The Marvel Cinematic Universe just underwent a massive change, and it wasn’t at the hands of Thanos, Doctor Doom, or even Kevin Feige. Instead, you can blame Homer Simpson. Disney officially announced The Simpsons Movie 2, a sequel 20 years in the making, for a July 23, 2027, release date. That release date is notable as it was previously held for an untitled Marvel Cinematic Universe film, one that Disney has removed from the schedule entirely.
That July 2027 MCU film occupied a unique space in the franchise’s schedule as it would have been between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, both of which were delayed to December 2026 and 2027, respectively. With what was supposed to be the penultimate entry in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga now off the board, everything fans thought they knew about the MCU’s future has changed. Marvel Studios is now shifting all its time, money, and attention onto Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars to make sure the Multiverse Saga ends on a high note and sets up a potentially exciting 20th anniversary celebration for the MCU in 2028.
No Film Released Between ‘Doomsday’ and ‘Secret Wars’ Breaks From the Formula
Ever since the MCU announced the Multiverse Saga would conclude with a two-part Avengers film similar to Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, many expected it would follow a similar pattern. The first film would end with the villain winning and leaving the audience on a massive cliffhanger, setting the stage for an epic follow-up. In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos snaps away half of all life in the universe, and many suspect Avengers: Doomsday will see Doctor Doom merge the realities to create Battleworld, as seen in the Secret Wars comic.
Between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios released two titles: Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel. Both films are relatively standalone adventures that do not connect to the major conflict of the Avengers movies, except through their post-credits scenes. Both movies feature elements that will play a role in Avengers: Endgame. With the July 2027 release date being untitled for so long, many suspected that it would be a top-secret MCU movie that might take place on Battleworld, or tie directly into the events of the Avengers sequels. The popular theory was Doctor Strange 3, given how Multiverse of Madness ended, but others theorized films included the long-awaited Blade movie.
However, those theories now fall by the wayside. There won’t be a film released between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, leaving a year-long gap between MCU titles, which is starting to become a regular occurrence. Furthermore, this will mark the fourth time the MCU has released only one film in a year since the franchise began, with the others being Iron Man 2 in 2010, The Avengers in 2012, and Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024. While there will likely be Disney+ series, as Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 is already confirmed, with no films in between, it will certainly make the gap between Avengers films feel greater than that of Infinity War and Endgame, even if it’s still just a year.
The MCU Is Scaling Back, Refocusing, and Setting the Stage for What Comes Next
The MCU’s Multiverse Saga has had an interesting road. Despite still having highly profitable box office hits like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, and two $1 billion films in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine, the franchise has taken a slight hit in terms of public reaction. More titles are receiving mixed to negative reactions, and Marvel Studios recorded its first box office bomb with The Marvels. The franchise has experimented with new characters and types of stories, such as Werewolf by Night, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Eternals, and has been both punished and rewarded.
The Multiverse Saga is shorter than the Infinity Saga. However, despite having fewer films, there is more material to catch up on due to the Disney+ series. By the time Avengers: Secret Wars comes out in December 2027, it will be almost seven years since the Multiverse Saga started with WandaVision in January 2021. This shortened window, along with the increased number of titles, has made the universe feel more disconnected, as certain characters have not been seen since their debut entry.
In the Infinity Saga’s first seven years, Iron Man had already concluded a trilogy, while Captain America and Thor each had two movies, and all three had appeared in two Avengers films. Compare that to the Multiverse Saga, where Spider-Man: Brand New Day will mark the first film sequel, followed by Doomsday and Secret Wars, the final films in the era.
With much of the criticism focused on the amount of material the MCU has released in such a short span, in 2025, it was reported that the studios were looking to scale back production on both the film and television sides. The number of Disney+ series is expected to decrease, and now their focus is back on feature films. The goal appears to be that reducing the number of Marvel titles may give the audience time to actually miss the franchise and become nostalgic for it, rather than overexposing the brand to compensate for the possible overexposure of the past few years.
Removing the untitled movie from the slate now means that Marvel Studios is truly putting all of its current attention on Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, as well as the co-production of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Concluding the Multiverse Saga on the franchise’s two biggest brands is certainly not a bad call, which could end the Multiverse Saga on a high note.
This now means that any sequels to franchises like Doctor Strange or Black Panther, as well as future appearances by characters like She-Hulk and Moon Knight, and potential future franchises like Young Avengers, Blade, or the X-Men, will be released after Avengers: Secret Wars. 2028 will mark the 20th anniversary of the MCU’s debut, so the studio is likely to have some big plans to kick off the celebration in what Kevin Feige has described not as a reboot, but a “reset.” Now, though, the MCU is in another endgame, one that will conclude the Multiverse Saga and ensure the next two Avengers films can live up to the hype.