Doomsday is on track for a billion, and that is exactly Marvel's problem after Secret Wars

Right, so if you've been watching what Marvel Studios is up to lately, you'll have spotted a familiar pattern: when in doubt, dig back into the vault. Nostalgia is clearly the sweet spot for the MCU, especially when it comes to those all-important Avengers blockbusters. Thing is, this habit has kept the cash rolling in for ages, but there's a growing whiff of desperation clinging to it now that Marvel's trying to pull off their next cinematic reset.

Next up, we've got Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Both are being talked about as seismic MCU events, with half the bloody character gallery showing up – everyone from Thor and Sam Wilson to Yelena Belova and Sue Storm. And because Marvel can't resist a circus, you can bet there'll be a few supposedly "shocking" cameos designed to set fanboy Twitter alight. Just look at the sheer chaos when Spider-Man: No Way Home finally rolled out Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield together. Rumours, leaks, denials – all of it leading to that cinema moment where grown adults lost the plot over triple Spider-Men on one screen.

Marvel's played this card repeatedly over the last few years. Bringing back Charlie Cox as Daredevil in Daredevil: Born Again and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine for Deadpool & Wolverine both triggered bigger cheers than most actual plot twists. No shock, then, that people are already theorising about who else might stroll in for Doomsday or Secret Wars. The latest bit of fuel for the hype came from Jeremy Renner himself, who just posted Hawkeye's costume on his socials, clearly aware that even a sniff of a comeback would get fans frothing. I wouldn't put money against him showing up again, let's put it that way.

Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are both stacking the cast list with returning MCU favourites and fresh faces from right across the franchises.

The Nostalgia Gamble

Let's be fair – this approach works a treat for any big, interconnected cinematic universe. Infinity War and Endgame are still in the top tier for box office earnings, both cracking the all-time top eight. Early numbers have Doomsday on track for another billion-dollar run at the very least, so you can see why Marvel keeps flogging this particular horse. When every movie's a crossover event, you can pad out the runtime with crowd-pleasers and rack up the ticket sales.

BUT – and it's a big 'but' – there has to be a plan for what happens after Secret Wars finally wraps. That entire storyline is supposed to wipe the MCU slate clean, mash every wonky timeline together and tee up a new era with fresh faces. It would be, frankly, ridiculous if Marvel tried to drag back Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Evans for yet another lap as Tony and Cap. At a certain point, all the callbacks in the world can't hide the fact you need actual new stars to care about.

After the Endgame

That's partly why Marvel has started publicly pushing new pillars for the franchise. If all goes to plan, 2027 will be stacked with X-Men getting a reboot, a new Ghost Rider hitting the road, and Black Panther 3 getting its shot at fresh storytelling – and crucially, none of these films needs Thor or Sam Wilson to wander in for a quick cameo. Make something genuinely good, and you don't need the old crowd to prop it up.

So for now, Marvel are leaning very hard into the nostalgia for these last two mega-Avengers flicks. After that? It's either time for a proper modern re-launch, or we all see just how far you can coast on jam-packed cast lists and recycled buzz.