring Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones. The heroes, along with Punisher, saw their shows move from Netflix to Disney+ earlier this year, but news also broke that a new Daredevil series is in the works from producers Matt Corman and Chris Ord. After Charlie Cox appeared as attorney Matthew Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home, we’re only a few weeks away from finding out more specific details on Daredevil’s return.
During the press tour for Spider-Man: No Way Home in December, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed that when Daredevil returned to the MCU, it would be Charlie Cox portraying the Man Without Fear.
“If you were to see Daredevil in upcoming things, Charlie Cox, yes, would be the actor playing Daredevil,” Feige told CinemaBlend. “Where we see that, how we see that, when we see that, remains to be seen.” Of course, the reason Feige felt comfortable spilling this important detail is that fans were about to see Cox in No Way Home. Cox has even hinted that he is aware of Daredevil’s future in the MCU.
“I think at this point, I expect to be involved in some capacity,” Cox told the HeyUGuys YouTube channel. “Otherwise, it would be a bit of a weird one-scene moment. I don’t know much, I know a little, and what I do know I’m very excited about…there’s a chance it could be the next ten years of my life.”
Secret Wars
Multiverses, Incursions, and Variants… they all appear to be leading to Secret Wars. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo culminated the Infinity Saga with Avengers: Endgame. Thanos was the menacing “Big Bad” behind Phases 1-3 of the MCU, as he searched and hunted for the Infinity Stones. Everyone knows Marvel is setting up Thanos’ replacement as the MCU’s main villain, and the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror is a prime candidate for the position. Kevin Feige has teased details on the MCU’s next big saga are coming soon, and that points directly at SDCC Hall H.
“As we’re nearing the end of Phase 4, I think people will start to see where this next saga is going,” Feige told Total Film. “I think there have been many clues already, that are at least apparent to me, of where this whole saga is going.”
Feige added, “We’ll be a little more direct about that in the coming months, to set a plan, so audiences who want to see the bigger picture can see a tiny, tiny, tiny bit more of the roadmap.”
The teased endgame is Secret Wars, inspired by the 2015 comic book crossover of the same name, where a multiversal war and cosmic events called incursions threaten the destruction of entire universes. Marvel has hinted at the direction of this next phase with the arrival of He Who Remains (Loki‘s Jonathan Majors, who will return as the timelord Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), and the looming perils of incursions in Doctor Strange 2.
