Credit: Inside the MagicMarvel Studios just released its latest feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Kevin Feige has some largely disappointing news.
On February 14, 2025, Marvel dropped the fourth installment in the Captain America franchise and the 35th movie in the MCU as a whole, Captain America: Brave New World. Now, with Anthony Mackie–who took up the Cap mantle in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier–in the red, white, and blue, Julius Onah’s movie explores legacy and what it means to be the famed hero.
It’s no secret the film, which also stars Harrison Ford in his MCU debut as President Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk, went through a troubled production period that involved controversial casting, boycott threats, and reshoots. Despite the fear that the movie would be an instant flop at the box office, Brave New World earned a respectable $198 million during its opening weekend–$100 million domestic and $98 international.
That said, Brave New World currently holds a disappointing 49% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes (the audience score is better at 80%) so all eyes will be on that potentially devastating second-week drop.
Numbers aside, Captain America: Brave New World, while largely a contained story about a global fallout, has deeper connections to the MCU’s future. Most notably with President Ross’ request that Sam Wilson (Mackie) rebuild the Avengers.
The last time the Avengers were seen together was in the climactic battle with Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Endgame (2019). Over the last six years, the group has not come back together, although members of the team have been seen in their own movies.
Next year, Marvel Studios intends to release the fifth Avengers movie, Avengers: Doomsday (formerly Avengers: The Kang Dynasty), directed by the Russo Brothers, who helmed both Endgame and its predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The pair will also direct 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.
However, while the Infinity Saga’s climactic duet had two other previous Avengers movies to build upon, the Multiverse Saga has existed with individually-led stories like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). And we now know why.
In Kevin Feige’s own words, the Avengers are “not currently active.”
“In Captain America: Brave New World Sam Wilson is Captain America, and he has made the decision to unabashedly become Captain America,” the press release reads (via The Direct). “But what does it mean to be Captain America when you’re not a super soldier, which we definitively know Sam Wilson is not, and in a world where the Avengers are not currently active?”
It stands to reason then that Ross’ request that Sam reestablish the Avengers (something Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres/Falcon seemed especially pleased about) is the first spark of the iconic team coming back together. It also suggests that Sam, as Captain America, will be the one to lead them.
Reports have circulated over the last few years that the new Avengers team, now that Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr. and Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) are no longer active, will be led by a variety of people, including Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson).
However, as producer Nate Moore acknowledged, Captain America has always been a central part of the Avengers, and that is unlikely to change with Sam replacing Steve; “…there’s never been an Avengers movie where there’s not a Captain America at the center of it,” Moore told The Movie Report.
When looking back at the Multiverse Saga, it seems that Marvel has a few initiatives in motion. There’s the main Avengers, which will be rebuilt ahead of, or during, Avengers: Doomsday, and then there’s the rumored Young Avengers team-up, which Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel seemingly started by recruiting Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in the final moments of Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels (2023).
But before that, there’s the next MCU movie and the final chapter of Phase Five. Thunderbolts* will bring together a ragtag group of misfits, including Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova/Black Widow, to close out the MCU’s current Phase.
The interesting thing about Thunderbolts* is that the asterisk was added later on in production and Kevin Feige stated all would be revealed after its release. Rumors currently point to the Thunderbolt squad being either the New Avengers or the Dark Avengers.
Only time will tell how the MCU manages to pull together all its threads and close out the turbulent Multiverse Saga in a way fans will be happy with. Following Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios will move on to Phase Six with the highly-anticipated movie from Matt Shakman.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) will see Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/Thing), and Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch) make their MCU debuts as Marvel’s First Family.
How do you think Marvel will effectively reform the Avengers in the MCU? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!