Marvel TV boss Brad Winderbaum speaks on the possibility of a full MCU reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars
Marvel exec Brad Winderbaum recently did an interview for Daredevil: Born Again press where he was asked about the possibility of rebooting the entire MCU after Avengers: Secret Wars, which is currently a theory going around among fans.
His full quote was:
You’re gonna have to ask Kevin [Feige] about the features … I’m on the TV side … but we do navigate the same waters and live in the same universe … I’m a comic fan … I’ve seen what happens at comic companies when things get full reboots … and the truth is every time there’s been a full reboot in DC … you know … in DC in particular … It always feels like you can’t really fully reboot anything. The classics always come back around … It’s a very difficult thing to do to a living, breathing fictional universe … to just start from scratch … because of all the fan investment and love for the stories that have come so far.”
Many fans have speculated that Avengers Secret Wars presents the perfect opportunity for Marvel to introduce a soft reboot of sorts, possibly shifting focus to the X-Men as the new central storyline of the MCU.
The Secret Wars storyline in the comics involves the multiversal collapse, which could allow Marvel Studios to selectively reset or refresh characters while maintaining past fan-favorite elements.
A key part of this is the creation of Battleworld, which is defined as ‘a patchwork planet composed of different realities that exist simultaneously, governed by a single ruler.’ This single ruler is Doctor Doom. As the Marvel multiverse is destroyed due to the incursions, collisions between parallel universes, Doom harnesses the godlike power of the Beyonders to shape the remnants of existence into a singular world where he reigns as ‘God Emperor Doom.’
Battleworld is divided into various domains, each reflecting different Marvel realities, including the Age of Apocalypse, Old Man Logan, House of M, and Marvel Zombies. Many of these domains retain their previous rulers, but all ultimately answer to Doom, who enforces his will with an iron grip. The storyline follows heroes like Reed Richards, Black Panther, and a resistance movement working to overthrow Doom’s rule, believing that he has manipulated reality for his own purposes rather than saving it out of pure intent.
This event could serve as a way for the MCU to merge its different realities, allowing mutants and the X-Men to organically enter the main continuity while also offering a reset for the franchise’s future.
Before Avengers: Secret Wars though is Avengers: Doomsday, which is expected to begin filming in the next several weeks in London, with a cast that includes Robert Downey Jr. as Victor Von Doom, Chris Evans likely as a Captain America variant, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Tom Holland as Spider-Man, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing. Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, and other members of the Thunderbolts are also expected to return—if they survive their upcoming film.
The Russo brothers have stated that Avengers:Secret Wars will begin filming shortly after Avengers: Doomsday wraps. As of now, Avengers: Doomsday is slated for May 1, 2026, followed by Secret Wars on May 7, 2027.
The Russos recently teased that the upcoming films will be ‘radical’ and ‘surprising’, read about it here.
