The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s multiverse saga has undergone dramatic shifts behind the scenes, and we’re finally getting insight into what might have been. Michael Waldron, the talented screenwriter behind Loki Season 1, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and now both Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, has revealed fascinating details about the original Avengers: The Kang Dynasty storyline in a recent Reddit AMA.
The Original Vision for Kang Dynasty
When Marvel Studios announced Avengers: The Kang Dynasty at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, the plan was clear: Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror would be the centerpiece of the fifth Avengers film. Jeff Loveness, who worked on the Loki series and wrote Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, was set to write the screenplay, with Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) attached to direct. Benedict Cumberbatch even confirmed in interviews that Doctor Strange would be part of this version of the movie.
The groundwork for Kang’s multiversal threat had been carefully laid across multiple projects. Loki Season 1 introduced us to He Who Remains, the Kang variant who had defeated all his counterparts in a previous multiversal war and created the TVA to maintain the Sacred Timeline. Quantumania showed us Kang the Conqueror, arguably the worst of the Kangs, who was exiled by the other variants into the quantum realm. Most importantly, the mid-credits scene of Quantumania gave us the clearest vision of what was to come.
The Council of Kangs and the Lizard Kang Mystery Solved
In that pivotal Quantumania mid-credits scene, we saw three Kang variants – Immortus, Rama-Tut, and the Scarlet Centurion – worrying that the Avengers had killed “the exiled one.” Immortus declared they needed to stop wasting time and召 召ed in the entire Kang Dynasty from across the multiverse. The scene featured a vast amphitheater filled with screaming Kangs, imagery taken directly from 1988’s Avengers #292 by Walt Simonson and John Buscema.
The last Kang variant we glimpsed before the scene cut to black was a distinctive reptilian-skinned Kang. At the time, fans assumed this was simply showing the variety of Kang variants across different species. However, Waldron’s recent revelation completely recontextualizes this moment.
The Young Avengers’ Role Revealed
In his Reddit AMA on October 28, 2024, Waldron dropped a bombshell when asked about elements from the original Kang Dynasty script that carried over to Doomsday:
“Jeff Loveness and I spent an afternoon pitching on the Young Avengers defeating a version of Kang, being so stoked about it, only to discover that that particular Kang carried a little card and said to be patient with him – it was his first day as Kang, and they were so bummed. I think it was going to be the Lizard Kang from the end of Kang Dynasty. I don’t know. Anyway, we had fun.”
This revelation is huge for several reasons. First, it confirms that the Lizard Kang wasn’t just a random variant but was specifically set up to be defeated by the Young Avengers in Act One of the original film. Second, it shows that Waldron and Loveness were planning to inject humor into the Kang threat, similar to the playful menace of He Who Remains in the Loki finale. Most importantly, it confirms that the Young Avengers were going to be central to the Kang Dynasty lineup.
Who Would the Young Avengers Have Been?
Based on Marvel’s development timeline before Jonathan Majors’ legal troubles changed everything in March 2023, we can piece together the intended Young Avengers roster:
Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) was clearly being positioned as a team leader. In exclusive interviews with New Rockstars, Vellani revealed that the Marvels post-credits scene originally featured additional characters alongside Kate Bishop. She also disclosed that an earlier version of Ms. Marvel featured an inscription on her bangle reading “What is destined for you will come for you,” explicitly connecting her time-travel abilities to Kang. Even more tellingly, an earlier draft of The Marvels established that the burial site of the second bangle was the grave of Eon, the Marvel cosmic entity representing time – giving Kamala the perfect power set to counter Kang’s temporal manipulation.
Cassie Lang / Stature (Kathryn Newton) was another obvious choice, having directly battled Kang the Conqueror in the Quantum Realm during Quantumania. Her father Scott Lang’s uncertain victory over Kang left lingering questions about whether the threat was truly defeated.
Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) would have brought her hawkeye skills to the team. Jeremy Renner hinted at his knowledge of the original Kang Dynasty plans in a Breakfast Club Power 105.1 interview, suggesting Clint Barton would have been involved through Kate’s storyline.
Billy Kaplan / Wiccan (Joe Locke) was introduced in Agatha All Along, though this series would have premiered much earlier in the original timeline. His inherited chaos magic from the Scarlet Witch would have made him a powerhouse on the team.
Tommy Maximoff / Speed (Rury Malikian) would have been introduced in Vision Quest prior to Kang Dynasty’s release, reuniting the magical twins.
Riri Williams / Ironheart was likely one of the additional characters cut from The Marvels post-credits scene. The Ironheart series was originally scheduled to premiere much earlier.
America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), given Waldron’s involvement with both Multiverse of Madness and Kang Dynasty, would have been a natural inclusion with her dimension-hopping abilities.
Whether they’d be called the Young Avengers or the Champions (if Peter Parker joined them), this team had the perfect combination of powers to take on a multiversal threat.
The Timeline That Changed Everything
The carefully constructed plan began to unravel in March 2023 when Jonathan Majors’ legal troubles emerged, culminating in his conviction and firing by Marvel Studios in December 2023. However, Marvel had already begun discussing alternatives at their Palm Springs retreat in September 2023, with Robert Downey Jr. approached about returning as Doctor Doom in August 2023.
By San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Marvel officially announced the pivot: both Avengers 5 and 6 would be directed by the Russo Brothers, titled Doomsday and Secret Wars respectively, both written by Stephen McFeely, with Doctor Doom as the primary antagonist. Destin Daniel Cretton moved to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, while Jeff Loveness took a mental health break after Quantumania’s mixed reception.
Waldron’s Unique Position
Michael Waldron’s involvement makes him uniquely qualified to bridge both versions of the story. As he explained to The Wrap in October 2024:
“Kang Dynasty was Jeff Loveness, my friend who was writing that with Destin Daniel Cretton. Because I was writing the movie after that [Secret Wars], but there wasn’t a filmmaker attached yet. I was just involved in all those conversations. When that movie went away, I was working on what would become Avengers Doomsday and Secret Wars for a time. And then they brought in the Russos and Steve McFeely.”
As principal photography for Doomsday wrapped in October 2024, Waldron confirmed he’s been traveling back and forth from London to help the Russos and McFeely craft the new script while working on his Hulu series Chad Powers.
Concept Art Leaks and Future Possibilities
Earlier in 2025, concept art leaked from an official Marvel Studios artist showing a bar setting with Wong, Peter Quill, Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, Tommy, Billy, Kamala Khan, and Dupe (a fat green alien from X-Force comics). The Russo Brothers stated this wasn’t from their version of the film, but it likely represents earlier Kang Dynasty planning.
Interestingly, the same batch of concept art featured Damson Idris as a new Black Panther. This week, Idris appeared at a Vogue World event holding hands with Angela Bassett, who wore a gown inspired by Queen Ramonda’s Wakandan attire, strongly suggesting he may be playing a recast T’Challa or alternate universe Black Panther.
The Fake Script Controversy
A purported Kang Dynasty script dated April 8, 2023 has circulated online, but it’s almost certainly fake. The screenplay reads like AI-generated content or derivative fan fiction, filled with exposition-heavy dialogue no professional screenwriter would produce. It follows Kang from Quantumania drifting through an abyss, recreating Gladiator-inspired visuals, and culminating in fan-cast Avengers lineups battling the three heads of the Kang Dynasty while landmarks in major world cities get destroyed Independence Day-style.
Will the Young Avengers Still Appear?
The context of Waldron’s Reddit response suggests the Young Avengers will still be part of Avengers: Doomsday, though obviously not defeating the Lizard Kang. The question is how they’ll fit into a story centered on Doctor Doom rather than the Council of Kangs.
Given that the multiverse remains central to this saga, and many of these young heroes have already been introduced or are in production (Wiccan in Agatha All Along, Speed likely in Vision Quest, Ironheart’s series still coming), it would be strange for Marvel to abandon this carefully assembled team.
The shift from Kang to Doom doesn’t necessarily eliminate the Young Avengers’ role – it simply changes their opponent. Doctor Doom’s mastery of both science and sorcery, combined with his multiversal ambitions in the comics’ Secret Wars storyline, provides ample opportunity for this young team to prove themselves.
The Impact of Legal Issues and Creative Shifts
Jonathan Majors’ legal situation created an unprecedented challenge for Marvel Studios. Unlike recasting a supporting character, Kang had been positioned as the Thanos-level threat of an entire saga. The decision to pivot to Doctor Doom, while dramatic, actually opens interesting possibilities.
Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Victor Von Doom rather than Tony Stark suggests a variant storyline that could be even more emotionally complex than the Kang Dynasty would have been. The multiverse saga’s themes of identity, choice, and consequence take on new meaning when a hero’s face belongs to the villain.
Looking Ahead to Doomsday and Secret Wars
As Avengers: Doomsday heads toward its 2026 release, followed by Secret Wars in 2027, the MCU finds itself in uncharted territory. The original plan has been fundamentally altered, yet key elements remain.
The Young Avengers/Champions team that would have defeated the Lizard Kang on his first day may instead face their first true test against Doctor Doom. The multiversal scope remains intact. And Michael Waldron’s involvement in both versions ensures some narrative continuity between what was planned and what’s being executed.
Waldron’s casual revelation about the Lizard Kang scene gives us a tantalizing glimpse of the tone Kang Dynasty would have struck – a mix of genuine threat and unexpected humor, young heroes getting their moment to shine before discovering they’d beaten the JV squad of Kangs.
While we’ll never see that version on screen, the seeds planted across Loki, Quantumania, Ms. Marvel, The Marvels, and upcoming projects like Vision Quest weren’t wasted. These young heroes are still out there, still developing their powers, still being set up for something big.
The question now is: how will Doctor Doom push them to their limits in ways Kang never could?
Conclusion
The original Avengers: The Kang Dynasty represented an ambitious plan to pay off years of multiversal storytelling while introducing a new generation of heroes. While circumstances forced Marvel to pivot to Doctor Doom, the core elements – young heroes stepping up, multiversal threats, and the consequences of tampering with time and reality – remain relevant.
Michael Waldron’s unique position as the bridge between both versions gives us confidence that the best ideas from the Kang Dynasty era won’t be lost. The Young Avengers defeating a nervous Lizard Kang on his first day might not make it to screen, but the spirit of that moment – young heroes proving themselves against impossible odds – will likely live on in Doomsday and Secret Wars.
As we await more details about these films, one thing is clear: the multiverse saga’s journey from Kang to Doom has been anything but straightforward, but it may ultimately result in something even more compelling than originally planned.
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