It's been an interesting few years for Marvel Studios. Despite remaining the undisputed box office champion (the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise has currently grossed over $34 billion and counting), a number of the standalone installments have struggled with box office receipts and overall reception from both fans and critics.
Yes, the MCU spread itself far too thin across the Multiverse Saga, resulting in a number of misses, an overall sense of directionless, and some downright failures. And considering what this franchise accomplished with the Infinity Saga, none of that should have been possible.
Unfortunately, even sequels to Inifnty Saga triumphs - like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels - weren't even safe from this, with sequels to those movies reportedly being cancelled. The good news here is that one of them might still happen down the line.
Captain Marvel 3 could still happen in the Mutants Saga
It sounds like Captain Marvel 3 could still happen. According to reliable insider Alex Perez, who recently hosted one of their monthly Q&As with fans (via The Cosmic Circus), a third Carol Danvers movie is still possible.
The response came to a fan query about whether the film may still be possible in the future provided the titular hero Carol Danvers doesn't die during Avengers: Secret Wars, perhaps even adapting her run-in with Rogue that took place in the Marvel Comics, and Perez answered: "I think it’s possible."
Needless to say, this comes as a pleasant surprise to fans who were worried that Marvel might move away from the Captain Marvel character after the reception of 2023's The Marvels - which has unfortunately gone down in history as the only massive flop in the MCU's near-two-decade history. That film was hampered by a lot of issues, namely featuring stars from two Disney Plus shows and adding very little to the overall Multiverse Saga (outside of its post-credits scene) but it also suffered due to the franchise's wider issues of overexposure.
See, The Marvels may have been the Multiverse Saga's most notorious failure from a box office standpoint, but it was also surrounded by underperformers, lacklustre titles, and the franchise most notorious title of all - Disney Plus' Secret Invasion. This all ensured that 2023 was a disastrous year for the MCU, which felt like it came out of nowhere due to the relatively strong 2022 that it experienced.
But it didn't come out of nowhere. The overexposure of the MCU ultimately undercut the Multiverse Saga, because instead of the former release strategy - which typically relied on - 2-3 movies per year - fans now got 2-3 movies and 203 Disney Plus shows. Gaps between characters' appearances were longer, subplots were started and dropped and eventually picked back up again, and it all had very little to do with the multiverse. The Marvels unfortunately bore the brunt of that.
Marvel Studios ultimately made the decision to pull back on its rollouts, shift plans for the future, and cancel anything it deemed too risky. Eternals 2, Ant-Man 3 and, indeed, Captain Marvel 3 were reportedly on that list, meaning that if the main characters from any of those projects were to return, it would likely be a in a supporting role in another project.
On paper, a Captain Marvel sequel should have worked. The 2019 first film saw the official introduction of Brie Larson's Carol Danvers and it was a box office record-breaker, grossing an exceptional $1 billion at the box office - the highest-ever for a female-led superhero movie. It was also sandwiched between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, proving itself to be an important piece of the Infinity Saga's puzzle. And that's where its 2023 sequel fell short.
A team up between Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau - three characters to hold the Ms. Marvel and / or Captain Marvel mantle in the comics - seemed like a great idea on paper, but the execution of it let it all down. While the film itself wasn't bad at all, the biggest criticism was how pointless it all felt in the Multiverse Saga - like a standalone Disney Plus special. And, therefore, the biggest question was: Why wasn't this a Disney Plus Special Presentation.
All that being said, even though Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau's futures are unclear right now, Captain Marvel herself will likely be back before the end of the Multiverse Saga. Granted, Larson is nost listed as a member of the Avengers: Doomsday cast, but there are reports that she will be involved in 2027's sequel Avengers: Secret Wars, with the hopes that she will continue on into the Mutants Saga after that.
It's clear that the X-Men will be the focus of the next saga, and that provides the perfect recipe for a Captain Marvel return. Carol Danvers and Rogue have a very interesting history in the comics, as the young Rogue ends up using her powers to absorb Captain Marvel's (who was then known as Ms. Marvel) insane abilities and her memories, leaving her in a coma. When Carol eventually awoke, she had a long, hard road of recovery ahead of her as she initially didn't remember who she was and struggled to connect with her memories when they were restored. Eventually, she evolved and became Captain Marvel.
Inde Navarrette has officially joined the MCU as Rogue and she is set to make her debut in 2028's X-Men movie. Could the pair eventually cross over in a brand new Captain Marvel movie? Here's hoping that's the case!
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in movie theaters on December 18, 2026. Avengers: Secret Wars then arrives on December 17, 2027.
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