The first season of "Loki" already saw the introduction of a variant of Kang the Conqueror, the MCU's new supervillain. In "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" he now made his official villain debut. However, it will still take a while before he faces all the superheroes in the next "Avengers" movie. But thanks to the latest MCU posts, we can already reveal some things regarding the cast and plot of "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty". So, in order to spare you the time-consuming research, we have taken a look at all the available information and summarized it for you in this article. Please note, however, that there may be some spoilers for the older MCU releases and in particular for the new "Ant-Man" movie.

Time Frame

The main story about Kang will definitely be set several years in the future. The movie will be released towards the end of Phase 6, and we are barely at the beginning of Phase 5. Before the new "Avengers" movie comes out, several other heroes and antiheroes will be introduced into the MCU. So we can still look forward to various movies with new characters. Above all, the big projects "Thunderbolts" and "Fantastic Four" will introduce a few new characters that will certainly be of importance for the Avengers storyline.

After Iron Man's death and Steve Rogers' well-deserved retirement, it's not hard to imagine that the Fantastic Four could take on a major role in the Avengers in the future. The sequel "Shang-Chi 2" might also be exciting for this project, as its director Destin Daniel Cretton will also direct "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty". There are already early theories that Kang originally created the Rings of Shang-Chi. According to these theories, a variant of him is said to have left the rings on Earth. Up to now, these are mere speculations, however.

Cast

Kang the Conqueror

The pivotal figure of the film will for sure be Nathaniel Richards, also known as Kang the Conqueror. At the moment, the main villain is perhaps the only character that has been fully confirmed. He will of course still be played by Jonathan Majors. The most interesting question is which variants we will encounter in "Kang Dynasty". In the credits of "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" we were already able to see the Council of Kangs, who have summoned all the other variants. The three variants are probably Rama-Tut, Immortus and also a version of Scarlet Centurion that is visually different from the comic book original. All three are very powerful versions of Kang and are sure to play key roles in "Avengers 5" as well.

Another Bad Guy?

Another name we can currently find among the cast is that of Tenoch Huerta as King Namor. As we saw at the end of "Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever", he is still plotting a war against the surface world. To what extent this will go along with the story of Kang in particular, though, is not clear at this point. But clearly, his story is not over until the release of the "Avengers" movie.

The Former Avengers

Who of the former Avengers will be part of the movie is still unclear. It is not known whether there will again be an epic reunion of all superheroes against Kang as in "Endgame", or whether the Avengers will first have to deal with him individually. At least Ant-Man has already fought Kang once, so it seems logical for Paul Rudd to be back.

Every Avengers team also requires a Captain America, who is already being introduced to the MCU in the form of former Falcon Sam Wilson. In 2024, Anthony Mackie will also get to star in his first solo film in his new role with "Captain America 4: Brave New World".

Whether Captain Marvel will be part of it is questionable. For the time being, she is well occupied in the "Secret Invasion" series. The Guardians will also probably no longer play a major role: Director James Gunn is done working for Marvel after "Guardians of the Galaxy 3" and it seems fairly certain that some of the Guardians will die. The crew is therefore unlikely to show up again.

Also, there are still many questions regarding Thor. Actor Chris Hemsworth wants to take a break from acting for now to spend more time with his family. However, he does wish for his superhero character to have his story brought to an end. Can we possibly expect Thor's death in "Avengers 5"?

Of course, many fans are eagerly awaiting Tom Holland as Spider-Man. After it was announced that there will be further stand-alone movies with him, speculation has recently arisen that the young superhero could even become the leader of the Avengers. This would, obviously, be a massive character development of the frequently overwhelmed Peter Parker. At the same time, he would be following in the footsteps of his mentor Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, which would be a nice touch, in our opinion.

Young Avengers

An apparent theory is that it will no longer be the classic Avengers, but mainly the Young Avengers who will go into battle against Kang. The characters to do so have also all been introduced into the MCU: The Young Avengers consist of Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Tommy and Billy Maximoff, Cassie Lang, Eli Bradley, Kamala Khan and Riri Williams. All of these heroes already play a larger or smaller role in the MCU.

It was Cassie who built the Quantum Realm radar, which ultimately led to the rediscovery and killing of Kang. So in a way, she seems to be the catalyst for the upcoming war against the Kang variants. This makes it all the more logical for her to become part of the new Avengers. The role has also been freshly cast with Kathryn Newton, so it seems that she will definitely still play a part in the MCU.

Hailee Steinfeld's time as Kate Bishop or the new Hawkeye should not be over after the series. What will happen to Tommy and Billy Maximoff, however, is still entirely unclear. It is true that we were able to see many variations of them in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness". But how and whether they will make it back seems pretty obscure. Things are of course different for Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan and Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams: all three have just made their movie or series debut and will have an essential part in future productions.

What will happen with Eli Bradley, however, is something we will probably only find out in the new "Captain America" movie. We don't know yet whether Isaiah Bradley's grandson will assume his role as the Patriot. But it would definitely fill the gap of Captain America in the Young Avengers.

If you want to learn more about the Young Avengers, feel free to check out the Original episode we did on them!

New Avengers

Looking at the Kangs we've already had the pleasure of seeing, it's also conceivable that Moon Knight will make another appearance. With Rama-Tut, we have a variant that was already known in ancient Egyptian mythology. Moreover, the first time he fought the Fantastic Four was in the comics, so they would also fit perfectly into the new Avengers ensemble. Unfortunately, nothing is yet known about the cast of the four superheroes. However, some people would certainly be pleased about a return of John Krasinski, who already embodied the leader of the team in "Doctor Strange 2".

Plot

Details about the plot are not available yet. However, based on the diverse information from films and series, it is possible to draw some conclusions. What is clear is that Earth 616 has become very powerful due to the death of Kang in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" as well as the plots of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and "Spider-Man: No Way Home", and is on the verge of time travel and the exploration of the multiverse. Thus, it has become a menace to the Council of Kang and an invasion of Earth is being planned. Surely not all variants will join the war against Earth. As we know from "Loki" and "Ant-Man", there are always variants that have their own set of interests and ambitions.

It is safe to say that the three main villains will be Rama-Tut, Immortus and Scarlet Centurion. Even without huge armies, these three are at least as capable opponents as Thanos and will give our heroes plenty of trouble. That's why it is also feasible that for some characters, "Avengers 5" could be the last part. Another Kang who is already wreaking havoc on Earth is Doctor Doom. In the comics, there is also a variant of him as Kang. This sounds particularly plausible since the new "Fantastic Four" movie is scheduled to be released two months before "Kang Dynasty" and could therefore offer a perfect introduction. Since "Avengers 6: Secret Wars" will feature the well-known Secret Wars comic book saga, it is also imaginable that most of the heroes will not survive the fight against Kang. This could make a very good transition to the Young Avengers, who then have to save Earth and especially the multiverse from collapsing in "Secret Wars".

Production

The movie is currently still in pre-production. The release date has so far been set for May 2, 2025. However, as we know Disney, there can always be postponements and changes of productions. Also, depending on how the other projects perform, the focus for the next Avengers movie could change as well. Destin Daniel Cretton is set to direct, with the script coming from Jeff Loveness, who also penned the screenplay for the latest "Ant-Man" movie. Sadly, we are unlikely to see first images of "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty" before 2024, as filming has not yet begun.