Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness has offered some insight into his next foray into the MCU, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, revealing that the likes of The X-Men and The Fantastic Four will not appear in the next superhero team-up outing. Speaking with Comicbook.com, Loveness describes The Fantastic Four, which will be released a few months before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, as being “it’s own thing.”
"No, I think all that stuff is pretty far away. I know they're making Fantastic Four, but that's its own thing. I mean, look, I'm the biggest X-Men guy in the world. No, I think that's being saved for a bit. But, these Avengers are in trouble. They got a lot going on with Kang. They got more than enough to handle."
While Marvel fans were not necessarily expecting The X-Men to debut in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (as we do not currently know exactly how Marvel Studios plans to introduce them), the revelation that the Avengers sequel will not include The Fantastic Four is sure to come as something of a disappointment.
The first MCU solo outing for The Fantastic Four is currently scheduled to be released on February 14, 2025, with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty landing in theaters a few months later on May 2, 2025. Which means that we meet the superhero family...and then find them entirely absent when it comes to the multiversal threat posed by Kang the Conqueror. Should the MCU maintain Kang’s lineage and connection with Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic, the confusion as to why they will not be included becomes even more peculiar.
Unless of course they’re simply saving everything for Avengers: Secret Wars...
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is Part of Phase Six of the MCU
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will come as part of Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the likes of The Fantastic Four, Avengers: Secret Wars, and Deadpool threequel Deadpool 3 also part of the same chapter. While details of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty largely remain a mystery, Jeff Loveness did recently reveal one new character who will make an appearance: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever antagonist Namor the Submariner. “Namor, man. I'm excited to write Namor,” the writer said of adding the underwater rule to the Avengers sequel.
For now, we still have Phase 5 to enjoy, which has now begun with the critically divisive Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Directed by Peyton Reed from a screenplay by Jeff Loveness, and starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathryn Newton, and Jonathan Majors, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania finds superhero partners Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne returning to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together with Hope's parents Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures, and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.
The rest of Phase 5 of the MCU includes Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Captain America: New World Order, Thunderbolts, and Blade.