It might seem like Phase 4 of the MCU has just begun, but with Phase 5 now on the horizon, Kevin Feige has said there’s “many clues” as to what to expect. Many fans have taken as meaning that the Secret Wars, a Marvel comics saga where the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Spider-Man are transported to a different planet and ordered to fight to the death, is coming.
“As we’re nearing the end of Phase 4, I think people will start to see where this next saga is going,” Feige said in an interview with Total Film. “I think there have been many clues already, that are at least apparent to me, of where this whole saga is going. But 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.”
A big part of the Secret Wars saga is the concept of the multiverse, and as fans have pointed out online, the multiverse is a huge part of Phase 4 of the MCU: being opened up in Spider-Man: No Way Home, being at the centre of Doctor Strange 2, and being a recurring concept in Loki along with time-travel.
“Multiverse war seems to be where it’s headed,” one fan wrote on Twitter. “If that’s the case, it’s gonna be larger than the battle in Endgame.” In the past, Feige has never necessarily denied the possibility of a Secret Wars crossover: “Secret Wars is a great, giant crossover. There are a lot of great, giant crossovers that we could [adapt],” he said. “It’s the ongoing embarrassment of riches of Marvel comics.”
One person who is especially into the idea of a Secret Wars crossover is Benedict Wong, the man at the centre of the Wong Cinematic Universe. In a recent interview with The Digital Fix, where he talked about his role in Doctor Strange 2, he said “I’m kind of into the idea of the Secret Wars, me — get everyone together, introduce a new batch. Yeah, I think the Secret Wars would be [where I want Doctor Strange 3 to go].”
For now, you can look forward to Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther 2.