Disney/Marvel Planning New Franchise to Replace “Avengers”?

Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is heading towards its conclusion with next year’s fourth Avengers film. Not much is known about what Phase 4 will bring, but apparently it could include a new franchise to take the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ place in the franchise.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, comments about this development were made during an earnings call by Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, which owns Marvel Studios.

“We meet on a regular basis with our Marvel team, and we’ve plotted out Marvel movies that will take us well into the next decade,” he said. “I’m guessing we will try our hand at what I’ll call a new franchise beyond Avengers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t see more Avengers down the road. We just haven’t made any announcements about that.”

This is interesting news for fans of the franchise, and certainly surprising to industry insiders. Each of the Avengers films have managed to reach the $1 billion mark, with the recent Avengers: Infinity War doing so faster than any other movie in history; some even believe that it will be the first movie to pass $2 billion. Leaving behind such a lucrative name, even for a short while, is the sort of movie that most companies are not willing to make.

The question is, what could be the new property to replace them? Presumably it will be another team, and Marvel Comics certainly provides plenty for the studio to pick from. Many are “spin-offs” of the Avengers—the New Avengers, the Young Avengers, etc.—and thus possibly too close to seem like anything but a knockoff. The Ultimates are an idea, though they’re really just the Avengers with a different name. Some version of the all-female A-Force could be used to push diversity, or maybe either of the two Champions team.

There is also, of course, the possibility that he could be referring to properties that the studio is set to acquire. With Disney buying most of Fox’s properties, the MCU will soon have access to the Fantastic Four, as well as the X-Men. The latter especially has a wide cast ripe for a new adaptation.

For now, fans will just have to wonder and wait to find out what Marvel Studios has planned for Phase 4.