The new slate of Marvel content for Disney+ gives new insight on what the future of the MCU will look like, and surprisingly enough, the legacies of both Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans) will continue to guide the franchise. Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Marvel Studios' planned release schedule has been totally thrown out of whack, with movies like Black Widow and Eternals being pushed all the way back to 2021. Because of the shaky nature of the MCU's current theatrical releases, fans have been waiting with bated breath for new announcements regarding the future of the franchise. Luckily enough, Disney announced dozens of new projects.

Despite several original Avengers being retired by the end of Avengers: Endgame, it's been very evident that Phase 4 has no intention of forgetting about them moving forward. Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow is finally getting her own solo spin-off along with Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, both of them passing the mantle on to new players. It seems like a key aspect of the MCU moving forward will be how the actions of the original six Avengers inspire a new generation of characters, such as Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), and many more.

Related: How The MCU Should Retire Its Surviving Phase One Heroes

The two original Avengers with the most screentime in the franchise thus far, Captain America and Iron Man, seem to be permanently out of the picture as far as the current timeline is concerned. With that being said, it seems like both of them will still have major consequences for the franchise moving forward.

Several of the newly confirmed projects from the MCU have direct ties to Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. The most obvious is The Falcon and Winter Soldier, with the show directly handling the fallout of Captain America's disappearance and the characters who will try and claim the mantle in his absence. It's been officially confirmed that Wyatt Russell's U.S. Agent will appear in the show as a government-sponsored Captain America substitute, and rumors have also pointed to Isaiah Bradley, the first Black Captain America, making a cameo appearance in the show as well. Clearly the MCU is concerned with what Steve Rogers' legacy represented and the intentions behind those trying to carry it on.

On the flip side, a handful of the projects confirmed at the Investor's Call also directly relate to Tony Stark's memory. Armor Wars is a television series led by Don Cheadle's War Machine, which will explore the dangerous repercussions of Tony Stark's technology falling into the wrong hands. The show will more than likely lead directly into the other Iron Man spin-off, Ironheart, officially introducing teenage tech genius Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) into the MCU.

Both Captain America and Iron Man have complex legacies in the MCU, and several major events occurred as a direct result of not just their successes as heroes but their failings as people. Even though there's no indication that either character is slated for a return in the future, that doesn't mean that their stories won't be a major guiding hand for the new future of heroes and villains coming to the franchise. The MCU is defined by the relationship between its two greatest heroes, and it only makes perfect sense that their shadow will continue to loom over the universe for the foreseeable future.

More: Marvel Can't Go Back To Three Movies A Year Now