Secret Wars: Why Marvel's Next Massive Film Will Likely Be a Fantastic Four Sequel

By Adam Barnhardt

Little is known about Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe other than the fact it'll be home to three blockbusters — Fantastic Four, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and Avengers: Secret Wars. All three of the movies will likely become some of the highest grossing feature films the Kevin Feige-led outfit has ever released. Not only because they each feature some of Marvel's most popular intellectual property, but because one will be closely connected to each other, even more than the standard MCU connectivity fans have come to know and expect. In fact, one could argue Avengers: Secret Wars may even shape up to be a direct sequel to the Fantastic Four reboot, for a whole host of reasons.

On a conspiracy-level basis, the two films come out exactly 364 days apart, nearly releasing on the same fall day in back-to-back years—much like what the studio did with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Beyond that, the content itself involves Marvel's First Family heavily. The House of Ideas' latest stab at Secret Wars is inherently a Fantastic Four story through and through, featuring the Richards as the primary protagonists of the main storyline. On top of that, God Emperor Doom causes havoc across all of Battleword, leaving the Fantastic Four, Avengers, X-Men, and the rest of the Marvel stable to pick up the pieces.

Coincidentally enough, both of the films happen to be the endcaps for the aforementioned Phase Six. Fantastic Four will kick the phase off in the waning moments of 2024 while Secret Wars wraps things up Fall 2025. Better yet, Marvel's already announced the director for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty while the other two Phase Six films have yet to land a filmmaker.

Could it be possible the studio is looking for someone to bite off a substantial chunk of the Marvel pie and make the two movies — Fantastic Four and Secret Wars — back-to-back?

It's also important to note the Avengers name is the most bankable brand Marvel Studios has in its repertoire while the Fantastic Four franchise has been mired in the muck through three poorly-received films from 20th Century Fox. While it's an Avengers film in name, the signs are pointing to Secret Wars being similar to its comics roots as a spiritual sequel to the Fantastic Four.

Fantastic Four hits theaters November 8, 2024 while Avengers: Secret Wars hits theaters nearly a year later on November 7, 2025.

What characters or actors do we you want to see appear in Secret Wars? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!

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