Some may say Marvel’s golden days are over. But that hasn’t stopped Disney from continuing to bet big on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with many plans underway for its future. 

Disney CEO Bob Iger recently spoke on the company’s plans for Marvel at the 2023 Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in San Francisco. 

Iger said the company must consider “how often we go back to the well with certain characters,” per Variety. With the MCU now spanning eight Disney+ television series and 31 movies, with many more on the way, it’s high time that the company reconsider their strategy moving forward.

But Disney is dead-set on returning to the Avengers franchise that made the MCU what it is today. Iger said the Avengers franchise will return, “but with a whole different set of Avengers.”

Marvel Phases Five and Six are ushering in a new cast of superheroes as we bid farewell to the original Avengers. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the last installment of the franchise in 2023, while Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels will show Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) teaming up with high school superhero Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), who recently made her Disney+ debut last year.

“Sequels typically work well for us,” Iger acknowledged at the conference. “Do you need a third or fourth, for instance? Or is it time to turn to other characters?” 

After experiencing the reign of Iron Man, Captain America and the other Avengers through the 2010s, it may be difficult to imagine what an Avengers ensemble movie would look like without them. But fans are turning to upcoming releases like Thunderbolts, the anti-hero blockbuster starring Florence Pugh and David Harbour, as a sign of what to expect from the upcoming Avengers movies. Not to mention the highly anticipated Fantastic Four reboot coming in 2025, since the Fantastic Four are known for working with the Avengers in the comics. 

This shift from individual superhero movies to ensemble blockbusters seems like a more economic approach to building the MCU’s future, which is in line with what Iger is describing here. 

Marvel confirmed at San Diego Comic Con in 2022 that the next Avengers movies will be released in Phase Six. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which is slated for a 2025 premiere, will star Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. Majors only recently made his MCU debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Avengers: Secret Wars is currently set for 2026. 

That may seem like a long time from now, but it begs the question of whether Marvel will be able to sufficiently establish enough characters before then.

Plus, the MCU’s ever-increasing size may exasperate some fans, but they are certainly still turning up to the box office. 

After Avengers: Endgame’s record-breaking box office release in 2019, just how much bigger can the MCU get?