Here’s part 2 of our December Discord Alex Perez Q&A! Keep an eye out for the third and final part in the coming days, and find part 1 linked at the end. In part 2, Alex answers questions about the future of Shang-Chi, Spider-Man 4, Thor, X-Men, and more!
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Before moving on to Alex’s answers, I just want to let our readers know that we’re currently trying to build our following on YouTube as well as Bluesky, Threads, Facebook etc… You can find us on Bluesky at TheCosmicCircus.com! As for YouTube, you can follow us for movie reviews, interviews and podcasts @TheCosmicCircus. Small, independent websites like this one need all the support we can get to survive. Sharing, liking, commenting on posts, and following on social media is very appreciated and helps to get the word out about the great work our writers and contributors (like the amazing Alex Perez) do here.
[Note: questions have been lightly edited for clarity, spelling, or grammar.]
Shang-Chi
Elyse – Shoalsandsuch: Hi Alex! Any idea what Shang-Chi’s role in the movie is going to be like or what characters he’ll be interacting with?
Alex Perez: Shang-Chi is going to be a part of the Avengers formed by Carol Danvers, Bruce Banner, & Wong. It’s interesting, isn’t it? Because where is Sam? Where is Bucky? Where’s Ant-Man? Where are the Thunderbolts? That’s going to be a question Doomsday will answer in terms of problems for the 616. Because imagine how Sam’s going to react when he sees that there is an Avengers, but they’re composed of former villains and one of the members is Bucky. That’s going to be a very interesting scene to play out.
LaiHsinyi92: Hi Alex, and greetings from Taiwan. Any idea on Shang-Chi’s sequel? Is it still happening? If so, has the delay been due to the Avengers 5 being reworked?
Alex Perez: I know Destin has ideas for a Shang-Chi sequel, one of which has to do with the Atlas Foundation. And it’s not really due to Avengers 5, or Spider-Man 4. It’s just not the right time yet.
LaiHsinyi92: What does Shang-Chi’s future in the MCU look like now that the focus of phase 7 seems to be on the F4 and mutants?
Alex Perez: Who said it was just gonna be about mutants? Sure, the main focus of the saga will be the introduction of the mutants, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only thing coming up. Just like the Multiverse Saga had other stories detached from the Multiverse, so does this next saga. It’s going to be a good saga for fans of the cosmic side of the MCU with Nova and Eternals. And there’s going to be a lot of fun supernatural stuff as well with the Midnight Sons.
Spider-Man and Sony films
FootlongSlinky: With the Sony universe officially dead, is knull going to be the endgame of it for Spider-Man 4?
Alex Perez: The “death” of the Sony Universe was an exaggeration. Sony will never in a million years let go of the Spider-Man IP. The only way it’s if the company gets bought out or the rights get bought for an exorbitant amount of money.
But I’ll tell you this about Knull. I still believe we’re going to get to see him in Spider-Man 4. Too many pieces are falling into place at the same time. While we’re on the subject matter of “the endgame for Spider-Man 4”, A LOT has clearly transpired over the last few days or weeks when it comes to what the plot of this film is. Doom, Mephisto, Ghost Rider, Knull, Venom, Daredevil, etc. We need to focus on the primary fact that while I can trust my sources and trust my reporting, many of those of you reading won’t believe it until either the studio or a trade confirms it. It could be all of those or it could be none. What I can tell you is what I’ve been told from my sources. And what I have been told is that both Marvel AND Sony want this film in particular to be a team up movie in the way that Marvel produced Deadpool and Wolverine. And that the end goal here is to recapture that same magic and team up dynamic but switch out Deadpool and Fox for Spider-Man and Sony.
Based on that, plus the multiverse setting that this film has, it is reasonable to assume that out of all of the possible team up options, Tom Hardy’s Venom is the most likely option between him, Charlie Cox’s Daredevil or any other character. Therefore, having these two characters interact likely points to the inclusion of Knull as the final antagonist for these characters.
Not to mention, 2 of the trusted sources have told me they are planning to bring back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield for a larger participation than they had in No Way Home. As for Mephisto and Ghost Rider, I will admit this information is indeed new to me as I expected him to appear in Avengers: Doomsday given the inspiration of Avengers Forever for that storyline, but him having a fixation on Spider-Man shouldn’t really be a surprise to anyone, especially after the notorious One More Day comic storyline.
FootlongSlinky: Will Tom’s suit from the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home change in Avengers: Doomsday?
Alex Perez: He’ll still have his NWH final suit if that’s what you’re worried about. It is going to eventually become the symbiote suit though, most likely during Doomsday.
Mandrew149: Are there any heroes and villains you expect Spider-Man and Venom to come across in their battle against Knull and the symbiotes?
Alex Perez: I do like the idea of Willem Dafoe returning, but not as Norman, rather as the voice of the Goblin in Peter’s mind haunting/taunting him for what happened in No Way Home. But as I mentioned before, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker are expected to return. Speaking on Multiversal Spider-Men, I did want to mention a rumor that there were talks at one point about incorporating appearances from Miles Morales and Spider-Man 2099 in the Multiverse Saga; but at the moment, it’s only ever been ideas being thrown around.
Titan: There was a time a while back when I asked about the new Guardians of the Multiverse in What If…? and you said something about Spider-Man… is this something you still believe or was that something else, and he won’t be on the team in What If…? season 3?
Alex Perez: Stay tuned and watch.
SpiderBryte98: Hello Alex, hope you are well. 1) who will be the villains in Spider-Man 4 first half (if the beginning and first hour is street level grounded) besides Knull, Venom and RDJ Doom in the second half being multiverse, Scorpion, Prowler, Shocker, Vulture?
Alex Perez: Yeah, no, there’s no feasible way to know that at this time and anyone who says otherwise is lying.
SpiderBryte98: Will any Avengers like Thor, Captain Marvel and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch be in it because Knull is more powerful than Dr. Doom, Thanos and Kang and all Avengers, Eternals, and celestials rolled into one and more powerful than Scarlet Witch as well in the comics?
Alex Perez: I expect them to nerf Knull by saying he’s less powerful because he just got out of Klyntar and isn’t at 100% power yet.
DisappointinglyLethargic: Hello Alex. Do you know if we’ll see Cindy Moon on screen now that Sony has canned its expanded universe Spider-Man adjacent films?
Alex Perez: I don’t know about Silk showing up.
Alex (aps12359): Hello Alex! Thanks again for everything you do! Do you have any insight on the future introduction of Gwen Stacy in the MCU?
Alex Perez: I heard she was being planned to be introduced as the new female lead for the trilogy a while back while Peter entered college and replace Zendaya’s MJ for a bit, but that was a while ago.
Harsha Adhikary: Hello Alex! I hope you are doing well. I was wondering since DanielRPK said that there would be more than 1 villain in Spider-Man 4 and a while back you said that more symbiotes would appear, so is Spider-Man 4 shaping up to sort of resemble a live-action version of the Web of Shadows game, with a symbiotized New York, symbiotized villains, etc….with Knull as the main antagonist? Thank you for your time.
Alex Perez: I can’t answer that at the moment.
JUIC3T0NN: Hi Alex. I’ve always been big on Spidey, outside of it nothing else has excited me much. My only question: Do you know anything about plans to change fight choreography or cinematography with the new Director (Shang-Chi)
Alex Perez: No update on that. But I’m certain Destin’s got some ideas that are certainly going to cook.
Michael: Do you have any new, unrevealed details that you can share with us regarding the plot or story beats in Spider-Man 4?
Alex Perez: Nothing I can share at the moment.
Michael: Any idea on how much of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season 2 is completed and if marvel knows when they want to release it?
Alex Perez: No update on that either.
Thor and Love
CamCam: When can we expect to see Thor and Love again? Thor 5? One of the Avengers films? Something else? Feels like most people forget Thor is a dad now when discussing his future, so I’m hoping Marvel doesn’t.
Alex Perez: Chris Hemsworth will be back in the Avengers films.
X-Men and Mutants in the MCU
Manglor: Hi Alex, really appreciate you doing this as always. How exactly will the new additions to the main universe after the Multiverse reset, like the Fantastic 4 and the X-Men, or the Shi’ar empire, be handled?
Alex Perez: I can’t comment on those at the moment. I just know they want to use the Shi’ar in the MCU.
Mandrew149: Do you have any idea what roster of original Fox X-Men will be in Avengers since there’s so many.
Alex Perez: Charles Xavier and Beast for sure are in it. I heard we’re getting Tatum’s Gambit as well. Outside of that, not 100% sure yet.
RedGyarados2010: In the past, you’ve teased that the Sacred Timeline created by HWR removed the X-Men, and they will be restored in a post-SW soft reboot. How will this affect existing mutants such as Ms. Marvel and Namor?
Alex Perez: They’ll still exist.
Young Avengers / Champions
M: Do you have any insight on this whole “Young Avengers” / “Champions” project like are they actually calling it Champions now?
Alex Perez: I don’t really have any info on that other than they want to introduce them as the next face of the MCU that will eventually carry the torch moving forward.
Miscellaneous questions
Jay Pal: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is coming out in about two weeks from now. Given that the filmmakers have plans for future Sonic movies and shows, could we expect to see any of the following characters (like Amy Rose, Rouge the Bat, Silver the Hedgehog, Metal Sonic and Team Chaotix) to pop up in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and beyond?
Alex Perez: I love Sonic. I love that franchise, and I can’t wait for them to keep introducing more and more characters into the franchise.
Wade: No idea if you can answer this, but since the characters are technically Marvel characters, do you think we’ll ever get a Big Hero 6 2 or a Big Hero 6 live film.
Alex Perez: I’d love for Big Hero 6 to get a sequel. Heard they were recently testing some ideas for some sort of continuation but nothing set in stone yet.
Wade: What’s your favourite project from each MCU Phase?
Alex Perez:
- Phase 1: Captain America: The First Avenger
- Phase 2: Avengers: Age of Ultron, followed by Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
- Phase 3: Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange and Black Panther.
- Phase 4: WandaVision, Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Shang-Chi
- Phase 5: Deadpool and Wolverine, Loki Season 2, Agatha All Along
sahil: Hey Alex, do you think the MCU will ever do elseworld movies like DC?
Alex Perez: It’s not that far off. It has been explored but not sure if they ever plan to do it.
sahil: Do you expect the conclusion of the Multiverse saga is gonna be good like Infinity saga?
Alex Perez: I’m certain it will be.
Ecko: Can you tease either an unannounced DCU project or an announced but potentially scrapped DCU project?
Alex Perez: I don’t know anything about DC at this time.
Keke4002: Hi Alex, do you have any information about the untitled film due in February 2026? Dr. Strange 3? Hulk movie?
Alex Perez: I don’t… yet.
RedGyarados2010: Any chance we get the Great Lakes Avengers somewhere down the line? With Mr. Immortal introduced in She-Hulk, I feel like it’s a possibility.
Alex Perez: No clue
Folkito1hunnid: Alex the big thing now is the untitled movies for phase 6, well the dates… Could potentially 1 be a big event movie to flush out arcs like the PCS of the Marvels, with OG Avengers 6 being variants vs Foxverse in a mini Avengers vs X-men adaption with a twist? …. Kind of another incursion wars type of movie, since Secret Wars is 1 movie.
Alex Perez: We’ll see, but I don’t know because everyone’s getting ready for Avengers: Doomsday.
Folkito1hunnid: Phase 7 and 8 feels like building with each side of the MCU having standalone stories. Do you believe each corner is having their own build-ups for mini big events?
Alex Perez: Yes.
toastef: Can’t think of any pressing questions, maybe you could just give us a small but exciting tidbit. Happy Holidays!
Alex Perez: Sure. Let’s end this with a bang: Marvel Studios has been trying to get the major players of, not only their own movies, but also previous Marvel Legacy films to show up in a role in these next couple of Avengers films. And nothing and no one is off limits. Nor formats either. As for the future beyond the Secret Wars…the countdown to Annihilation begins.
That’s it for our December Discord Q&A with Alex Perez!
What Marvel Studios projects are you looking forward to most? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus on X, Threads, Facebook & Instagram, or TheCosmicCircus.com on Bluesky!
December Discord Q&A Part 2: Black Panther, Daredevil, Hulk, Kate Bishop & More
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