As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to lay the foundations for the culmination of the Multiverse Saga, fans are beginning to look ahead to some of the projects that may take place after that particular chapter reaches its conclusion. Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will act as a two-act ending to the story, just as the previous two Avengers movie wrapped up the Infinity Saga.
The irony is that some of these projects may end up being movies or TV shows that were initially expected to be a part of the Multiverse Saga but, for one reason or another, just never made it to the screen before Doctor Doom's showdown with the Avengers took form. That could mean there will be some tinkering needed, but it will be worth it if these projects come to fruition.
Right now, it's looking like Blade and Armor Wars will be among those titles saved for after the end of the Multiverse Saga, but there is also another project that was once expected to be a big part of it that will now likely arrive after the new chapter takes form. And we might finally know who will be a part of it.
Marvel's Young Avengers project reportedly locks in cast and characters
It sounds like the Young Avengers are finally on their way to the MCU! According to veteran industry insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios has "locked in" a number of heroes who will serve as the leads of its long-rumored Young Avengers project. With that in mind, fans can reportedly expect to see:
- Joe Locke as Billy Maximoff / Wiccan
- Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop / Hawkeye
- Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel
- Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez / Miss America
- Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart
- Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang / Stature
Those names aren't particularly surprising as fans have been expecting all of them to make an appearance in a Young Avengers project for some time now, but it is fulfilling to know that all of these young heroes are now expected to return to screens - particularly because some were involved in underperforming projects, leaving their fates somewhat uncertain.
The long-rumored project has reportedly been retitled to Champions and will now be a Disney Plus TV series, marking something of a complete 360 turn for it. When it first became a topic of discussion after the initial rumors, audiences were anticipating a Disney Plus series, but somewhere along the line reports claimed that it had evolved into a movie instead. Now, it has been redeveloped as a show, reportedly due to The Marvels' significant underperformance at the box office - which has resulted in the studio now taking less cinematic risks.
The Champions name has received a divided response, but fans are understanding due to the fact that Young Avengers has reportedly been in development for years and some of the cast members are no longer that much younger than the original Avengers were when they first joined the MCU. It's hard to argue with that because the project was initially expected to be a part of the Multiverse Saga, but the long-form storytelling has made that impossible.
Still though, most of the heroes who will star in the project had their introductions in this saga, so it served its purpose on that front well.
Billy Maximoff debuted in 2021's WandaVision before Joe Locke took over as the teenage version of the character in 2024 spinoff Agatha All Along. Hailee Steinfeld made her debut as Kate Bishop in 2021's Hawkeye while Dominique Thorne appeared for the first time as Riri Williams in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Gomez's America Chavez debuted in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness while Vellani's Ms. Marvel arrived shortly afterwards in her own critically-acclaimed Disney Plus series. Although Cassie Lang was a fixture of the MCU prior to the Multiverse Saga, Kathryn Newton took over as the adult version of the character in 2023's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
It's going to be exciting to see all of those characters assemble whenever the Young Avengers team up on-screen for the first time. And it reportedly won't be too long until the project takes flight, as Richtman also reports that the series is close to finding a showrunner and that production is expected to begin in 2026, likely making it one of the first projects to release as part of the MCU's next chapter after Avengers: Secret Wars.
Are you ready to see Marvel's Champions team together for the first time? Are you a fan of the rumored title?