Oops, Marvel Studios just let slip who the next leader of the Avengers will be ahead of time

The identity of the next leader of the Avengers has been one of the biggest questions MCU fans have had since Avengers: Endgame removed both Iron Man and Steve Rogers from the board. Honestly, it’s been slightly less pressing since we found out Robert Downey Jr. (and maybe Chris Evans, too) was coming back in Doomsday — even though he might be the villain, that’s the movie’s star power sorted right there — but regardless, it’s still been a puzzle.

The final piece of the puzzle, however, now appears to have fallen into place. We weren’t expecting to find out such major news this way, but a Marvel Studios producer has now given the game away about the future of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes while previewing Captain America: Brave New World. To be fair, Anthony Mackie’s first solo superhero movie is right around the corner — premiering in theaters on Valentine’s Day — but this news is still something of a surprise. Oh well, consider this your early Christmas present, Marvel lovers.

Captain America 4 producer teases the Avengers’ next leader — so, everyone, pretend to be shocked

Producer Nate Moore had some intriguing things to say about both what’s next for the Avengers and what’s to come in this February’s Brave New World while teasing Marvel’s next movie off the production line to Empire. Moore promised that director Julius Onah’s film will find Sam Wilson “jumping out of the frying pan and into the proverbial fire.”

And, by the law of the MCU, whenever the stakes are raised, so is the movie’s budget as other A-list superheroes start to assemble. Sure enough, it sounds as if the new Avengers team will come together as soon as this next offering. Moore indicated that Sam will have to grapple with becoming the leader of the group himself, although he heavily hinted at which way this plotline will fall.

“I think that Avengers teams are best when they are led by a Captain America,” the producer had to say. “And this movie gives us a little bit of space to talk about, ‘Where are the Avengers? What does it mean to have Avengers? And is Sam the right guy to lead them?’”

Unless this is a huge bait and switch, it sure sounds like Sam will definitely be the leader of the Avengers from now on. So expect him to lead the charge against Downey’s Doctor Doom in 2026’s Doomsday. This makes the most sense, as — like Moore reminds us — Captain America typically acts as the team’s field leader, whether that be Steve or Sam. Many had suspected Tom Holland’s Spider-Man would be given the major promotion, due to his popularity. Or maybe even Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel or Chris Hemsworth’s Thor on account of their sheer power levels.

Now that that mystery’s settled, the next big question needing answering is: who exactly will be on Sam’s Avengers roster? Do we have some big cameos coming in Brave New World? If this is where Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch is resurrected, a certain subset of the Marvel fandom will lose their minds. All will be revealed come Feb. 14, 2025.