In this day and age, we live in a world where Marvel surrounds us. Whether it is upcoming Marvel movies or maybe upcoming Marvel TV shows, there’s a lot to look forward to in the MCU. But I have to admit something to you all – I’m a little concerned about the future of Marvel after what Kevin Feige just said regarding recasting old heroes.
I’m the kind of person who really loves new ideas and stories, so revisiting old ones never really sat right with me. However, I want to get into the why in this article, so let’s dive deep.
It Has Been Hard To Adjust, But I’ve Been Liking The New Heroes
If you’re wondering what the quote was, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige spoke toVariety in July 2025 and said that eventually, they would “recast” characters like Tony Stark and Captain America. He compared it to other major franchises that recast roles as time goes on, like James Bond and Superman.
Recasting characters, in and of itself, is fine. I’m not going to be the person who gets up on her soapbox and says that we can’t recast characters at all. I know how the world works, and I’m not about to get cancelled for that.
But it’s the messaging behind it as well as what we’ve already established in this world. I’m not going to lie – it was hard to adjust to all the new heroes that we were given over the last couple of years, ever since Avengers: Endgame. There have been numerous changes in structure, as well as speculation about who will become the next big villain and who won’t. I have to admit, now that I’m here, I love the new heroes.
Thunderbolts* depicted depression so wonderfully and was one of the best MCU films in a long time, featuring some incredible acting and storytelling from several new and returning characters who played much larger roles within the MCU. I also have loved that older characters have gotten more chances to shine. I’m the biggest supporter of Wanda having her time in the sun and all of those kick-butt Scarlet Witch instances.
But when it comes to recasting those old heroes – the ones that we’ve grown so used to – it doesn’t feel great, I’ll tell you that.
Recasting The Old Heroes Within This MCU Feels Like A Huge Step Back
As I said in the section above, I’m not opposed to recasting overall. I don’t mind it if it’s done with intention, and it isn’t just an excuse to make more money off of a new character. We’ve had three different recasts of Spider-Man at this point, and everyone still debates who the best Spider-Man is. This is essentially how Hollywood works.
However, the issue I have with this kind of recasting is that it creates a singular universe. Sure, we have been made aware that there are millions of variants of the same character. We saw that at length, when it came to Loki. But at the same time, it feels like a stab in the back to recast a character when their stories have already come to an end.
This feels worse than bringing back Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. It feels like it somehow tarnishes the legacy of Tony Stark. The story of his character was complete, and honestly, we don’t need to see his character recast again in this same universe for us to love him still. He is, and will always be, Tony Stark.
So, the idea of recasting him – even if it is a long time away – feels like a slap in the face to those who not only love his interpretation of the character but also the story of him as a whole, with the movies we’ve watched. The same goes for Steve, Natasha, Thor – everyone.
How Are We Going to Explore New Characters and Stories If We’re Revisiting the Same Ones?
This is something else that worries me. Do you know how many heroes are in the Marvel line-up? There are a ridiculous number. Hundreds, if not thousands. How are we going to explore new heroes if we keep looking at the ones everyone knows? How are we going to build new fan bases if we continue to focus on the characters that Marvel insists we do?
Let me tell you – I knew next to nothing about Ironheart, otherwise known as Riri Williams. I didn’t know who she was or what she stood for. But you want to know what turned me onto her? The Ironheart TV show was great. Now, I have a new favorite character. Would I have been able to experience that if the show had been featured around Tony? No, because it would have been the same character that we all already know.
Recasting characters takes away the chance to introduce new ones to the world. And in the world of Marvel, there are so many we could get into. Another character I ended up loving more this time around was Yelena, played by Florence Pugh. She’s become one of my favorites, but she didn’t appear until after Avengers: Endgame. If she had been around the same time as Natasha, she probably would have been overshadowed.
I want these characters to survive on their own, not to become just sidekicks to recast characters that we all already know.
What Does This Mean For The Multiverse? Is It Just Going To Forever Expand?
And this is the biggest thing – if we’re recasting characters within this MCU, what does that mean for the Marvel Multiverse as a whole? Are we recasting them as if they were variants from another planet, and that’s how they’re infused back into the story? Or are we just not bothering with that anymore and just throwing them right back into the ringer in order to take on the next big baddie?
I don’t know. To me, it sounds like this universe really is just never going to stop expanding, and now Marvel Studios might just be using this as an excuse to bring back these characters. That’s where this really suffers.
The only way to truly make this work is if they completely redo the entire universe. Start from the very beginning because then, there will be that exact distinction of who plays who and what universe we are in. If not, all of this sounds like a confusing mess.
Things like this really make me wonder what Marvel will do in the future. I’ve been an avid Marvel supporter over the last few years, particularly with some of their releases, from a personal favorite of mine, Agatha: All Along,to their latest release, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. But recasting these characters might be where I draw the line.
Only time will tell. I’m sure we’ll see more in the next Avengers film. Until then, I’ll enjoy my MCU movie marathons and live in the good old days of simple movies and fewer multiverses.
