When Avengers: Endgame premiered in 2019, it felt like the culmination of a decade of storytelling. The film brought in nearly $2.8 billion globally and cemented the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the most dominant force in modern entertainment.
Since then, however, the franchise has struggled to replicate that cultural high. Audience enthusiasm has dipped, box office numbers have softened, and critics have questioned whether Marvel Studios can sustain its sprawling narrative across film and television.
Rumors of a Reset
Marvel appears ready to confront those challenges head-on. Reports suggest the studio plans to alter up to 25% of the MCU in a sweeping “reset,” designed to streamline continuity and resolve lingering issues that have frustrated fans.
Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, stressed in 2025 that the plan should not be mistaken for a total do-over. “Reboot is a scary word,” Feige told Variety. “Reboot can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Reset, singular timeline — we’re thinking along those lines. ‘X-Men’ is where that will happen next.”
Industry insider Alex Perez, speaking with Cosmic Circus, shed more light on the move.
“It'll just be a quick scrub of details the MCU wants to sort of forget and redo,” Perez said. He added: “This will involve the resurrection of some heroes and villains as well as the erasure of some minor events that bother fans (and Kevin Feige), but all in all, it will be like 75-80% the original timeline, with some minor changes.”
Building Toward Secret Wars
The timing of the reset coincides with Marvel’s buildup to its next two ensemble films: Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). Both projects are expected to deliver the kind of spectacle once associated with the Infinity Saga.
The Multiverse Saga, spanning Phases Four and Five, has introduced fresh heroes like Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel, and the Eternals. It has also leaned heavily into alternate realities, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and Loki setting the stage. Yet the overall arc has been criticized as uneven compared to the meticulous buildup toward Thanos.
That makes Secret Wars a crucial pivot point. The film is rumored to feature one of Marvel’s largest casts to date, combining returning favorites, multiversal variants, and unexpected new faces.
What Could Change
The reset would give Marvel the opportunity to undo unpopular creative choices and potentially restore fan-favorite characters. The deaths of major heroes might be revised, controversial arcs could be reimagined, and certain films could even be minimized in canon.
Such changes would allow Marvel to keep the emotional weight of past stories intact while reshaping the future of the franchise. Characters like Iron Man or Black Widow might reappear in new forms without negating their earlier sacrifices.
If the plan succeeds, it may function less as a clean slate and more as a narrative course correction to remind audiences why the MCU became a cultural juggernaut in the first place. With Doomsday and Secret Wars on the horizon, Marvel is betting big that a partial rewrite will secure its next era.
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