I’ve just realized how the Marvel Cinematic Universe would have tied Kang the Conqueror to the Fantastic Four, which also explains why Doctor Doom was his villain replacement. Although upcoming Marvel movies are not expected to feature Kang the Conqueror too much, he had a big role to play in previous installments of the Multiverse Saga.

Loki, for instance, established a variant of Kang the Conqueror known as He Who Remains. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania then saw a more malevolent variant of the villain trying to escape the Quantum Realm. Despite Kang’s prior importance, the story of Avengers: Doomsday has marked a different path for the MCU going forward.

Kang may not be as important in the future, but I have figured out why his replacement, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, was the only choice for Marvel Studios to make. This links to the Fantastic Four, with all the team holding connections to both Kang and Doom, explaining why Marvel has repositioned Phase 6 of the MCU the way it has.

Kang Was The Original Villain Of Avengers 5 Before It Went From The Kang Dynasty To Doomsday

The MCU’s Old Plan Explained

Firstly, it is worth exploring all of the ins and outs about Marvel Studios’ original plan to have Kang the Conqueror be the villain of Avengers 5. After the culmination of the Infinity Saga with Avengers: Endgame – or, technically, Spider-Man: Far From Home – the MCU moved into the Multiverse Saga. This focused on, well, the multiverse.

Loki season 1 was one of the first installments in the Multiverse Saga, which set up He Who Remains, the aforementioned variant of Kang the Conqueror. He Who Remains explains that his variants are less benevolent than he and that, if the MCU multiverse expands beyond the Sacred Timeline that he kept control over, these variants would start a multiversal war.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania doubled down on this after Loki season 1 ended with He Who Remains dying and the multiverse expanding. The former included a more typical comic book version of Kang the Conqueror, who was confined to the Quantum Realm and sought an escape so he could, aptly, conquer the multiverse.

All of this was set to culminate in Avengers 5, initially тιтled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Set to be directed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty would have featured The Avengers facing off against the evil variants of Kang shown in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania‘s post-credit scene.

However, this all changed in light of Jonathan Majors’ ᴀssault charges. Majors had portrayed all major variants of Kang in the MCU up to that point and was expected to do so again in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. After his legal case, though, Marvel pivoted away from the Kang storyline, despite all the setup, in favor of Avengers: Doomsday.

Avengers: Doomsday will now see the тιтular team facing off against Doctor Doom. Doom and Kang would likely have been connected in the MCU anyway, given their comic book links and how the sequel to The Kang Dynasty was Avengers: Secret Wars, a Doom-centric story from the source material. Now, though, Doom is Kang’s official replacement.

Kang’s Ties To The Fantastic Four Show How Easily The MCU Could Have Tied Their Debut To Avengers 5

Kang Would Have Enabled An Important MCU Role For Marvel’s First Family

Now that Kang’s initial MCU role has been established, it is worth exploring how this would have enabled the Fantastic Four to have a big role in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. A Fantastic Four movie has been in the works since 2019, which has eventually manifested into the story of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Given that the film started development before the Multiverse Saga even began, it was clear that the MCU’s Fantastic Four would tie into the multiversal elements of Phases 4, 5, and 6. Based on the connections to Kang from Marvel Comics, and even those sprinkled throughout the MCU, this makes sense.

In the comics, Kang the Conqueror is Nathaniel Richards, a descendant of Reed Richards’ father from the 31st century. Naturally, this would have allowed The Fantastic Four to become embroiled in the war against Kang in what would have been Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, potentially even with the team playing a bigger role in Phase 6 than The Avengers themselves.

Additional MCU context could then have bolstered this familial connection. The Fantastic Four will flee their universe in First Steps, as proven by the Thunderbolts* post-credit scene. It could have been explained that they did so as a variant of Kang tried to conquer their universe, potentially tying to Galactus’ involvement.

Kang’s Marvel Ties To The Fantastic Four Would Explain Why Avengers 5 Now Has Doctor Doom As Its Villain Instead

Doom Has Similar Connections To The Fantastic Four

With this context in mind, specifically the direct familial connection between Kang and Reed Richards, it makes sense why Marvel chose Doctor Doom as Avengers 5‘s replacement villain. As many who are familiar with The Fantastic Four will be aware, Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom have a long-standing rivalry. Doom is one of the group’s main antagonists as a result.

Evidently, The Fantastic Four were going to be an important part of the Multiverse Saga anyway. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to have Doom be Kang’s replacement in Avengers: Doomsday. This way, the connection between The Avengers’ main villain and The Fantastic Four will still be prevalent, allowing the Marvel Cinematic Universe to tie together nicely.