Thanos may have wiped out half the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Infinity War, but Marvel Studios isn’t stopping any time soon. In a recent earnings call with investors, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that there are definitely more Avengers movies primed in the future, in addition to “a new franchise” in the Marvel library.
On Tuesday, Disney executives held a Q&A call with investors about the status of all things in the House of Mouse. When asked about the future for Marvel after Infinity War, Iger revealed the epic blockbuster ensured more Avengers movies to come, in spite of the finality of Infinity War and 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,” Iger told investors. “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.”
Iger, of course, wouldn’t name-drop B or C-list superheroes with financiers. But those hoping to see Moon Knight or Shang-Chi in the MCU some day can group them with the “7,000 some odd characters” Iger brought up.
“We’re confident that with the 7,000 some odd characters that are part of the Marvel Universe that there’s plenty stories and characters to mine from and have some great ideas,” he said.
These guys aren't going anywhere.
More interesting, Avengers: Infinity War and its record-shattering box office gross may have changed Disney’s plans for Marvel. As Iger explained, the 2019 Avengers movie was to be a “significant” end of sorts to the series, but the sky-high success has changed Disney’s mind.
“The goal, of course, was for the fourth Avengers series to have a significant conclusion,” he said. “But given the popularity of the characters and given the popularity of the franchise, I don’t think people should conclude that there’ll never be another Avengers movie. But there’s certainly a lot more that we can – a lot more stories to tell, a lot more characters to populate those stories with.”
Marvel fans may have had their hearts shattered when Thanos snapped his fingers in Infinity War, but they can rest easy knowing that Marvel has so much more in store. And if the Disney/Fox falls apart because of Comcast, they’ll really have to rely on those 7,000 additional characters.
Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now.
