Kevin Feige Just Revealed How Wild ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ Could Get

Marvel Studios is not treating Avengers: Secret Wars like just another superhero movie. The film is still a long way from reaching theaters, but Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has already given fans some major clues about what the studio has planned. His comments suggest that Secret Wars could bring together characters, stories and worlds from across Marvel’s history in a way the MCU has never attempted before.

The biggest clue is the comic book story Marvel is using as inspiration. Feige confirmed that Secret Wars will take ideas from Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić’s version of the famous Secret Wars storyline. That does not mean the movie will copy the comics scene for scene, but it does give fans a pretty good idea of how massive the story could become.

Feige explained that Marvel wants to take pieces from the comics and the movies that came before and build something new from them. “Like Loki gathering up stray branches of the timeline at the end of all things, we’ll pick up the threads of Hickman and Ribić’s run and all those who came before and weave a new story inspired for the vast tapestry of our comics and films,” he said.

That sounds like Marvel is preparing to use Secret Wars as a giant celebration of its entire history. The movie could bring together characters who have never shared the screen before, while also giving longtime fans moments they have wanted to see for years. Feige described these as “pinch-me moments” that fans have dreamed about but have never actually seen happen in a movie.

At the center of all of this will be Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. His return to the MCU has already become one of Marvel’s biggest talking points. Downey previously spent more than a decade playing Tony Stark, but he will now return in a completely different role. Instead of Iron Man, he is stepping into the armor of one of Marvel’s most famous villains.

Feige appears to be making it clear that Doom will not simply replace Kang as the next big bad. Marvel wants the character to have his own personality, motivations and complicated relationship with power. “On one hand, Doom is noble and loyal. He’s true to his word. But he’s also a monster. He seeks power over all things, and he will use whatever means necessary to achieve his ends,” Feige said.

Those comments could be especially important for Secret Wars because the comic storyline gives Doom an enormous role. The Hickman and Ribić story features a broken multiverse, strange versions of familiar characters and a world where Doom holds incredible power. Marvel has not revealed exactly how much of that story will appear in the movie, but Feige has already pointed toward some of its wildest ideas.

He mentioned images from the comics that include Steve Rogers fighting on top of a dinosaur and heroes who have been pushed aside battling waves of zombies. Those are the kinds of scenes that would have sounded impossible in an Avengers movie a few years ago. Now, with the multiverse allowing Marvel to bring together different worlds and versions of characters, almost anything could happen.

Feige summed up that idea by saying, “All the stories of the past remain true, but now all things are possible. We hope to carry that inspiration forward into a new medium.” That may be the clearest hint yet about Marvel’s plans. Secret Wars could be less about starting over and more about bringing everything together before moving the MCU into its next era.

The timing also makes the project especially important. Avengers: Doomsday will arrive first, with Joe and Anthony Russo directing both films. Doomsday is expected to set up the conflict that eventually leads into Secret Wars, while the second movie is being positioned as a major conclusion to the Multiverse Saga.

Marvel now has an enormous collection of characters to work with, including the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four and heroes from different corners of the multiverse. If Feige’s comments are any indication, the studio wants Secret Wars to take advantage of all of that history rather than ignore it.

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