Captain America: Brave New World Post-Credits Scene – How It Ties to Thunderbolts*, Fantastic Four, and Avengers: What’s Next for the MCU?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is hurtling toward its grand finale in the Multiverse Saga with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and the breadcrumbs are already being laid. The post-credits scene of Captain America: Brave New World (released February 14, 2025) has fans buzzing with speculation about how it connects to Thunderbolts* (May 2, 2025), The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25, 2025), and the ultimate Avengers showdowns in 2026 and 2027. With Sam Wilson stepping into his role as Captain America and a cryptic warning from The Leader, the MCU is setting the stage for a multiversal clash. Let’s dive into this speculative journey through the MCU’s upcoming slate, piecing together the puzzle based on what we know so far.

How Does the Captain America: Brave New World Post-Credits Scene Connect to Thunderbolts*?

In the Captain America: Brave New World post-credits scene, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) visits Samuel Sterns/The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson) at the Raft, where the gamma-irradiated genius delivers an ominous warning: “It’s coming. I’ve seen it in the probabilities… All you heroes protecting this world, you think you’re the only ones? You think this is the only world? We’ll see what happens when you have to protect this place from the others.” This tease screams multiverse, but its immediate ripple could hit Thunderbolts*, the next MCU film.

Thunderbolts* assembles a ragtag team of antiheroes—think Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)—tasked with missions too dirty for the Avengers. The Leader’s mention of “the others” might hint at an external threat that forces Val to activate her team. Speculation suggests Thunderbolts* could feature a post-credits scene where Val receives intel about a multiversal incursion—perhaps tied to The Leader’s calculations—prompting her to pivot from Earth-bound ops to something bigger. With Bucky’s cameo in Brave New World, his Raft connections could tie Sam’s new Avengers to Val’s crew, setting up a tense alliance or rivalry as the multiverse looms.

How Could the Ending of Thunderbolts* Lead into The Fantastic Four: First Steps?

Thunderbolts* is marketed as an alternative to the Avengers, but its ending could shift the focus beyond Earth-616 (the MCU’s main timeline). Imagine this: the team completes a mission—say, securing a celestial artifact or thwarting a gamma-related plot tied to The Leader—only to discover it’s a piece of a larger multiversal puzzle. The final moments could reveal a portal opening or a distress signal from another universe, segueing into The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Set in a retro-futuristic alternate universe, Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). If Thunderbolts* ends with evidence of an incursion—two universes colliding, as seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness—it could explain how the Fantastic Four’s world enters the fray. Perhaps Val’s team inadvertently triggers this event, or The Leader’s machinations amplify it. The Fantastic Four, already dealing with Galactus in their own timeline, might detect this incursion, setting them on a collision course with Earth-616 and bridging the gap between Thunderbolts*’ grounded chaos and the cosmic scope of First Steps.

How Might the Ending of The Fantastic Four: First Steps Set Up Avengers: Doomsday?

The Fantastic Four: First Steps promises a standalone vibe, but its ending could be the MCU’s tipping point into Avengers: Doomsday. Picture Reed Richards, the multiverse’s smartest man, analyzing the incursion from Thunderbolts* and realizing it’s tied to a figure manipulating realities: Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.). Doom, confirmed as the villain of Doomsday (May 1, 2026), might debut in First Steps’ post-credits, either as a shadowy puppetmaster or a variant from the Fantastic Four’s universe who’s survived Galactus’ wrath.

The Fantastic Four could then cross into Earth-616, seeking Sam Wilson’s Avengers to warn them of Doom’s plan—perhaps to collapse the multiverse into a single, Doom-ruled “Battleworld,” a nod to the Secret Wars comics. This ending would cement Reed as a key player, aligning his scientific prowess with Sam’s leadership. It also teases Doom’s grand entrance in Doomsday, where he’ll face off against a reassembled Avengers team, including returning stars like Chris Evans (in an unspecified role) and possibly evil variants of iconic heroes.

How Could Avengers: Doomsday Flow into Avengers: Secret Wars?

Avengers: Doomsday is poised to be the Multiverse Saga’s penultimate chapter, with Doom as the Thanos-level threat. If Fantastic Four: First Steps ends with Doom’s reveal, Doomsday could depict his full-scale assault—uniting Sam’s Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and maybe Thunderbolts* survivors against incursions tearing reality apart. The Leader’s “others” might refer to Doom’s army of multiversal variants, including a Hydra-aligned Captain America or a Dark Avengers squad, forcing heroes to confront twisted mirrors of themselves.

The climax of Doomsday could see Doom partially succeed, merging universes into Battleworld as a cliffhanger. This sets up Avengers: Secret Wars (May 7, 2027), where the MCU’s heroes—now joined by X-Men from Monica Rambeau’s universe (seen in The Marvels)—battle Doom and each other to restore the multiverse. Drawing from Jonathan Hickman’s 2015 Secret Wars comics, the Beyonders (cosmic entities tied to Doom) might emerge as the true puppetmasters, with The Leader’s foresight proving crucial to the Avengers’ strategy. The saga could end with a reset, introducing mutants and a new MCU status quo.

Conclusion: The MCU’s Multiversal Web Unravels

From The Leader’s chilling prophecy in Captain America: Brave New World to the cosmic stakes of Avengers: Secret Wars, the MCU is weaving a complex tapestry of alliances, betrayals, and multiversal mayhem. Thunderbolts* might ignite the spark, Fantastic Four: First Steps fan the flames, and Doomsday bring the heat, all culminating in a Secret Wars showdown that could redefine Marvel’s cinematic universe. As Sam Wilson rallies his Avengers, the road ahead promises twists aplenty—stay tuned, true believers!

So, what are your thoughts on our theories? Whatever you guys think, jump down in the comments section below and let us know your thoughts!

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