One of the biggest flaws of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Multiverse Saga is its poor planning. Multiple projects—such as Nova or Armor Wars—were announced way ahead of time, and it didn't take long before they vanished from the public eye. Movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Avengers: Doomsday suffered from delays, while the big multiversal villain, Kang, was substituted in favor of Doctor Doom at the very last minute. The unexpected changes go on and on, and we might be about to add another entry to the list.
The end of the Multiverse Saga was always envisioned as a two-parter, with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty marking the beginning of the end and Avengers: Secret Wars serving as the final chapter. The plan changed slightly when the former was replaced with Avengers: Doomsday, but the overall structure has remained intact for the time being. However, there's a chance that Marvel will make a last-minute change to Avengers: Secret Wars, and it may just prove to be the perfect move for the superhero giant.
Avengers: Secret Wars will reportedly be split into two parts
According to renowned insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel is considering splitting Avengers: Secret Wars into two different movies. Whether or not they do so depends entirely on the success of Avengers: Doomsday. If audiences react positively to the upcoming crossover and, more importantly, fill movie theaters, then there's a chance Earth's Mightiest Heroes' upcoming run will be longer than originally anticipated.
On the one hand, Marvel would have very little time to plan an extra movie if it were to follow this plan. After all, Avengers: Secret Wars is set to be released on Dec. 17, 2027, nearly one year apart from the release of Avengers: Doomsday on Dec. 18, 2026. The studio would need to rewrite scripts, alter shooting schedules, and plan a much more ambitious story (that will also be more expensive) in order to add a new Avengers movie to its lineup. Besides, chances are that the Multiverse Saga as a whole would be extended at least one more year, and it is unclear how this could affect the release of other projects meant to be part of the next saga (such as a rumored 2028 X-Men movie).
But while such a last-minute move is definitely risky, it could also have a big payoff. There's no denying that the upcoming crossovers have a lot of heavy lifting to do. They need to introduce Doctor Doom to the big screen, establish his motivations, and make him a terrifying villain in a short span of time.
Furthermore, new X-Men variants from the Fox era are set to make their debut, and their introduction might take a lot of screen time as well. Additionally, rumor has it that iconic heroes such as the Scarlet Witch are finally bound to make their MCU comeback, but that would also mean that the movies would need to explain where they have been up until now. All of this is without taking into consideration the possible creation of Battleworld.
Multiple reports indicate that Avengers: Doomsday will conclude with the creation of Battleworld—an amalgamation of many parallel universes, with their respective characters all living in the same place. This, of course, opens the door for many past legends to appear in Avengers: Secret Wars. Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man, Nicolas Cage's Ghost Rider, and even Ben Affleck's Daredevil could all jump into action once again in a heartbeat. However, it would take time to integrate them into the story.
Speaking of which, it has been reported that Charlie Cox's Daredevil will have a role to play in Avengers: Secret Wars. However, street-level heroes have been mostly disconnected from the ongoing multiversal arc, so their sudden involvement would definitely need to be explained. Needless to say, the two upcoming Avengers movies need to complete many tasks in a possible combined span of just six hours (assuming each entry is three hours long), and even then, it wouldn't be a lot of time. Adding another chapter to the franchise might ensure the final result doesn't feel rushed or poorly executed.
On the bright side, Marvel has little time to make up its mind and announce whether a new movie is coming in the Multiverse Saga. Perhaps an announcement could be made as soon as next year's San Diego Comic-Con. But, for the time being, it's always important to take rumors with a grain of salt and assume that only two more Avengers movies are coming our way (at least for now).
Avengers: Secret Wars will be released on Dec. 17, 2027.