Black Widow, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man and the Hulk as the original Avengers team in the MCU

There’s been one rule that Marvel head Kevin Feige has maintained about the Avengers for years, but it might be time for him to start rethinking it. The Avengers have become one of the most iconic superhero teams of all time thanks to the success of the early MCU. When the first team-up movie dropped in 2012, it was clear that each of the original six members of the Avengers would play a huge role carrying the franchise forward. Many of their arcs came to a fitting end by the conclusion of the Infinity Saga.

Though some of the original Avengers actors will be returning to the MCU timeline, it will either be in a scaled-down role or a completely new one altogether. Of course, the Avengers team is still a mainstay in the MCU, though the road forward will have different figures taking the lead. Marvel has been setting up various MCU legacy heroes so that the influence of the original team doesn’t completely vanish, lining up with one of Feige’s golden casting rules. However, the rule might be holding the MCU back beyond the Multiverse Saga, and one of the studio’s best options may be to forget about it.

Feige Previously Said He Wouldn’t Recast The Original Avengers

The Original Avengers Got Fitting Endings

Tony Stark saying I am Iron Man in Avengers Endgame Old Steve Rogers at the end of Avengers Endgame Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter happy in Avengers Endgame Black Widow and Hawkeye saying goodbye in Avengers Endgame Avengers joining the battle in Avengers Endgame

Fans who want to see the original Avengers continue on in the MCU through recasting may be let down, as Feige has stated his opposition to recasting characters in the past. The core six Avengers have built up so much of a legacy that it would feel odd for audiences to see other actors try to continue with their characters, especially with the ending arcs that most of them got.

Iron Man and Black Widow got heroic deaths in Avengers: Endgame that provided emotional yet fitting conclusions to their time in the MCU. Steve Rogers also got the ending that he always desired, which was to live a happy life with Peggy Carter. These endings feel fitting for their character development, which is likely why Feige wants to preserve the original Avengers’ legacy by not recasting the roles. While this makes sense on a lot of levels, it may also be what’s holding Marvel back.

The MCU Needs Its Biggest Character Brands

The Original Avengers Are The MCU’s Most Recognizable Heroes

The original six Avengers stand together during the Battle of New York in The Avengers (2012)

Although the MCU has moved on with new heroes, the original core Avengers are undeniably some of the franchise’s biggest brands, both in the comics and on-screen. The Avengers managed to take the six characters and develop a whole franchise that depended on them. New iterations of the MCU’s Avengers team will come and go, but audiences will always remember the original members who started it all. While the studio has a valid reason for not wanting to recast these roles, they also need to balance the fact that the core six are their most memorable properties.

Marvel’s risks with their projects have been paying off lately, but the slow year that they had in 2023 could happen again. At the end of the day, the studio is a business. The MCU may be tempted to capitalize off of the characters that they know will perform well, and that is undoubtedly the original Avengers. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to want to recast these roles, as there are plenty of ways to honor their existing legacies while branding them for the new era of the MCU.

The Multiverse Loophole Is Closing, So Recastings Have To Happen Soon

The Multiverse Saga Provides An Easy Solution

Steve Rogers fighting 2012's Captain America in Avengers Endgame

Though still a few years away, the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga is near. This era of the MCU has provided the franchise with a great way to include characters and cameos that wouldn’t normally fit in, as the studio can play them off as a variant. As such, if Feige were to finally give in and recast the original Avengers, now would have to be the time. A variant of Captain America or Iron Man from a different timeline would mean that the character continues on while Evans and Downey Jr.’s respective versions stay respected and untampered with.

Once the Multiverse Saga is over, it’ll be more difficult for Marvel to recast the original Avengers even if they wanted to. Without the multiverse loophole, the franchise would have to find another logical way to introduce new versions of the characters into the narrative, which seems comparatively a far bigger challenge that could present far bigger issues than going forward with things sooner. The 2012 Avengers will always be the core of the MCU, so it’s natural that no one wants to let go, but recasting may just be what’s best for the franchise.