The MCU could reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars in just four years, according to a new quote from Marvel supremo Kevin Feige. The upcoming Avengers 6 will close out the currently announced slate of upcoming Marvel movies on May 7, 2027, but Feige has also said in a recent interview with Variety, that the MCU has "barely scratched the surface" of the story potential from Marvel Comics. But that potential may come with a soft reboot in the very near future to consolidate the timeline, trimming the fat, and most excitingly, bringing back characters who have dropped out of the franchise.

Speaking on The Watch podcast, author of new Marvel book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios Joanna Robinson dropped a bombshell that could change the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline massively:

"We have a quote from Kevin Feige sort of implying that, like, Secret Wars will serve as a soft reboot in which they can prune everything... That's not to use a Loki-ism. [They'll] prune everything that's not working and just keep what is [working], or bring back people you thought were gone forever."

Diving into MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios for further hints, it's notable that the final chapter, titled "How Much We Have Left" has the following paragraph close to the end, relating a meeting with Feige that concluded with him revealing a poster from 1988 drawn by Ed Hannigan and Joe Rubinstein of hundreds of Marvel characters as an indication of how many new characters could come to the MCU:

"As the MCU spilled over into streaming programs and the Multiverse Saga, Feige had to learn different lessons from the comics: how superheroes periodically needed to be rebooted, how to stop variants and spinoffs from spiraling out of control, how an annual mega-crossover event could unify a disparate line of characters."

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How The MCU Is Already Setting Up A Reboot

The question of why Marvel would reboot the MCU (even "softly") is a particularly pressing one, given how successful most of the franchise's releases have been. But there is a need to consolidate the timeline, after Marvel came into possession of the rights to the former Fox Marvel characters - most notably the still-missing X-Men and the Fantastic Four - and with Marvel TV in such a perceived negative state that the Disney company is rebooting their entire approach to making new shows. As Robinson says, a soft reboot would allow Marvel to keep the elements that are working and "prune" what isn't, as well as re-introducing major character brands like Iron Man, T'Challa, Thanos, Steve Rogers and every other hero and villain who has either been killed off or retired.

Related: The MCU Reset's Exact Date Sneakily Revealed By A Hidden Loki DetailLoki season 2 already reveals multiple clues to Avengers: Secret Wars rebooting the MCU timeline, and becoming that mega-crossover to unify disparate lines and reboot characters. If Feige is learning from the comics, then Secret Wars being the reset point would be logical, given the events of the comic arc, which ended with the destruction of the multiverse and new stories emerging from the ashes. Loki season 2 already confirmed that the first Multiversal War of 2321 reset the timeline once (into He Who Remains "Sacred Timeline"), and Sylvie's murder of the timeline guardian, and subsequently emergence of the Council of Kangs sets up a repeat of that war. And, you have to assume, a repeat of the reset, to "stop variants and spinoffs from spiraling out of control".