The Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off Phase 6 in 2025 with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but the latest slate is closer to its end already, with only a handful of projects left. The Multiverse Saga will conclude in 2027 with Avengers: Secret Wars, before the franchise heads into a reset for Phase 7 and beyond.
In an interview with Boston, Gwyneth Paltrow, who has been with the MCU since 2008’s Iron Man, revealed out of nowhere that she is seemingly revisiting the franchise. The actor, who plays Marvel’s Pepper Potts, shared with the outlet that “I might be in another Marvel movie.”
It’s unclear whether she meant that she has already shot something as her MCU character for an upcoming Marvel film, or if she is getting ready to reprise the role in one of the movies that has yet to start shooting. Pepper’s last appearance was in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, as she took part in the final war against Thanos.
One possibility is that she is part of the Avengers: Doomsday cast, which finished principal photography back on September 19, 2025. While she wasn’t announced as one of the cast members during Marvel Studios’ surprise live-stream on March 26, 2025, Kevin Feige followed up at CinemaCon on April 3 that the entire line-up of characters hadn’t been revealed yet.
As Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU timeline, but as Victor von Doom, a.k.a. Doctor Doom, for the next two Avengers films, having Paltrow involved would set up an emotional arc, following Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame. There is also the aspect of seeing a Pepper Variant through the multiverse concept.
The only other upcoming MCU movie that Paltrow could be showing up in is Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is currently in production, as Tom Holland will be returning to the franchise in 2026. An appearance in the new Peter Parker-centric film would also be comedic, after Paltrow famously forgot in 2019 that she was in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day releasing in theaters on July 31, 2026, while Avengers: Doomsday arrives on December 18, 2026, the MCU audience will find out eventually next year if Paltrow’s Pepper is involved with either project, or if she may have hinted at Avengers: Secret Wars, opening on December 17, 2027.
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Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.