Marvel Kills MCU Trademarks, Future Franchises Dead

Needless to say, the withdrawal of these trademarks has fans once again trying to figure out what this means for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For example, while the trademark for “Eternity Saga” has been withdrawn, the trademark for Avengers: Eternity Wars is still active. This has many fans speculating that Marvel might be setting up an alternative title for their next big movie if Jonathan Majors’ ongoing legal drama keeps them from moving forward with The Kang Dynasty.

There is even stronger speculation that Avengers: Eternity Wars might be a sequel to Marvel’s highly-anticipated Avengers: Secret Wars. So far, Marvel has been appropriately secretive about Secret Wars, but there are rumors that it might feature an unconventional array of heroes, including Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and even Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man.

This is part of a larger rumor that Disney might reboot the MCU almost right afterward, and if that’s the case, it would make sense for the universe to go out with a two-part bang that might equal the impact of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

Speaking of rumors and speculation, Marvel withdrawing the Nomad trademark may be bad news for those hoping to see the return of Chris Evans to the MCU. In the comics, Nomad was an identity that Captain America later took on, and there have been rumors that a Nomad TV series would show us Roger’s post-Endgame quest to get the Infinity Stones back where they belong.

That could have been a perfect swan song for Evans’ character and an excuse to bring back dead characters like Black Widow, but it doesn’t sound like that is a possibility anymore.

For this writer, Marvel’s withdrawal of the Runaways: New Era trademark hits particularly hard. The original Runaways comic was like a breath of fresh air amid an era of gritty comics that took themselves too seriously, and the Hulu adaptation of that comic was very faithful to the source material while also delivering some fun twists and turns. But unless one of you has access to the Staff of One and can cast some black magic, it looks like these young heroes won’t be returning to the MCU fold anytime soon. 

Fortunately for fans, Marvel has many years to get all of this just right. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty isn’t scheduled to premiere until May 1, 2026, and Avengers: The Secret Wars isn’t scheduled until May 7, 2027; throw in the recent strikes, and those dates are almost certain to get pushed even further back. Between now and then, here’s hoping Marvel can rediscover its old magic before the Avengers face their most intractable foe of all: ongoing superhero fatigue on the part of global audiences.