Summary

• Marvel Cinematic Universe sures $30 billion at the box office, solidifying its position as the most profitable franchise.
• Captain America: Brave New World will finally introduce the long-awaited Serpent Society villain group.
• The Russos will be back to direct Avengers 5, now titled Avengers: Doomsday, with Robert Downey Jr. cast as Doctor Doom.

The 2024 San Diego Comic-Con has unearthed some stunning revelations about the the MCU's slate of films.

The focused mainly on three films; Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Comic-Con attendees in Hall H got an exclusive early peek at footage from each film, preceded by a wonderfully entertaining live gospel cover of Madonna's Like A Prayer to celebrate Deadpool & Wolverine. While lots of details were cleared up about the three main films, the concluded with some bombastic reveals regarding the fourth and fifth mainline Avengers films.

10 The MCU es $30 Billion At The Box Office

Disney's cash cow is more alive than ever

It's no secret that the MCU has been at something of a low point in recent years, with the box office failures of films like The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania still stinging in the memory of fans and producers alike. Deadpool & Wolverine even directly say as much, with Deadpool breaking the fourth wall to acknowledge the series' waning pop culture dominance. But the recent San Diego Comic-Con proved that the MCU is very much alive and well, despite what dissenters may claim.

At San Diego Comic-Con Kevin Feige announced that the Marvel Cinematic Universe had officially claimed a cumulative 30 billion dollars at the box office to-date. The recent financial success of Deadpool & Wolverine may have been the final iota of cash the MCU needed to this milestone, but the announcement makes it clear that the series is likely the most profitable film franchise of all time. Despite a few recent missteps at the box office, the MCU is clearly not hurting for financial incentive to keep going.

9 Captain America: Brave New World Will Introduce Serpent Society

Fans will finally enjoy the promise of Civil War's original subtitle

Way back in 2014, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige originally announced in a press conference that the third movie of the Captain America trilogy would be titled Captain America: Serpent Society, promising the inclusion of the infamous supervillain group from the comics of the same name. When Captain America: Serpent Society was later revealed to instead be Captain America: Civil War, the cloud of hype that followed overshadowed the fact that the Serpent Society was axed from the film. Now, it seems as though the group will finally appear.

Their appearance alludes to Captain America: Brave New World's return to the more grounded, political espionage story of films

While discussing Captain America: Brave New World, the MCU at San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H made it clear that the Serpent Society would indeed feature prominently. In the comics, the Serpent Society is a mercenary cabal of snake-themed villains, operating as one of the series' most successful criminal organizations. Their appearance alludes to Captain America: Brave New World's return to the more grounded, political espionage story of films like Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

8 Giancarlo Esposito Is Sidewinder

The beloved actor's identity has finally been revealed

When it was announced that Giancarlo Esposito, a famously typecast villain actor known for roles like Breaking Bad's Gus Fring or The Mandalorian's Moff Gideon, would be ing the MCU, fans were keen to guess his character. After his appearance in the first trailer for Captain America: Brave New World, possibilities ranged from S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clay Quartermain to the supervillain Machine Man. But Esposito taunted fans that no one had correctly guessed his identity, and San Diego Comic-Con confirmed this to be correct.

In an announcement that few fans could've guessed, the confirmed that Giancarlo Esposito would be playing the supervillain Sidewinder, the original creator of the Serpent Society. While multiple characters have had the name Sidewinder in the Marvel Comics, they all share a high degree of power owing to corporate ownership and the ability to use teleportation powers thanks to advanced technology. It'll be exciting to see Giancarlo Esposite inhabit a role as an insidious villain in the MCU.

7 The MCU Will Officially Introduce Adamantium

Tiamat's corpse will finally be acknowledged

If there's one front the Marvel Cinematic Universe at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 failed to deliver on, it was the presence of the X-Men in the MCU. While Deadpool & Wolverine officially heralded Fox universe mutants into the series, as celebrated by the 's live performance of the film's signature needle drop, few X-Men elements were hinted at being on the horizon for Marvel Studios. The glaring exception to this is the newfound presence of adamantium in the MCU's world that will be discussed in Captain America: Brave New World.

Despite vibranium already cornering the market on fictional super-durable alloys with incredible properties in the MCU, the revealed that Captain America: Brave New World will introduce adamantium as a competitor. Specifically, adamantium will be mined from the massive corpse of the Celesital Tiamat that arose in the Indian Ocean following Eternals back in 2021. This seems to promise that the world-changing implications of Eternals' ending will finally be meaningfully acknowledged in the MCU after four years.

6 Sentry Actor May Have Been Revealed

Steven Yeun's replacement is close to being confirmed

Thunderbolts* originally promised audiences the introduction of Sentry into the MCU. Essentially the Marvel equivalent to Superman, Sentry is an incredibly powerful hero that struggles with a villainous darker half, possibly prompting a response from the film's motley crew of morally gray superheroes. Originally, Steven Yeun of The Walking Dead and Invincible fame was announced for the role, only for Marvel to walk back Yuen's casting as Sentry due to unfortunate schedule conflicts caused by 2023's SAG-AFTRA strike.

At 2024's San Diego Comic-Con, Thunderbolts* has announced a new cast member that may serve as Yeun's replacement, Lewis Pullman. Technically, Pullman's character has only been revealed to be called "Bob", and was briefly shown in a snippet of teaser footage. However, considering Sentry's real name in the comics is Robert "Bob" Reynolds, this could be confirmation that the Marvel Cinematic Universe have found their replacement for Steven Yeun as the legendarily powerful character.

5 The Fantastic Four Movie Gets A New Title

The latest iteration of the Richards family distinguishes itself from the pack

Considering that of all three films primarily discussed at the 2024 San Deigo Comic-Con , the MCU's Fantastic Four film had the least amount of details already known, excitement was high going into the film's portion of the festivities. The dropped the bombshell that the film, previously simply titled Fantastic Four, would actually be called Fantastic Four: First Steps. This will help differentiate the film from its Fox predecessors, which have already used the title Fantastic Four twice.

As the title implies, the film will seem to serve as an origin story for the superhero group, taking place in an alternate world steeped in a 1960s-inspired retro-future. Brief clips of the film showed off the quartet embarking on the fateful journey that would give them superpowers as astronauts, as well as Benjamin Grimm appearing on a 60s-style dating show. With the new subtitle, fans have enjoyed a renewed interest in the Fantastic Four film.

4 Galactus' Appearance Was Teased

One of Marvel's most infamous villains is finally appearing

One of the juiciest details regarding Fantastic Four: First Steps that had yet to be revealed prior to San Diego Comic-Con was the primary villain of the film. Previous Fantastic Four films relied on Doctor Doom as the primary villain, and while this hasn't been entirely ruled out for Fantastic Four: First Steps, the 2024 gave audiences a brief glimpse of none other than Galactus. One of the most infamous Marvel villains yet to the MCU, Galactus is a terrifying Celestial being known for eating planets.

Footage for Fantastic Four: First Steps gave the briefest of glimpses of Galactus, confirming him for the film, showing his titanic eye peering into the upper floor of a building. Not only that, but Galactus will officially be appearing in all his comic-accurate glory, appearing as a giant-sized humanoid being clad in spectacular purple armor. After Galactus' last and only movie appearance reduced him to a boring sentient purple cloud, this was a welcome sight for eager Fantastic Four fans.

3 The Russos Will Direct Avengers 5 & 6

The original Avengers brothers are finally returning

Joe and Anthony Russo are held in high esteem by most fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The sibling duo originally gained acclaim as filmmakers during their time on comedy series like like Arrested Development, Community, and Happy Endings. However, their time in the MCU was truly responsible for their rise to fame, helming critical and box office hits like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

At long last, the Russo brothers have announced their return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time in years. Joe and Anthony Russo will direct the next two mainline installments in the Avengers series, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Both films are still slated to release in May of 2026 and 2027, respectively. After the MCU's recent directorial failures, the Russos were a sight for sore eyes for MCU hopefuls at San Diego Comic-Con.

2 Avengers 5 Is Now Avengers: Doomsday

The MCU has officially pivoted away from Kang the Conqueror

The last few major entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe propped up Kang the Conqueror, a multiversal tyrant with a cabal of like-minded variants bent on taking over the universe, as the series' next mainline villain. However, in addition to the lukewarm reception of Kang's appearances, controversy surrounding Jonathan Majors, Kang's actor, Marvel seemed to be looking for a new overarching villain. The firing of Majors and quiet title change of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty to Avengers 5 confirmed this.

At 2024's San Diego Comic-Con, Avengers 5 was given another title change, becoming Avengers: Doomsday. Feige confirmed that the film will feature none other than Doctor Doom, a highly-popular villain whose introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been hotly anticipated. Officially replacing Kang with one of the series' most popular villains was a smart move by Marvel Studios, even if previous film incarnations of Doom have been disappointing, to say the least.

1 Robert Downey Jr. Cast As Doctor Doom

By far the most astounding announcement of the

While confirmation that Doctor Doom will be coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the mystery of who will play him quickly became the most burning question of the entire . Astoundingly, this question was quickly answered, as an actor wearing a Doctor Doom costume strode across the stage only to unmask and reveal himself as Robert Downey Jr. Rumors of Robert Downey Jr.'s return to the MCU were boiling before San Diego Comic-Con, but few could've expected his return as Doom.

the announcement that Robert Downey Jr. will be returning as a flagship character in the MCU was by far the biggest piece of information dropped at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2024

That being said, the reveal has had a somewhat divisive reaction, with some fans being weary of the decision. It still remains to be seen whether this interpretation of Doctor Doom will be a variant of Tony Stark just because he shares an actor with the character, or if he will retain an iteration of his comic backstory. Either way, the announcement that Robert Downey Jr. will be returning as a flagship character in the MCU was by far the biggest piece of information dropped at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2024.