The Saga of the Multiverse Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has established Kang and his variants as the threats to beat, but recent reports about Kang’s place in this era of the MCU make it a big theory about Avengers: Secret Wars is much more likely.
Kang, played by Jonathan Majors, was established as the villain of this saga in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was key in setting up the events of the upcoming crossover event Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 2, 2025). since its variants are now ready to have an important role, after what was seen in one of the post-credit scenes of the Ant-Man film.
However, a theory about Avengers: Secret Wars (May 1, 2026) suggests that it will not be tied to The Kang Dynasty in the same way that Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgamebut will deal with a separate conflict of Kang and its variants.
The basis of the theory: Kang was not going to be the big villain in principle
Account screen rant that Marvel changed its plans for Phase 6 (of which not all titles have been revealed yet) after seeing Jonathan Majors’ performance in Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, making Kang the center of the multiverse saga
Of course, the question that arises after this is what was the original plan for Phase 6 if they changed it after seeing what Majors did, but with the actor’s future unknown due to legal issues, those original plans could be set in motion after all.
Marvel probably already had Phases 5 and 6 planned when the executives saw the performance of the actor, so it is unlikely that the study ditched its initial plans.
With the future of Majors uncertain for now, Marvel could go back to those plans for Phase 6 and adapt them to what they have already established.which would mean that Kang won’t be the threat to face in Avengers: Secret Wars, and instead, the sixth Avengers movie will see a different villain, one that fits the bill: Doctor Doom.
Oh yeah, Doctor Doom
If Kang originally wasn’t the main focus, this means someone else was, and the most likely option is Doctor Doom.
When the title of the sixth Avengers movie was revealed, Speculation began about the introduction of Doctor Doom in the MCUand various theories have since emerged suggesting ways in which Doom can make his big appearance in this universe.
In the 2015 Secret Wars storyline, Doctor Doom had a key role, becoming “God Emperor Doom”, the Lord and Messiah of Battleworld whom the surviving heroes seek to overthrow in order to restore the universe.. Doctor Doom’s presence in the MCU seemed unlikely not long ago, but with the confirmation of the introduction of the Fantastic Four in Phase 6, Doom’s role as a villain in Avengers: Secret Wars is now more likely.
While the presence of a bunch of Kang variants in the MCU is an exciting and interesting addition, there have been a lot of questions about how they would fit into the Secret Wars storyline, even more so now that Kang was defeated at the end of Quantumania. All this is much clearer if Marvel did not plan for Kang to be the main baddie of the Multiverse Saga, and makes it very likely that Doctor Doom might be the threat to beat in Secret Wars after all..