Disney CEO Bob Iger Suggests “A New Franchise” After Avengers 4; Current Franchise Also To Continue

 

If there is one thing fans of comic books know, it is that “the end” is never really the end. Even Avengers: Infinity War‘s attempt to position itself as the end failed to gain traction as most fans knew Avengers 4 was coming and mostly shot. And even then, many assume an Avengers film will eventually follow whatever happens with in the fourth film with a new line-up of characters like Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) taking the place of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans) should the long-time Marvel stars choose to retire from playing the characters.
But it is also possible some other team will replace the Avengers in the coming Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney CEO Bob Iger alluded to Marvel Studios’ future projects during an earnings call to investors on Tuesday which may shed some light on the largely mysterious Phase 4. “I’m guessing we will try our hand at what I’ll call a new franchise beyond Avengers,” he said. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t see more Avengers down the road. We just haven’t made any announcements about that.” The fourth film will be what Iger called a “significant conclusion” to the MCU tale begun in Iron Man, but he told investors that audiences should “not conclude” that it will be the end of the Avengers as a brand. Considering Infinity War is now the fastest billion-dollar grossing film, it would be lunacy to set the concept aside entirely.
Meanwhile, feel free to speculate on this new franchise. Since Disney’s merger with 21 Century Fox is not a done deal — in fact, Comcast has re-emerged to threaten its completion — that new franchise cannot be the X-Men. If this was a first quarter earnings call next year, then it would be something Iger would broadcast loudly. Instead, it must be something Marvel controls and has yet to exploit. It must also be team based if he is comparing it to the Avengers. Marvel has a lot of teams to work with and with so many characters with memberships in multiple teams, the possibilities are endless. It could also be Nova, which would fit nicely into the cosmic and operatic tone of the Infinity War. Or it could always be the Great Lakes Avengers.
But no matter what it ends up being, Marvel Studios’ future is secure and they’ve created a license to try out characters like the Eternals, Moon Knight and even Howard the Duck. Just a shame they couldn’t hold onto the Inhumans until this moment.