Earth's Mightiest Heroes are no strangers to the big screen. Back in 2012, the Avengers assembled for the very first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and what once seemed like an impossibility has now become a tradition. Audiences have watched their favorite characters join forces in countless big Marvel crossover movies to date, with two more waiting on the horizon. We know the history of these heroes and are familiar with the direction their paths are heading. However, there's an alternate universe where things turned out to be radically different from what they are today.
Back in July 2022, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige took over the San Diego Comic-Con stage and announced Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Earth's Mightiest Heroes were set to assemble once again on May 2, 2025, to fight against a multiversal council of evil conquerors. As we now know, the movie never saw the light of day, and another project took its place instead. Kang was dropped as the main villain in favor of Doctor Doom, and now all the pieces are set for Avengers: Doomsday to release in 2026.
Unfortunately, we might never learn the complete plan for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. However, a new story tidbit of this cancelled film has now made its way online, and it is nothing short of unique.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty would've featured a battle between the Young Avengers and an inexperienced Kang
Michael Waldron—former writer of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and current co-writer of Avengers: Doomsday—has given us a glimpse behind the curtain and unveiled what could've been. During a Reddit Q&A, Michael was asked about his initial drafts on the script of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, and he revealed that he pitched an idea of the Young Avengers facing a version of Kang who had just one day in the job:
"Jeff Loveness and I spent an afternoon pitching on the Young Avengers defeating a version of Kang and being so stoked about it...only to discover that that particular Kang carried a little card that said to Be Patient with him, it was his first day as a Kang. And then they were so bummed".
Perhaps the biggest revelation from Michael's statement is that the Young Avengers were set to join the MCU in The Kang Dynasty. Of course, we already had some hints towards this storyline coming to life, as the ending of The Marvels saw Kamala Khan recruiting Kate Bishop for a new superteam. Coupled with the introduction of Wiccan in Agatha All Along, and Speed's upcoming appearance in VisionQuest, all the pieces were set for The Champions to make their long-awaited debut. Now the biggest question in store is: Will that still happen in the short term?
Leaked Avengers: Doomsday concept art revealed that the Young Avengers will seemingly have a role to play in the movie. Furthermore, the team's line-up will be composed of Cassie Lang, Billy Maximoff, Tommy Maximoff, Kamala Khan, and Kate Bishop. However, it remains to be seen who exactly they will fight against.
One of the benefits of initially having Kang as the main antagonist is that audiences already knew there were many copies of him throughout the multiverse, courtesy of Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The villain even had an entire council of multiversal variants keen on reigning supreme over every single timeline. As such, it would've made sense for different groups of heroes to fight different versions of Kang. However, things are likely to be different in Avengers: Doomsday.
There could still be a bit of room for different versions of Victor von Doom to be introduced on the big screen. However, given that we haven't seen the villain yet, Marvel is likely to use the majority of the film's screentime trying to establish the motivations of one version of him, as opposed to that of multiple variants. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if the Young Avengers end up facing him as part of their very first mission (which would be a very tall order).
Avengers: Doomsday will reportedly feature many MCU villains, including a King Thanos multiversal variant. So, now that Earth's Mightiest Heroes are divided into multiple teams—such as the New Avengers, the Young Avengers, and the (real?) Avengers—it would make sense for each one to face a different member of Doom's army. Ultimately, they could all fall short, which could lead directly into the events of Avengers: Secret Wars.
Perhaps we'll never know what the entirety of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty would've been like, but it's nice to get small tidbits about the movie. With a little bit of luck, the original plan of introducing the Young Avengers to the big screen still remains in place for Avengers: Doomsday.
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on Dec. 18, 2026.