Marvel Senior VP- Executive Editor Tom Brevoort confirmed that the Marvel Universe timeline will jump forward eight months after the events of Secret Wars concludes, and that several of the introduced characters and teams will carry over into the new MU.

"In the same way that events jumped forward in time eight months in Avengers and New Avengers during the lead-up to Secret Wars, so too when we enter the new Marvel Universe eight months will have passed for all of the characters as well," Brevoort said.  "This provides our creators, even apart from Secret Wars, to drop into exciting new situations and status quos on the fly. So look for surprises and mysteries and changes galore as series resume in the New MU."

The despotic future Hulk/Maestro, A-Force, and Shiklah’s Mrs. Deadpool & The Howling Commandos will all play roles in the future of the new MU, as well as the exotic locales from Weirdworld. More information will be revealed as additional Secret Wars titles are released.

In related or perhaps unrelated Marvel news, Brian Michael Bendis confirmed today on his tumblr that Uncanny X-men #600, which was set to release this month, has been pushed back to October.  "It was bumped until after Secret Wars for editorial and commercial reason," he said.  "It will not affect the story or the impact of the story.  In fact it may have more impact on how things shake out after my run."  Both Diamond and Marvel now list the book’s release date as October 7, and FOC is September 14.