After Avengers: Secret Wars closes out The Multiverse Saga next year, the MCU will essentially be at another crossroads, both structurally and narratively.
It raises the question of where can, or better yet, "should" the MCU head after wrapping up the current era of Marvel film and television?
The Multiverse Saga (Phase 4-6) has been a lackluster follow-up to The Infinity Saga (Phase 1-3), regardless of whatever metric you want to use as an assessment tool, whether you're using common benchmarks such as box office revenue, critical reception, or cultural impact.
Granted, Jonathan Majors' off-screen problems were an unpredictable variable, but the rollout and depiction of Kang the Conqueror was an incredibly haphazard and clumsy endeavor that seemed to lack the meticulous planning of the introduction of Thanos and the Infinity Stones.
Swapping to Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom seems like a viable way to save face and end the phase on a high note, but forward-focused thinkers are already looking towards what happens next after Avengers: Secret Wars hits theaters on December 17, 2027.
And in looking at how there's been a general, positive upswing in public feelings regarding the MCU with RDJ's Doom announcement, it's become clear that the fortunes of each MCU saga are tied to its overarching villain.
Given that pretext, who or what should follow Doom?
The Baron Macabre Saga
With RDJ returning to the MCU as a villain, that creates an interesting dynamic where a former hero returns, but as an adversary. It’s a reversal that carries built-in emotional weight, especially given how closely audiences still associate him with the character that heroically sacrificed himself to undo "The Snap."
Baron Macabre, a somewhat obscure Black Panther villain with the ability to control the dead, could double down on that trope post Secret Wars. If RDJ/Tony Stark's villanous turn has the impact that Kevin Feige and co. are hoping for in Doomsday and Secret Wars, the hero-to-villain theme might be a path worth treading down fully as the likes of the real Tony Stark, the original Loki, Black Widow, Quicksilver, Yondu, Odin, The Mighty Thor (Jane Foster) and several others could return but as foe rather than friend.
Additional firepower could also be gained by bringing back a few villains from the dead such as Malekith, Killmonger, Thanos, The Black Order (Cull Obsidian, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, Ebony Maw), The Mandarin, Cassandra Nova, and more.
The Masters of Evil Saga
When you step back and think about it, the MCU has generally escalated its stakes in a fairly structured way over time, starting in Phase 1 with grounded threats like crime lords and rogue scientists, before moving into Phase 2 and 3 where gods, extraterrestrial armies, and dimension-ending events, threaten the entire timeline.
But perhaps it's time for Marvel Studios to step back and think more personal instead of scaling up.
In the Masters of Evil, instead of one big bad, you get an organized coalition of the MCU's greatest villains working together. This concept flips the usual MCU villain structure on its head: a unified alliance of the MCU’s most dangerous antagonists, working in concert rather than in isolation. Each villain could potentially bring their own agenda, skill set, and history with the heroes, creating a kind of dark mirror to the Avengers themselves
It even opens the door to a fascinating inversion of the usual formula, and the primary focus could be on a behind-the-scenes “architect” figure, a villainous mirror to Nick Fury, who recognizes that as Earth’s heroes become more interconnected, the only way to counter them is to do the same.
In this scenario, The Avengers don't have to save the planet or the galaxy; they have to save themselves- they become the target.
The Annihilus Saga
Given that we've already seen Thanos, Galactus, Loki, Ultron, Kingpin and Red Skull on the big screen, Annihilus is kind of the last of the big bads that are still waiting to be introduced in the MCU, so he gets a spot on the list by default.
As the ruler of the Negative Zone, Annihilus stands behind one of the most catastrophic cosmic conflicts in Marvel Comics history. The Annihilation Wave storyline saw entire regions of space ravaged and countless civilizations wiped out, cementing its reputation as one of the most devastating sagas in the Marvel universe. It’s exactly the kind of galaxy-spanning threat that could translate well into a post-Multiverse Saga Avengers-level storyline.
The Corruptor Saga
Admittedly, The Corruptor is another idea similar to Baron Macabre, where the fundamental concept is about control. The Corruptor has had a number of incarnations and abilities over the years, but his fundamental power is that his sweat produces a chemical that allows him to control anyone who touches his skin. Unlike Macabre, who controls the dead, The Corroptor can control the living.
Any Major X-Men Villain
Of all the possible directions the MCU could take after Secret Wars, the most likely seems to be a full shift into a mutant/X-Men-focused era.
In that scenario, the existing roster of Marvel characters wouldn’t disappear, but they’d gradually fade into more of a supporting presence rather than being the main focal points.
Sure, they still exist and operate in the world, but the non-mutant heroes and villains are no longer the central narrative focus.
Presuming there's a fresh reboot of the X-Men, that opens the door for heavyhitters like Magneto, Mr. Sinister, Onslaught, Dark Phoenix (if Kevin Feige can't tell this story correctly, no one can), Apocalypse and more.