Although the MCU was relatively quick to replace Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror with Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in the next Avengers sequels, there remains one major element untouched: the Council of Kangs. It’s assumed that the removal of Kang will simply mean the council will no longer appear, but it seems Marvel Studios has specific plans to replace them, according to the latest rumor. The MCU may feature an entirely different lineup of villains for the Avengers to fight, in addition to Doctor Doom.
Marvel scooper Alex Perez did a Q&A on the Cosmic Circus Discord, where he revealed what he’s heard about the upcoming Avengers films and the MCU as a whole. When asked about the possibility of Secret Wars adapting the concept of “Barons,” Perez supported the notion and revealed his sources have teased them as the replacement for the Council of Kangs. For the unfamiliar, the villains referred to are the Barons of Battleworld, the multiverse battle planet that is believed to be the setting for Secret Wars.
“According to one of my sources, there are meant to be secondary villains in the upcoming Avengers films, similar to how Thanos and the Black Order were in Infinity War and in Endgame, and also to replace the Council of Kangs because, again, one of the original ideas was to subdivide the Avengers to fight the different members of the Council of Kangs (i.e. Rama Tut, Centurion, and Immortus), but who exactly will replace them as of this moment is still something unknown.”
The interesting part of the rumor is that the Council of Kangs was meant to be fodder for the Avengers, like Thanos’ Black Order were in Infinity War and Endgame. This means fans could have seen the likes of Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Captain America, among others, battle the Kangs in not only the now-canceled Avengers: Kang Dynasty, but also in Secret Wars. It’s unfortunate that the MCU spent some time on a villain that would never see the light of day after Ant-Man: Quantumania, but his replacement could be the more exciting option anyway.
The Villain(s) of Avengers: Secret Wars
The next two crossover films, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, will feature Robert Downey Jr. as the main villain (and Marvel Studios are breaking the bank to do so). However, it makes sense to introduce a new set of villains to fight the MCU’s superheroes if Kang variants were out of the equation. In the comics, the Barons of Battleworld were made up of multiverse variations of Doctor Strange, Bruce Banner, Morgan Le Fay, and many more. To Perez, the unexpected villain line-up could be likened to a “Multiversal Masters of Evil.”
“This next part is 90% speculative on my part and more of an educated guess, but based on things I have reported previously, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Barons end up being a variation of the Multiversal Masters of Evil. And I honestly would be less surprised if they recast the former OG 6 Avengers as the members of said group, given that
RDJ
has been recast as Doom.”
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After the film was announced at San Diego Comic-Con, many assumed that Avengers: Doomsday would simply decide to include a multitude of Doctor Doom variants instead of Kangs. However, if the new rumors are accurate, changing the Council to a team of multiverse villains is probably the more exciting pivot. Secret Wars is almost assuredly going to take place on Battleworld, so it’s the perfect way to move away from Kang and focus on villains that explore new are as of the MCU.
Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date May 7, 2027
Cast Kathryn Newton , Jonathan Majors , Mark Ruffalo , Benedict Wong , Hailee Steinfeld , Dominique Thorne , Anthony Mackie , Brie Larson , Simu Liu , Benedict Cumberbatch , Iman Vellani , Chris Hemsworth , Xochitl Gomez
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