9 Ways The Marvel Cinematic Universe Could End

7. The Eternal Soft Reboot

Robert Downey, Jr. isn't going to be around in the MCU forever - since Iron Man 3 he's been signing additional contracts and, eventually, there won't be a share of the box office big enough to keep him around. When that happens, if they're going to keep going Marvel have two options - recast or retire Tony Stark.

Both have their positives and drawbacks, but either way it's a major step away from the MCU as we know it. And while by itself it's not an end, with a few more cases like this you eventually get to a James Bond-ian state, where everything is technically related if you really think about it, but what's around now is so different from the past it may as well be a distinct property.

The idea of several soft reboots (a exec-jargon term for a change in franchise direction) is probably the most financially attractive option of the series' long-term future, capable of maintaining a strong fanbase that various versions of the same character just can't.

In fact, this is somewhat inevitable for the franchise, with various outside factors besides actor's contracts meaning a constant status quo isn't tenable - Samuel L. Jackson will be 79 when the MCU hits its previously stated 2028 end-point - but the extent and approach of it will be interesting. Of course, there could always be a more hard-line reboot, something that could occur for a variety of reasons...