Inside Marvel’s Vault: Kevin Feige Teases 7-Year Movie Plan Behind Padlocked Door

Despite a tough year with underperformers like Thunderbolts and Captain America: Brave New World, Marvel Studios is not backing down.

Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, revealed during a media sit-down at Marvel’s Burbank headquarters that the studio is planning far into the future.

“It’s a seven-year plan,” teased Feige, “I think it goes to 2032.”

Pointing toward a wall of locked doors, Feige added, “It’s on magnets, it can move around.” Though Marvel is skipping this year’s San Diego Comic-Con due to ongoing production on Avengers: Doomsday and preparations for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Feige remains upbeat.

Fantastic Four: A Major Launch Pad for the MCU

Feige now finally has creative control over The Fantastic Four thanks to the Disney-Fox merger, and he plans to make it count.

The upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps is poised to become Marvel Studios’ biggest opening of the year, expected to gross between $100M–$110M in the U.S.

While 2005 and 2007’s Fantastic Four movies achieved moderate success and the 2015 reboot failed dramatically, this version is different.

“Why Fantastic Four? Because it’s Marvel’s first family,” said Feige. “It’s in the history of our characters; they deserve to be A-listers.” He emphasized their prominence in Marvel comics and lamented their absence from the Infinity saga films due to rights issues.

No Backstory, No Homework for the New Phase

Feige made it clear that The Fantastic Four will be a fresh start for audiences.

“It’s a no-homework-required, go see the movie. It’s literally not connected to anything that was made before,” said Feige. “It kicks off Phase Six.”

Access to Fox’s Marvel characters also paved the way for a significant shift in the MCU’s villain hierarchy.

Dr. Doom Replaces Kang as Main Antagonist

Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror was originally set to be the next main villain, but his legal troubles led to a change in direction.

“Even before what had happened to the actor, we had started to realize that Kang wasn’t Thanos,” Feige said.

“There was only one character that could be that because he was that in the comics for decades and decades… and that’s Dr. Doom.”

Feige even began discussing the idea with Robert before Ant-Man 3 was released.

Cameos and Character Integrations Continue

Marvel fans have already seen Professor Xavier (played by Patrick Stewart) in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the trend continued in Deadpool & Wolverine with cameos from Channing Tatum’s Gambit and Wesley Snipes’ Blade.

While the Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali was removed from the calendar, it is still in development.

“There were four versions of Blade in the works… we landed on modern day and that’s what we’re focusing on,” Feige revealed.

On delays caused by the departure of directors Yann Demange and Bassam Tariq, Feige commented:

“We didn’t want to put a leather outfit on [Ali] and have him start killing vampires.”

“You can start and have a good script and make it a great script through production, but we didn’t feel confident we could do that on Blade,” he added.

No Ryan Coogler for Blade, Focus Remains on Black Panther

Feige clarified that despite speculation, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler will not helm Blade. “The director remains committed to Black Panther 3,” he confirmed.

Leaner Slate, Higher Quality

Feige plans to reduce Marvel’s output to one to three films a year, focusing on standalone quality over interconnected stories.

The disappointment of The Marvels, which grossed just $206.1M globally, served as a wake-up call. Feige noted that fans skipped the film due to lack of familiarity with the characters’ Disney+ storylines.

Still, crossover characters remain part of the plan, as seen with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher cameo in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

“Where we have great actors playing great characters, I think it would be fun to see them in multiple places,” said Feige.

Legacy Characters: Some Stay, Some Recast

Feige addressed the future of legacy heroes like Iron Man and Captain America. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is likely to continue, but new faces will eventually take over the iconic roles.

“When exactly? X-Men is where that will happen,” Feige stated.

A Rebooted MCU on the Horizon

Post-Avengers: Secret Wars, Marvel plans to “reset singular timelines” and effectively reboot the cinematic universe.

Following the record-breaking success of Deadpool & Wolverine at $1.33 billion, Feige is open to more R-rated entries.

“Where appropriate and where necessary,” he said.

Feige’s Vision Continues

Although Feige’s contract ends in two years, he has no intention of stepping away from Marvel.

“Do I want to be making big movies for big audiences in ten or 15 years from now? Yes, that’s all I want to do. Marvel is great way to do that.”