Marvel has announced plans to make a new Secret Wars storyline the centerpiece of its 2015 plans, echoing the 30-year-old event that brought some of their greatest heroes and villains together to do battle.
The Marvel comics universe is currently in the midst of the nearly three-year-old When Time Runs Out arc, yet as Mashable notes, Secret Wars is not far off. When the Time storyline, which included the Age of Ultron event, winds down, Marvel will shift to a new version of Secret Wars , just as the Avengers sequel heads to theaters.
“The scope of it is about the biggest thing we’ve ever done or attempted to do,” noted executive editor Tom Brevoort. “It may be not the best thing to say but I don’t know how we’ll top it a year later.”
BREAKING: Marvel Announces New “Secret Wars” By Hickman & Ribic in 2015 http://t.co/5mJusLeKai pic.twitter.com/vz0xdcwL5o
— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) October 10, 2014
Marvel announced the new Secret Wars Thursday night at New York Comic Con, revealing that it will be written by Avengers scribe Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Esad Ribic, according to USA Today . A teaser image, painted by Alex Ross, was also released, potentially revealing the scope of the new Secret Wars as it showcases different versions of Marvel’s high-profile heroes. Older versions of Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor square off against their current incarnations, and the new female Thor is present, as are four Captain Americas. Iron man faces off against Superior Iron Man, his new, darker self.
Is Marvel Planning A Secret Wars Movie? #Film &Movie http://t.co/tbSyGYZZhs pic.twitter.com/EIcDXhv75P
— dailyseni (@dailyseni) October 10, 2014
According to Brevoort, the Ross image is very calculated in its depiction of the various iterations of Marvel’s characters.
“None of it is random and none of it is brand new,” he said, adding, “However massive you think this is, let me assure you it is bigger than that. It’s by far the craziest thing that I’ve dealt with.”
MARVEL launching new ‘SECRET WARS’ May 2015. #Comics pic.twitter.com/ZT8tN6fLXt
— Superhero Report (@SuperheroReport) October 10, 2014
As Comicbook.com points out, the Secret Wars announcement has already led to speculation that Marvel’s cinematic division could be planning a Secret Wars movie. Marvel is rumored to be bringing a new cast of characters to their phase three movies, as The Inquisitr has previously noted, potentially setting the stage for a larger storyline, which was previously thought to be Civil War .
Comicbook.com cites not only recent speculation that Sony and Marvel are negotiating over the rights to Spider-Man, but also Marvel’s admission that Secret Wars will be more than just a comic event, spilling over into their digital platforms and merchandising.
Admitting that expectations will be high, Brevoort noted that he believes Marvel fans will still be talking about the new Secret Wars 30 years from now.
“Our hope is that as seismic as the original Secret Wars was to the Marvel Universe and the readers, this new Secret Wars will be to the readers of today,” he said.
[Image: Alex Ross via Mashable ]