As Avengers: Secret Wars approaches, speculation about an MCU reboot is growing. Will Marvel hit reset or continue the existing universe? While a “new age of mutants” is confirmed, Marvel exec Brad Winderbaum suggests a full reboot may not be possible.
“You can’t really fully reboot anything”
While promoting next week’s release of Daredevil: Born Again, Marvel’s head of TV, Brad Winderbaum, was asked whether reboots are ever discussed. Winderbaum said he couldn’t speak for the movies but, as a big comic book fan, he isn’t a fan of reboots and pointed to DC Comics as an example:
“You’re going to have to ask Kevin [Feige] about the features. I’m on the TV side but we do navigate the same waters and live in the same universe. Look, I’m a comic fan. I’ve read comics since I was 12 years old. I’ve seen what happens at comic companies when things get full reboots. The truth is every time there’s been a full reboot in DC – DC in particular – it always feels like… you can’t really fully reboot anything. The classic always come back around. It’s a very difficult thing to do to a living, breathing fictional universe… to just start from scratch, because of all the fan investment and love for the stories that have come so far.”
Marvel Executive Producer Brad Winderbaum talks about the possibility of a full MCU reboot as “AVENGERS: SECRET WARS” approaches 👀
— Screen Off Script (@ScreenOffScript) February 27, 2025
“It’s a very difficult thing to do to a living, breathing fictional universe to just start from scratch because of all the fan investment and love… pic.twitter.com/4wHsqdAoSo
Marvel TV retooled
Oddly, the director of Secret Invasion actually revealed Marvel told him to not read the comics, but he did anyway. Fans were super disappointed with Secret Invasion. Following the series failure. Marvel retooled its TV division, which including retooling Daredevil: Born Again.
Marvel TV is now focusing on series that can be released yearly, similar to traditional television, meaning multiple seasons. It also appears that Marvel (Disney) has significantly cut the budgets of its new shows, reducing costs from $200 million for series like Secret Invasion and She-Hulk. Unfortunately, these cuts include projects like Nova, Strange Academy, and Terror Inc. The good news is that if you’re a fan of street-level heroes, you’ll likely get more shows similar to Daredevil: Born Again. Season 2 begins filming next week.
James Bond the MCU?
When it comes to a potential MCU reboot, I’ve always thought they should take the James Bond approach—keeping the characters but recasting with new actors. Maybe that will happen after Avengers: Secret Wars, which is set for release in 2027.
For now, the plan appears to be bringing back Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, with Chris Evans also rumored to return. I also think Captain America: Brave New World proves that fans aren’t interested in replacement characters. If Marvel did go the James Bond route, which new actors could play Captain America and Iron Man?
Daredevil: Born Again premiers Tuesday, March 4 on Disney+.
