Any franchise needs to remain in a constant state of reinvention if it wants to maintain any sort of longevity, which is one of the major reasons why James Bond is celebrating the 60th anniversary of his big-screen debut next year, and it’s something the Marvel Cinematic Universe has already taken to heart.
The Infinity Saga is over, with Phase Four opening the doors to the Disney Plus expansion and a cavalcade of new heroes set to step into the breach, whether they’re playing brand new costumed crimefighters or picking up the baton of an existing favorite to carry the torch.
Remember the iconic hero shot from The Avengers? Iron Man is dead, with Riri Williams’ Ironheart on the way. Steve Rogers is retired as Captain America, with Sam Wilson suiting up in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Thor has Jane Foster coming back to wield Mjölnir in Love and Thunder, Bruce Banner’s cousin Jennifer Walters gets green in She-Hulk, Natasha Romanoff is also dead with Yelena Belova waiting in the wings as the new Black Widow, while Kate Bishop debuts in next week’s Hawkeye to wrestle the bow and arrow from Clint Barton.
With that in mind, producer Trinh Tran addressed the legacy of Avengers both old and new in an interview with The Direct, but insisted the focus remains squarely on what happens to Kate in her upcoming MCU debut.
“I don’t want to use the word bitter-sweet, but it is nice that there are characters that we have told the stories about, who have left. And we are bringing in new characters into the fold. Wherever that leads, we’ll find out. But the focus really is making sure we get Kate Bishop right in this story and how she is connected to Clint is really important from the start.”
We’ve not even mentioned the rest of the newcomers like Shang-Chi and the Eternals, so there’s little chance of the MCU resting on its laurels and coasting on past glories when there’s so much new ground to cover.