Marvel "confirms" Kang's fate in the MCU; replacement revealed

It's been an interesting few years for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film franchise has experienced a number of highs and lows ever since it kickstarted the Mulitverse Saga, with the standard of the movies, the central storyline, and the risk of dilution due to how it expanded the story onto the Disney Plus streaming service all being among the most common complaints from fans.

One thing that really called the storyline into question was the lack of clarity over Kang the Conqueror, the saga's new villain who was portrayed by Jonathan Majors. However, after the studio parted ways with Majors, the gradual move away from Kang was clear (Avengers: The Kang Dynasty had been temporarily retitled to Avengers 5). And yet, there were still conflicting rumors about what would happen to the villain who was being set up to be the next Thanos in the MCU.

Now, it appears that Marvel has made its choice.

Doctor Doom replacing Kang as the MCU's new villain

Marvel Studios took to the stage at San Diego Comic-Con and made some major announcements in front of the Hall H audience, confirming the future of the Multiverse Saga in the process - and it doesn't appear to include Kang. Kevin Feige brought out the Russo brothers, confirming that they would direct the next two Avengers movies before announcing that Avengers 5 (formerly known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) is officially titled Avengers: Doomsday. It was then revealed that Doctor Doom would be the new villain of the movie and its sequel, with MCU veteran Robert Downey Jr. returning to the franchise to play the new role.

That more than anything confirms that Kang is no longer the plan for the MCU going forward, and it has already received something of a divisive response. Though the villain wasn't attaining the same levels of acclaim that Thanos was, some have called into question this extreme pivot as a number of previous MCU titles (including both seasons of Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) had built him up to be the Multiverse Saga's Big Bad. So how does Doom come in halfway through the story and ascend to greater heights of evil?

That's not to say that we've seen the last of Kang entirely. There have been rumors of a potential recast, with reliable insider Daniel Richtman recently reporting that the studio had cast a new actor to play the role going forward. While Marvel haven't confirmed this yet, it wouldn't be entirely outside the realm of possibility. After all, you would think that his storyline would need to be concluded given that the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania post-credits scene hinted at the Council of Kangs being a major threat to the Multiverse.

That's where this next rumor comes in. According to scooper account Marvel Updates on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the Kang storyline will conclude in Avengers: Doomsday. That part of it hasn't been confirmed by the studio as of yet, but it's pretty clear that it it's the likely outcome of the storyline.

Kang is no longer the Multiverse Saga's primary villain. That title now belongs to Doctor Doom, and given that the last time we saw Kang he was defeated by Ant-Man, there is no need to bring another standalone one into the story. If the reports of the recast are true, then it's quite possible that the new Kang(s) could be eliminated by Doctor Doom, with the character solidifying his place as the "Final Boss" of the Multiverse Saga.

It's unfortunate that Marvel didn't get to enact their initial vision for the Multiverse Saga storyline, but this is a believable deviation to take given how powerful Doctor Doom is. Furthermore, fans are already responding extremely well to the Robert Downey Jr. return - and his arrival / return is sparking more discussion that Kang ever did, so in order to have the Multiverse Saga go out on a high, this might be the right choice. We'll have to wait and see.