Disney Boss Teases MCU's 'New Franchise Beyond Avengers,' But 'Avengers 5' Still Possible

"Avengers 4" may be the end as we know it, but it's not The End for the Avengers.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 3 ends with "Avengers 4" next year. We know it will drastically change the MCU as we know it. So far, Marvel has the next "Spider-Man" (2019) and "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2020) movies on the post-Phase 3 calendar, plus several untitled movies scheduled until 2022, and more planned at least until 2025.

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, and Disney CEO Bob Iger is not one to shut down a money pipeline, especially during an earnings call. So it's no surprise that -- still riding the record highs of "Avengers: Infinity War" -- he told folks they can probably expect more Avengers, and maybe even more Avengers movies, after the "finale" of "Avengers 4."

"We meet on a regular basis with our Marvel team, and we've plotted out Marvel movies that will take us well into the next decade. I'm guessing we will try our hand at what I'll call a new franchise beyond Avengers, but that doesn't necessarily mean you won't see more Avengers down the road. We just haven't made any announcements about that. [...]
Given the popularity of the characters and given the popularity of the franchise, I don't think people should conclude there will never be another Avengers movie."

Kevin Feige, thoughts?

Since the MCU is based on Marvel Comics, fans have been speculating about what "new franchise" could be coming next.

(We can probably rule out the "X-Men" characters, since they are still under 20th Century Fox control and the Disney/Fox deal has yet to go through. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige previously said any kind of MCU/X-Men crossover would be "years away," assuming the deal even becomes finalized.)

Iger says they have plotted out Marvel movies into the next decade.
He mentions a NEW franchise beyond Avengers without naming it (Eternals).
— Jeremy Conrad (@ManaByte) May 8, 2018

Disney just said that Marvel is eyeing other franchises beyond Avengers. I think they should do "Thunderbolts" - DC couldn't make a villain team work so Marvel should show how it's done.
— Wendy Summers (@WendySummerscom) May 9, 2018

Early Prediction: The way Bob Iger talked about a totally New #Marvel "Franchise" makes it sound like one of the non-guardians Space Based Cosmic Movies they're developing pic.twitter.com/h4jBxyZOCN
— Charlie Schneider (@AwesomEmergency) May 8, 2018

Could Marvel's big post-#Avengers franchise be The Ultimates? https://t.co/ufhaEC6AXH pic.twitter.com/WZEZBVvZo6
— Nerdist (@nerdist) May 9, 2018

Here are the dates on the docket for upcoming MCU movies (via THR):

"Ant-Man and the Wasp" (July 6), "Captain Marvel" (March 8, 2019), "Avengers 4" (May 3, 2019), "Spider-Man: Homecoming 2" (July 5, 2019); also, nine dates for untitled Marvel movies: May 1, 2020; July 31, 2020; Nov. 6, 2020; May 7, 2021; July 30, 2021; Nov. 5, 2021; Feb. 18, 2022; May 6, 2022; and July 29, 2022.

Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.