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Marvel’s new reset strategy? Recast Iron Man and start a new chapter. Don’t worry, they swear it’s not a reboot. All we know is Marvel’s cooking up a new Tony Stark — and this time, there might not even be a shawarma scene

Marvel Studios Chief Kevin Feige spoke at a meeting with journalists on Friday to promote the release of the The Fantastic Four about the long-term future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledged the likelihood that he would eventually recast Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man and Chris Evans’ Captain America.

While the shadow of these actors looms large, Feige acknowledged the need to move forward. “David [Corenswet], the new Superman — he was awesome. That will always be the case,” he said, pointing out how other franchises successfully recast iconic roles as well as the challenge of replacing RDJ and Evans. “How are they going to ever replace Sean Connery [as James Bond], right?” he said as an analogy to illustrate how legacy goes against evolution. He also acknowledged that these shifts won’t happen overnight but are inevitable post Avengers: Secret Wars (2027), an upcoming film in phase six of the MCU.

The X-Men reset: a new beginning, not a reboot

While discussing Avengers: Secret Wars, Feige said Marvel will also be recasting the X-Men. He emphasised that this recast would result in a “reset” rather than a “reboot”. He even went on to say that “reboot is a scary word”. “Reboot can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Reset, singular timeline — we’re thinking along those lines.”

And that reset begins with the X-Men. Feige confirmed that the beloved franchise will be recast as part of this larger MCU overhaul. He also referenced the Secret Wars comics which include storylines on parallel universes collapsing.

“We’re utilising that [story] not just to round out the stories we’ve been telling post‑Endgame, but just as importantly — and you can look at the Secret Wars comics for where that takes you — it very, very much sets us up for the future.”

While Endgame was about endings, Secret Wars is about beginnings; it’s an opportunity to start fresh with a younger, more diverse cast, positioned as the flagship reset franchise post-Secret Wars.

Too much Marvel

Feige acknowledged the incredible pace at which Marvel has been producing content, with a total of 102 hours of content produced in the last six years since Endgame was released. With only 50 hours of content produced between 2008 and 2019, this over saturation led to devalued storytelling and audience fatigue. The release of so many interconnected series led to a ‘homework’ effect — needing to watch everything to keep up with the MCU. This effect could impact the upcoming Thunderbolts* release as a standalone film, with the characters being unfamiliar to mainstream viewers, and dense interconnectivity also bogging down viewers.

Feige wants to focus on big theatrical films for mass audiences. He went on to defend Marvel’s script-evolving method on set — for instance, Avengers: Doomsday scripts were still being updated on location — putting an emphasis on creative flexibility as a strategic strength. He said it’s part of their creative process.

Marvel’s new tone: one size does not fit all.

Feige also talked more about tonal strategy and mentioned that Marvel is comfortable with tonal flexibility across projects, pushing mature content in projects such as Deadpool and Daredevil when appropriate. Marvel will no longer try to make every project ‘fit’ the same family-friendly mold, introducing different tones for different audiences and age groups, moving away from a one-tone-fits-all model to project-specific tones, and still maintaining a family-friendly fare for other projects.

At the event, Feige went on to mention that Secret Wars isn’t an ending; it’s about soft beginnings. With his plan to reset, not reboot and make key language distinctions, he acknowledged the mess, but is focusing on recalibrating the MCU, not abandoning it. Feige appeared to reference James Gunn’s approach to Superman, saying, “I love how you just jump right into it… You don’t know what this is? Just go, go. The present is a fully fleshed‑out world.”

His approach remains optimistic — big moves for big audiences. Marvel is here for a reset, not a reboot, and is here to honour the past while clearing space for the future of the MCU.