Kevin Feige confirms seven-year MCU plan, teases Dr Doom and return of Mahershala Ali's Blade

Mint

a day ago

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has offered a rare glimpse into the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe during a press roundtable at Marvel's headquarters in Burbank, California. Pointing toward a set of sealed doors, Feige hinted at what lies ahead for the powerhouse studio.
Kevin Feige Teases Seven-Year MCU Plan at Marvel HQ
While the exact titles remain under wraps, Kevin Feige's comment confirms Marvel's long-term planning remains ambitious and flexible — even after recent pivots in tone, talent, and characters.
'It's a seven-year plan,' teases Feige, 'I think it goes to 2032. It's on magnets, it can move around.'
Following the commercial disappointment of the 2015 reboot, Marvel Studios is preparing to reintroduce 'Fantastic Four' — this time under Feige's own creative leadership.
With expectations running high, the producer spoke candidly about why Marvel's first family is finally being restored to their rightful place in the MCU.
'Why Fantastic Four? Because it's Marvel's first family. It's in the history of our characters; they deserve to be A-listers. They were A-listers in the comics. Every crossover movie we've made in the Infinity saga, Civil War, leading to Infinity War and Endgame, which is really the Infinity saga from the comics, the Fantastic Four were huge players in those comics and obviously we couldn't do that then,' explains Feige on the reasons for another redo.
The upcoming film will be the first time Marvel Studios — not 20th Century Fox — takes full creative control of the characters, and fans are hopeful it will mark a true return to form.
With 'Fantastic Four' back in the fold, attention has naturally turned to one of Marvel's most iconic villains: Doctor Doom. Feige confirmed that the infamous Latverian leader is no longer sidelined.
'There was only one character that could be that because he was that in the comics for decades and decades, and because of the Fox acquisition, we finally had it, and that's Dr. Doom,' says the studio boss.
'We had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang,' he says, 'In fact, I had started talking with Robert about this audacious idea before Ant-Man 3 even came out.'
This marks a significant narrative shift for the MCU, especially in the wake of Jonathan Majors' exit and uncertainty around the Kang storyline. Doctor Doom now appears to be the central villain moving forward.
Feige also addressed the future of Blade, a project that has faced multiple delays and creative reshuffles. Despite being removed from the release calendar, the film remains in active development, with Mahershala Ali still set to star.
Feige revealed that while there were four versions of Blade in the works, two of them period (one of them set in the 1930s), 'we landed on modern day and that's what we're focusing on.'
Feige acknowledged the exits of directors Yann Demange and Bassam Tariq, saying the delays were necessary to protect the integrity of the story and the vision.
He added, 'We didn't want to put a leather outfit on him and have him start killing vampires.'
'You can start and have a good script and make it a great script through production, but we didn't feel confident we could do that on Blade. We didn't want to do that to Mahershala and didn't want to do that to us,' he continued.
While Blade's timeline is still unclear, Feige's comments suggest Marvel is committed to doing the character justice, even if it takes longer than originally planned.