8 Marvel Villains Who Could Replace Kang In Avengers 5

Kang the Conqueror and his many variants have been getting set up to face off against the MCU‘s heroes in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, but recent reports and events make it seem possible that Kang may still be replaced as the saga’s big bad. Thanos and the Infinity Stones famously acted as the through line for the MCU’s Phase 1-3 movies, and Marvel Studios had the difficult task of deciding who could possible follow in his footsteps for the movies of the now-titled Multiverse Saga. The answer was Kang, a multiverse-travelling villain not only powerful in his own right but made stronger my his unending stream of variants.

However, as exciting as Kang’s story is in theory, a recent report from Variety has shined light on Marvel Studios’ behind-the-scenes-drama. In addition to reported problems with movies like Blade and Quantumania, the Variety piece details the ongoing uncertainly surrounding Kang actor Jonathan Majors as he’s faced hitherto unverified accusations of assault. Marvel Studios already considered replacing the villain’s role in the MCU following Quantumania, and, pending the outcome of his trial, may yet move in another direction. If they do and opt not to recast, these 8 villains could step in as the MCU’s central villain.

8 Doctor Doom Was Already Considered As A Kang Replacement

Doom Almost Stepped In For Kang After Quantumania

Doctor Doom has already appeared in two different Fantastic Four movie franchises, but, since neither did the iconic Marvel villain justice, his debut in the MCU is highly anticipated. Doom may or may not appear in Marvel’s upcoming Fantastic Four, but there’s already precedence for him replacing Kang. According to Variety‘s report, Marvel Studios executives considered replacing Kang with Doom both after Major’s initial arrest in March 2023 and after Quantumania severely underperformed. However, while Doom is a beloved character, swapping him in as an emergency fix risks rushing his development and robbing him of a great story for the third time.

7 The High Evolutionary Already Has Similarities To Kang

The High Evolutionary Secretly Survived Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

The High Evolutionary, introduced in 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, instantly became one of the MCU’s best villains. Completely despicable and without redeeming qualities, he’s the perfect villain for viewers to love to hate. The problem is that he appeared to die in his ship’s explosion at the end of Guardians 3, but a sharp eye and deleted scene proves that to not be the case. Drax can barely be seen carrying the High Evolutionary off his ship when the team escapes, and deletes scenes show him imprisoned on Knowhere. Perhaps, failing to create his perfect world, he’ll look to find one in the multiverse.

6 The Beyonder Plays A Big Role In Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars

The Beyonder Plays A Big Part In Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars

The Beyonder is one of many from the Beyonder race with power that borders on unfathomable. With the ability to create, destroy, and alter universes, the Beyonder plays a critical role in Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars event – the namesake of the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars. If the Beyonder is set to play a similar role in the MCU, it may be possible for the franchise to simply expedite his introduction and have him play a role one movie sooner. The Beyonder famously teleports many of Earth’s heroes and villains to the patchwork reality Battle World, and a similar concept could work with mutliversal intrusions in the MCU.

5 Galactus Is A Big Enough Threat To Warrant The Avengers

Galactus Is Rumored For The MCU’s Fantastic Four

Galactus has already appeared once in live action courtesy of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, but the depiction was so far removed from the character’s usual form that it hardly bears counting. Galactus is terrifying because he’s not evil, he’s just a force of nature who’s required to consume planets to survive. However, he also has some parallels to He Who Who Remains. While his acts may be destructive, they’re also, in a way, necessary. The death of Galactus would release a far more destructive force – Abraxas – capable of engulfing the multiverse in chaos.

4 Ravonna Renslayer

Ravonna & Miss Minutes Are Phase 5’s New Most Terrifying Duo

The most challenging part of replacing Kang in the MCU would be how to make the new villain work with The Kang Dynasty‘s story. In that regard, Loki‘s Ravonna Renslayer (and perhaps Miss Minutes) seems like a fantastic fit. Renslayer has taken a dark turn in Loki season 2 with aims to take control of the TVA. Being that she was Kang’s close partner during the Multiverse War and has access to and knowledge of the multiverse, it’s not out of the question that she takes over Kang’s goal of conquest should the villain exit the franchise. Furthermore, actor Gugu Mbatha-Raw absolutely has leading-villain talent.

3 Doctor Strange Has Already Been Shown As A Villain

Evil Doctor Strange Has Appeared In Animation And Live Action

Doctor Strange may be one of the MCU’s most powerful Avengers, but the franchise has also shown multiple times how susceptible he is to corruption. Marvels’ animanted What If…? showcases a variant of the MCU Strange who delves into the dark side of the mystic arts after Christine Palmer dies and ends up a corrupted but incredibly powerful sorcerer. He’s already got experience traveling through and accidentally destroying parts of the multiverse. Less powerful but equally sinister versions are showcased in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madess, corrupted by the Darkhold. If the MCU wants to implement a shocking twist, a multiversal, villainous Strange is a powerful adversary.

2 Annihilus Could Attempt To Conquer The MCU

The Interdimensional Conquerer Has Similarities To Kang

Annihilus is usually presented as an adversary of the Fantastic Four, but he’s certainly powerful enough be an Avengers-level threat. The insectoid conquerer hails from the Negative Zone, a pocket dimension of the main 616 comics timeline, and, like Kang, his goal is complete and total conquest. Perhaps more interestingly, Annihilus wields Cosmic Control Rod, which grants him control over cosmic matter and energy. The MCU has set up various MacGuffins like Kamala’s bangle and Shang-Chi’s rings as part of something bigger, and they could be retconned to have connections to the Annihilus’ powerful tool.

1 Mephisto Can Finally Make His Debut

Mephisto Has Been Rumored To Appear Since WandaVision

Mephisto has yet to appear in the MCU, but he’s been rumored to show up as far back as WandaVision. The powerful demonic entity may not usually be tied to the mutliverse in the way Kang is, he does hail from another realm, so dimension-hopping could easily be added to his MCU skillset. Rumors persist that Mephisto will debut soon, and, if so, he certainly has the power level to challenge the MCU’s heroes. Furthermore, as a character with a less complicated backstory than characters like Doctor Doom or Annihilus, Mephisto could be made a threat for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty – or whatever its new name would be – relatively quickly.

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