Highlights
- Avengers: The Kang Dynasty director Destin Daniel Cretton is departing the film’s production, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the project.
- Marvel Studios is reportedly scrambling to restructure its approach to future projects due to recent shakeups within the production.
- The MCU’s multiverse concept provides Marvel Studios with multiple possible solutions to the Kang crisis, including recasting the character or pivoting to use Doctor Doom as the main enemy for Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty director Destin Daniel Cretton is departing the film’s production. Marvel Studios’ 2026 Avengers film has been mired in uncertainty following Jonathan Majors’ legal issues, who stars as the MCU’s Kang.
This news comes just after Avengers: The Kang Dynasty screenwriter Jeff Loveness reportedly parted ways with the project. Kang’s character has an unknown future in the MCU. In recent MCU releases, the supervillain was set up to be a pivotal antagonist in forthcoming movies. However, Marvel Studios is reportedly scrambling to restructure its approach regarding future projects.
Deadline reported that Cretton decided to part ways with the much-hyped fourth entry in the Avengers series. The decision seems amicable, as Cretton remains on board with Marvel Studios to helm Wonder Man and Shang-Chi 2. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Kang Dynasty‘s release date delay factored into Cretton’s departure. Following recent shakeups within the production of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, it’s still unclear what direction Marvel Studios plans to take with the film.
Thanks to the MCU’s multiverse concept, Marvel Studios’ Kang crisis has more than one possible solution. If the studio considers itself too deep into the Kang storyline, it could simply recast the character while providing fans with a reasonable explanation for the sudden change. However, the Avengers: Secret Wars comic books featured Doctor Doom as a primary villain, a storied Marvel character who has still not appeared in the MCU. Marvel Studios may decide to pivot to using Doom as the main enemy for both Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Unfortunately, Majors’ grave legal issues led the franchise’s plans into uncertain waters, as fans wait with bated breath over what direction the studio decides to take. Thanks to Marvel’s plethora of source material, Marvel Studios has plenty of options to explore in addition to the two previously mentioned.
Despite Majors’ legal disaster and the ensuing MCU chaos, Marvel fans have good reason to be excited about the franchise’s future. Following the box-office downturns of The Marvels and Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel Studios looks to finish its phase 5 strong with fan favorite Deadpool 3, which will likely see a strong marketing push. Then, after 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World begins Marvel Studios’ phase 6, where fans will see the Fantastic Four and Blade return to the big screen.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is set to release in theaters on May 1, 2026.
The Avengers
The Avengers is a group of comic book characters that consists of some of the world’s most iconic superheroes, such as The Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor.
The Avengers have been a powerful force in Hollywood for over a decade now, both as a collective and individually. The group has also starred in video games, such as LEGO Marvel’s Avengers and Marvel’s Avengers by Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix.
Source: Deadline