‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ - The Movie We Never Got
Before Marvel Studios decided to completely change the direction of the Multiverse Saga, the fifth Avengers movie was supposed to tell a story that would directly conclude the events surrounding Kang. An alleged early draft of the script by Jeff Loveness that appeared online shows a much bigger and darker movie than previously reported. The Avengers were supposed to suffer a devastating defeat, Earth was going to be destroyed, and the collapse of the Multiverse would lead to the creation of Battleworld: a world that would later become the starting point for Avengers: Secret Wars.
However, it is important to point out that this is not the official story of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. Marvel Studios has never confirmed that the document circulating online is real, so the information about its contents should be treated as a description of an alleged early version of the movie. It is also unknown whether all of these elements would have made it into the final script if the project had not been cancelled. Still, the material is interesting because some of its ideas match earlier reports about the direction Kang’s story was supposed to take.
Kang’s Story Was Supposed to Begin With His Defeat
The Kang Dynasty was supposed to be a direct continuation of the events from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The movie would answer the question left after the 2023 film: what actually happened to Kang after he was pulled into the Multiversal Engine Core? Instead of leaving his fate unexplained, the script was supposed to take viewers directly to a place beyond the known Multiverse.
Kang ends up in what is called the Beyond Zone, a mysterious space that does not work by the same rules as the other realities. This is where his transformation begins. Kang is confronted by different variants of himself, and these events force him to look back at his own past. His relationship with Ravonna was also supposed to be important, helping viewers see Kang not only as a ruthless conqueror of different worlds, but also as a man who lost everything that mattered to him because of his obsession with power.
In the Beyond Zone, Kang also discovers the ability to create and merge his variants. Over time, he stops being a single individual and becomes something much more powerful. This process was supposed to lead to the creation of a version of Kang known as Beyonder Kang. He was meant to be the biggest threat of the entire Multiverse Saga. A being whose abilities would go far beyond anything we had seen before.
The Council of Kangs Starts a War
At the same time, the situation in the Multiverse begins to get much worse. The Council of Kangs, led by Immortus, prepares for another phase of the war for control over reality. The other versions of Kang had come to the conclusion that the biggest threat to their rule was the heroes who had repeatedly stopped their plans across different realities. The Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men were therefore not random enemies. They represented the forces that had stood in Kang’s way in different worlds.
The Council does not simply want to defeat the heroes of Earth-616. Their goal is to eliminate the threat across the entire Multiverse. This is why the story was supposed to make heavy use of alternate realities and characters from other worlds. The war with Kang would not be another attempt to save a single planet, but a conflict where the survival of every existing reality would be at stake.
One of the most important parts of Kang’s plan was supposed to involve Shang-Chi’s Ten Rings and Kamala Khan’s bangles. Both artifacts were meant to have a much bigger role than their previous appearances in the MCU suggested. Their origins were supposed to be connected to the Multiverse, and combining their powers could give Kang access to the energy he needed to carry out his ultimate plan.
The Avengers Face the Biggest War in MCU History
On Earth, the situation begins to get out of control. Sam Wilson, who is now Captain America, has to bring together a new generation of Avengers. The problem is that this team is very different from the one we knew from the early phases of the MCU. Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and many other heroes who were once the backbone of the team are no longer there.
Sam must not only lead the Avengers during the war, but also prove that he is capable of rebuilding the team. Among the heroes who are supposed to answer the call are Hulk, Thor, Captain Marvel, Shang-Chi, Ms. Marvel, Ant-Man, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Punisher, Moon Knight, War Machine, Ironheart, and members of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
However, the scale of the conflict was quickly meant to show that even a team this powerful might not be enough. The Council of Kangs has a massive army, technology that allows them to travel between different realities, and a deep understanding of their enemies. The Avengers are not simply fighting one villain. They are fighting an entire system built by countless versions of Kang.
An Invasion That Spared No One
The scale of the Kangs’ first attack was supposed to be one of the things that made this version of The Kang Dynasty different from a typical superhero movie. The threat was not limited to battles between powerful heroes and villains. It was also meant to affect ordinary people and the families of the heroes. The alleged draft described the invasion as a disaster with devastating consequences for the entire world. The deaths of several characters were meant to show, step by step, that the Avengers were facing an enemy they could not simply defeat.
One of the most brutal examples was supposed to involve Pepper Potts, Morgan Stark, and Happy Hogan. Pepper and Morgan are staying at a house by a lake, where Happy is also present. Inside the house, we can see several of Tony Stark’s belongings, including his Iron Man helmet and a photo of Tony. This gives the scene an even stronger emotional impact. Moments later, the house is attacked by the Kangs, and Pepper, Morgan, and Happy are killed during the invasion.
If this scene really appeared in one of the early versions of the script, it was likely meant to show the audience that the war against the Kangs was not just another battle for the Avengers. This was a threat that could reach anyone. Even people who were far away from the center of the conflict.
Wakanda Was Supposed to Become Humanity’s Last Stand
The war was supposed to leave Earth almost completely destroyed. One city after another falls victim to the attacks, while the death toll reaches unimaginable numbers. Eventually, Wakanda becomes one of the last places where the surviving people and heroes can find shelter.
This is where the Avengers prepare for their most important battle. However, the script was supposed to turn the classic superhero movie structure on its head, much like Avengers: Infinity War. Wakanda is not a place the heroes leave from to achieve victory. It is a place they retreat to after suffering one defeat after another.
One of the ideas was to use Adamantium Sentinels as a weapon against Kang’s army. However, the plan eventually turns against the heroes when Immortus takes control of the Sentinels and uses them to attack Wakanda. As a result, even humanity’s last safe haven is destroyed.
This is the moment when the movie was supposed to make it completely clear that the Avengers could not win the war.
Spider-Man and Miles Morales at the Center of the Story
One of the most interesting parts of the rumored draft is the presence of two Spider-Men. Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland, was reportedly set to meet Miles Morales, who was already an active hero in this version of the story. Their relationship was expected to be one of the more personal parts of the film.
Peter would take on the role of a mentor to the younger Spider-Man. After the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter’s life had changed completely, and his connection with Miles would give him a chance to start building something new. At the same time, Miles would represent the next generation of heroes that Marvel has been slowly preparing to take the place of the older generation.
The story was also reportedly set to feature Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man. Their roles would go beyond simple cameos. Alongside Holland’s Peter Parker and Miles Morales, they would become part of a larger story about saving different realities.
However, Miles’ story was supposed to end on a tragic note. During a confrontation with Rama-Tut, the young Spider-Man would reportedly be killed, with Peter witnessing his death. This would be a devastating moment for Parker, especially since he had been responsible for preparing Miles for his role as a hero.
Kamala Khan and Shang-Chi Were Key to the Story
Kamala Khan was also expected to play an important role in the plot. Her bangle, which we first saw in Ms. Marvel, was reportedly one piece of a much bigger puzzle. Meanwhile, Shang-Chi continued studying the Ten Rings, which began sending a mysterious signal at the end of his film.
The Kang Dynasty was reportedly set to bring both storylines together. The Ten Rings and Kamala’s bangle were said to come from a similar source and be connected to the energy of the Multiverse. By combining them, Kang would gain the ability to manipulate the structure of reality.
This would have been an interesting way for Marvel to connect stories that had seemed unrelated in earlier phases of the MCU. Objects that were once presented as mysterious artifacts of unknown origin would finally have a clear purpose in the larger story of the Multiverse Saga.
Loki Was Set to Play a Key Role in the Finale
Another important element connected to earlier MCU projects was Loki. After the events of the second season of his series, the character remains connected to Yggdrasil, sacrificing himself to keep the countless branches of reality alive.
In The Kang Dynasty, his situation was reportedly set to become increasingly desperate. The Kangs begin destabilizing the Multiverse, and Loki can no longer keep track of everything happening at once. Eventually, the conflict reaches Yggdrasil itself.
Loki was reportedly set to be attacked by Kang and eventually killed, with Yggdrasil also being destroyed. This would have been a highly symbolic moment for the Multiverse Saga. Loki sacrificed himself to keep countless realities alive, only to find himself unable to stop their destruction.
Wanda Maximoff Was Also Set to Appear in the Film
Wanda Maximoff was another character reportedly included in earlier plans for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, with Elizabeth Olsen expected to return to the role. According to rumors circulating at the time, the Scarlet Witch was supposed to have a much bigger part in the story than her status after the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness might suggest. One version of the leaks claimed that Kang would find Wanda somewhere in the Multiverse and use her incredible powers to achieve his own goals.
However, this did not necessarily mean Wanda would return as a traditional villain. Her relationship with Kang was reportedly more complicated, and she could have been drawn into the conflict against her will. If Wanda’s return was indeed part of the film’s plans, it would have been particularly important to the overall story of the Multiverse Saga.
After WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, she was one of the characters most closely connected to threats against the structure of reality. Her potential involvement could have further highlighted the scale of the conflict that would ultimately lead to the fall of the Multiverse and the creation of Battleworld.
The Avengers Begin to Fall
As the story approached its finale, the film was reportedly set to feel more like a tragedy than a typical Marvel blockbuster. More and more heroes would die fighting the Kangs, with some of these deaths being direct consequences of earlier decisions.
Among the potential victims were several members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, Wonder Man, Miles Morales, and other heroes. Some would be left seriously injured, while only a small group would eventually find a way to escape.
One of the most important scenes reportedly involved Wonder Man sacrificing himself to help the other Avengers escape. Simon Williams would use the power of the Nega-Bands against Immortus’ forces, but ultimately lose his life.
These moments would help establish the film’s central theme: the Avengers cannot win the war because their enemy is simply too powerful, with an advantage that comes from the very nature of the Multiverse itself.
The Kang War
All these events would lead to the conflict that served as the true climax of Kang’s story. Beyonder Kang would face Immortus and other variants, while the Council of Kangs would fall apart as its members turned against one another.
This would be an interesting twist, as the story would ultimately move beyond a simple battle between the Avengers and Kang. Instead, Kang’s greatest threat would turn out to be his own variants.
Beyonder Kang ultimately defeats Immortus and takes control of the situation. At this point, there is practically no one left who can stop him, and the Multiverse begins to fall apart.
The Ark and the Surviving Heroes
With total destruction approaching, some of the heroes try to find a way to survive. A special Ark is created to help a select group escape the collapse of the Multiverse.
This is one of the most important parts of the film’s story, as it allows the script to keep the characters needed for Secret Wars alive. Not everyone can survive, but that does not mean everyone has to die.
The potential survivors reportedly included heroes from different universes. This is where Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland, Deadpool, Wolverine, and Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider come into the picture.
Their presence would serve a purpose in the story. The goal would not simply be to create the biggest crossover possible, but to bring together representatives of different realities before they are completely destroyed.
The Birth of Battleworld
In the finale, Kang gains access to the power he needs to take control of what remains of the Multiverse. Rather than allowing every reality to disappear completely, he decides to create something new.
This is how Battleworld is born.
Fragments of different realities are brought together to form a single world under Kang’s control. This would lead directly into Avengers: Secret Wars, as Battleworld is one of the most iconic elements of the Secret Wars comic book storyline.
In this version of events, The Kang Dynasty would end not with the conflict being resolved, but with an entirely new status quo. The heroes lose, their worlds are destroyed, and Kang gains an empire of his own.
The next film would then explore whether there is any way to reverse what has happened.
Why Was the Film Supposed to Be Important to the Multiverse Saga?
Looking at the rumored draft from the perspective of the wider MCU, The Kang Dynasty was supposed to bring together many of the stories told over the years. Projects that once seemed to follow completely separate storylines could finally become part of one larger conflict.
Loki introduced Yggdrasil and the TVA. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania brought Kang into the picture. Shang-Chi introduced the Ten Rings, while Ms. Marvel introduced Kamala’s bangle. Spider-Man: No Way Home opened the door to other versions of Spider-Man, and later projects continued to expand the idea of alternate realities.
All of these storylines could have come together in The Kang Dynasty.
The film was supposed to answer a simple question: why had Marvel spent years building the Multiverse? The answer would have been straightforward: to eventually destroy it and use what remained to create Battleworld.
The Problem Was the Scale
At the same time, it is easy to understand why a project like this would have been extremely difficult to bring to the big screen. Even a quick look at the list of characters shows just how much the script was trying to accomplish at once.
It would have needed to continue Kang’s story, develop Sam Wilson as Captain America, introduce Miles Morales, bring back Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men, expand the stories of Kamala Khan and Shang-Chi, continue Loki’s journey, feature the TVA, introduce the Council of Kangs, develop the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, and kill off a large number of heroes while also setting up Secret Wars: all in a single film.
On one hand, this scale could have made The Kang Dynasty one of the biggest crossover events in cinema history. On the other, there was a serious risk that individual characters would not get enough time to develop, turning the film into little more than a series of events leading into the next project.
Kang Was Finally Supposed to Get a Story Worthy of Thanos
One of the biggest problems with Kang was that Marvel spent a long time presenting him as Thanos’ successor, only for his first major film appearance to end with a defeat at the hands of Ant-Man.
The Kang Dynasty was supposed to change that completely.
Kang would no longer be just another villain who could be defeated in a one-on-one fight. His greatest weapon would be the very concept of variants. Even if one Kang was defeated, countless other versions of the same character would still exist.
This would finally show why the Council of Kangs was such a major threat. The Avengers would not be fighting a single villain, but an entire Multiverse filled with different versions of him.
Ironically, however, the greatest threat to the Kangs would ultimately be an even more powerful version of Kang: the Beyonder.
What About the Young Avengers?
It is also worth mentioning the idea of the Young Avengers, which came up in discussions about the original version of the story. Michael Waldron later revealed that he and Jeff Loveness had considered an idea in which the young heroes defeated one of the Kangs. Waldron even mentioned an absurd concept involving “Lizard Kang.”
This suggests that the film’s concept may have been even more ambitious during its earlier stages of development. Marvel was trying to build a new generation of Avengers who could eventually take over from the older heroes.
Kamala Khan, Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, America Chavez, and potentially Miles Morales were all part of the generation that was expected to become the new center of the MCU in the future.
Why Was The Kang Dynasty Ultimately Scrapped?
The project eventually began to fall apart on several levels. Jeff Loveness was no longer involved with the film, director Destin Daniel Cretton stepped down, and Marvel Studios later ended its relationship with Jonathan Majors. At the same time, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania failed to meet expectations, making it much harder for the studio to continue building the entire Multiverse Saga around Kang.
As a result, Marvel decided not just to rewrite the script, but to change the film’s entire direction.
The Kang Dynasty Was Replaced by Avengers: Doomsday
The biggest change was, of course, the main villain. Kang was replaced by Doctor Doom, bringing an entirely new direction to the Multiverse Saga.
Will Doomsday still use elements from The Kang Dynasty? This is one of the most interesting questions surrounding the upcoming film. Kang himself may have been removed from the story, but that does not mean every idea developed for The Kang Dynasty had to be thrown away.
If Marvel is still heading toward Secret Wars, some parts of the original story could remain similar. In both cases, the natural climax involves different realities colliding, a massive crossover, and the creation of an entirely new world.
The main difference is who controls this process. In the original version, it would have been Kang. In the current version, it will be Doctor Doom.
The Story We Will Never See
It is difficult to say exactly what Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was supposed to be. The rumored draft could be an authentic early script, a combination of several versions of the story, or a collection of ideas that never made it into Marvel Studios’ official plans. For this reason, it should not be presented as the “real plot” of the canceled film.
At the same time, the material is fascinating because it offers a glimpse of what could have been one of the biggest alternative directions for the MCU. Marvel was reportedly planning a story in which Kang would not only defeat the Avengers, but also bring the known Multiverse to an end. Earth would fall, Loki would die, many heroes would be killed, and the survivors would escape the destruction before taking center stage in Secret Wars.
The most important part, however, was the direction of the story itself. The Kang Dynasty was supposed to be a film about the Avengers’ defeat, not their victory. It would destroy the status quo of the entire MCU, allowing the next installment to begin in a completely new world.
Perhaps that is exactly what makes this project so fascinating today. It is not simply an alternative version of one film. It is an alternative version of the entire conclusion to the Multiverse Saga. Instead of Doctor Doom, we would have Kang. Instead of a grand return, we would see his ultimate victory. And instead of gradually building toward Battleworld, the film would introduce it in the finale of the fifth Avengers movie.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was supposed to tell the story of how the Avengers lose, how the Multiverse comes to an end, and how a new world rises from its ruins. The film will never reach theaters, but its original concept shows just how differently the Multiverse Saga could have ended.
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