Michael Waldron finally reveals plans for Kang in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty

As Avengers: Doomsday is still a year away, let's look at the MCU project when it was called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. For those who remember, the MCU project's original title for the fifth Avengers movie was The Kang Dynasty, which would've revolved around Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror. Ever since the Loki Season 1 finale hinted that Majors' Kang was the Thanos for the new phase.

This was finally confirmed at the July 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, as Marvel announced Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, both of which would've revolved around Kang the Conqueror. However, Jonathan Majors' legal troubles supposedly caused Marvel to pivot to Victor Von Doom. This week, we learned more about The Kang Dynasty thanks to screenwriter Michael Waldron's Reddit AMA.

What were Michael Waldron's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty revelations:

Michael Waldron, for the uninitiated, along with Jeff Loveness, is one of the writers of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. In the 2020s, Waldron has been a go-to writer for Marvel, and therefore, it wasn't surprising when he was hired to write Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. The writer made some major revelations regarding the original version in the Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything).

In this, a fan asked the following question:

"Without spoiling anything, as you were a writer on Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, is there anything that you learnt from those initial drafts of the script that moved over to help you write for the new version, Avengers: Doomsday?"

To this, Michael Waldron responded with a major plot point in The Kang Dynasty. He revealed that the Young Avengers were going to be a part of the movie before Marvel dropped Jonathan Majors and shifted the main antagonist from Kang the Conqueror to Victor Von Doom. The Young Avengers would've defeated one variant of Kang, the one who looks like a Lizard. The writer's exact answer was:

"Jeff Loveness and I spent an afternoon pitching on the Young Avengers defeating a version of Kang and being so stoked about it...only to discover that that particular Kang carried a little card that said to Be Patient with him, it was his first day as a Kang. And then they were so bummed. I think he was gonna be the lizard Kang from the end of Kang Dynasty? [Waldron was probably referring to the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania mid-credit scene] I don't know. Anyway we had fun. MW"

For those who don't know, the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania mid-credit scene introduced us to the Council of Kangs. At the end of the scene, the camera circles the arena, showing us that the entire area was filled to the brim with different variants of Kang across the multiverse. The camera then becomes stationary, and fans see a reptilian-looking Kang, bringing the scene to a close.

Thus, the Young Avengers are initially elated to beat a variant of Kang, only to learn that he was one of the weaker ones, implying that humor was going to be a part of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. However, as things played out, Jonathan Majors was ultimately fired in December 2023, and Marvel finally swapped Kang with Victor Von Doom, played by Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran Robert Downey Jr.

What's next for Marvel?

While the title of Avengers: Secret Wars was retained, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was retrofitted to be Avengers: Doomsday. As the name suggests, Doomsday would revolve around Robert Downey Jr.'s Victor Von Doom. We don't have many details about Doomsday. But we know that Avengers: Secret Wars will enable Marvel to clean up its continuity.

Kevin Feige alluded to it in a July press conference before the 2025 San Diego Comic-Con:

"We’re utilizing that [story] not just to round out the stories we’ve been telling post-Endgame. [But] just as importantly — and you can look at the Secret Wars comics for where that takes you — it very, very much sets us up for the future. Endgame, literally, was about endings. Secret Wars is about beginnings."

After saying that, the Marvel Studios boss clarified that Secret Wars will not reboot the entire MCU: