Popverse's top stories

• Critical Role's Matt Mercer teases Campaign 4's new setting of Aramán - and how it differs from Exandria
• What to Watch October 2025: Halloween is just around the corner, and Netflix's Monster: The Ed Gein Story, Prime Video's Hazbin Hotel, and HBO's IT: Welcome to Derry are just a few ways to stream and scream
• Marvel Comics and Magic: The Gathering reveal their second collab: and its all Avengers (and more)

There’s been a lot of talk about Marvel Studios assembling the Young Avengers, but most people are don't remember that there was a young Avengers movie way back in 2008.

Years before the MCU was a cinematic juggernaut, Marvel Studios spent their time releasing direct-to-video animated features. One of those features was a 2008 animated film called Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow. The film focused on the children of the original Avengers coming together to stop Ultron after the android defeated their parents.

Craig Kyle, who co-wrote the film and served as vice president of creative development and animation for Marvel Studios, was convinced that fans would hate it.

“We did a direct-to-DVD film called Next Avengers, where we made up all these kids of the Avengers,” Kyle says during a panel at Dragon Con. “I was so terrified that people were going to absolutely hate it. And for some reason people really embraced the story, but it was the scariest thing at Comic Con when we went there, and we sat with 2,000 people, and they watched it for the first time, and we thought we were going to be lynched, but it worked out. And it was really scary, and to this day I’m still shocked that people embraced it as much as they did.”

If the MCU ever gets around to assembling their Young Avengers, let’s hope their reception is just as warm.

Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to:

• Upcoming movies
• Upcoming TV shows
• Upcoming comics
• Upcoming games
• Upcoming fiction books
• Upcoming comic conventions