Two new Avengers films, The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, were announced in July 2022 as the conclusion of the MCU's Phase Six and "The Multiverse Saga". Jonathan Majors was set to reprise his MCU role as the villain Kang the Conqueror, with Destin Daniel Cretton and Jeff Loveness hired to direct and write The Kang Dynasty, respectively. In November 2023, Cretton departed, Waldron replaced Loveness as writer, and Marvel was considering moving away from the Kang storyline, in part due to Majors's legal issues; Majors was fired the following month. The return of the Russo brothers as directors and McFeely as co-writer, the casting of Downey as new villain Doctor Doom, and the new subtitle Doomsday were all announced in July 2024. The large cast features actors from previous MCU media and 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series, using the idea of colliding universes to bring together actors from different franchises. Filming took place from April to September 2025 at Pinewood Studios in England, with location filming in England and Bahrain.
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to be released in the United States on December 18, 2026, as part of Phase Six of the MCU. The sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, is set to be released on December 17, 2027.
Robert Downey Jr. as Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom: Directors Anthony and Joe Russo said Doom was one of the most complex comic book characters, and they thought Downey—who previously starred as Tony Stark / Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)—was the one person who could take on the role. They found Doom challenging because of his "immense" power, but they also felt free to explore "the complexities and the vulnerabilities"; Joe said Doom hits the "sweet spot" of balancing original elements for their story with "the most awesome things about Doom in the comics". Downey developed his own backstory for Doom as reference for his performance, and also contributed costume ideas. He speaks in a "heavily accented" voice.
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers: The former leader of the Avengers, a super soldier, and World War II veteran who was the first person to carry the Captain America mantle. He returned to the 1940s at the end of the film Avengers: Endgame (2019) to live with Peggy Carter. After his "definitive ending" in that film, Evans said he would only return to the MCU if there was a good reason. He believed that the story for Doomsday had a "very real reason that these heroes need Steve Rogers now". Evans and Mackie indicated that Rogers would take on the Nomad mantle, similar to the comics.
Chris Hemsworth as Thor: The Asgardian god of thunder and a founding Avenger, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. Thor returns to the "warrior"-like persona and mindset last seen in the film Avengers: Infinity War (2018), with co-director Joe Russo explaining that the character seeks to "achieve meaning through battle".
Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man: An Avenger and former petty criminal with a suit that allows him to shrink or grow in scale while increasing in strength
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing: Reed's best friend and a member of the Fantastic Four whose skin has been transformed into a layer of orange rock, granting him superhuman strength and durability
Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau / Gambit: A mutant with the ability to charge objects with kinetic energy, causing them to explode on impact. After using a thick, unintelligible Cajun accent for the character as part of a running joke in the film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), Tatum said he would not "go full Cajun" in Doomsday, with the Russo brothers wanting the film to have a more dramatic and serious tone.
Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi: A highly skilled martial artist and the wielder of the mystical Ten Rings who was trained to be an assassin by his criminal father Xu Wenwu. Liu said Shang-Chi is older, more self-assured, and "a little more lived in with who he is and his responsibilities" compared to his introduction in the film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021).
Tom Hiddleston as Loki: The Asgardian god of mischief and Thor's adopted brother, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. This version of the character was explored in the series Loki (2021–2023), which Hiddleston said was the starting point for his appearance in Doomsday.
Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X: A telepathic mutant and the founder of the X-Men who is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair. Doomsday marks Stewart's final on-screen performance following his death in October 2026.
David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian: A member of the New Avengers who is the Russian super soldier counterpart to Captain America and a father figure to Yelena. Harbour said the relationship between Shostakov and Yelena is changed by the events of Doomsday.
Letitia Wright as Shuri / Black Panther: The former princess of Wakanda who gained superhuman abilities by ingesting the heart-shaped herb. After taking on the mantle of Black Panther in the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), Wright said Shuri has now fully assumed that role and has taken a leadership position.
Lewis Pullman as Bob Reynolds / Sentry: A superpowered member of the New Avengers who possesses a dark alter ego known as the Void and is believed to be stronger than all the Avengers combined
Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy / Beast: A highly intelligent mutant and member of the X-Men with animalistic physical characteristics, including blue fur, pointed ears, fangs, and claws
Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler: A blue-skinned, demonic-looking mutant who can teleport. Cumming said the make-up process was reduced to an hour-and-a-half for Doomsday from the four-and-a-half to five hours it took on the 20th Century Fox film X2 (2003), in large part because the character's tattoos were no longer applied individually by hand. He also found working on Doomsday to be "healing" following his "miserable" experience working on X2.
Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkhölme / Mystique: A blue-skinned, shapeshifting mutant. Romijn's make-up process was faster for Doomsday than it had been for Fox's X-Men film series, but she lamented the lost time because she had used the longer process time to get into the "right headspace" to play Mystique, whom she called "angry".
Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor: The king of Talokan and a powerful mutant with pointed ears and wings on his ankles who is capable of breathing both on land and underwater
Additional actors slated to reprise their MCU roles in the film include India Rose Hemsworth as Thor's adopted daughter Love. Wesley Holloway and Sandra Hüller have been cast in undisclosed roles, with Hüller making a cameo appearance. Characters set to appear include H.E.R.B.I.E., the Fantastic Four's robot companion; Franklin Richards, Reed and Sue's super-powered son; mutant-hunting robot Sentinels; and Latverian witches.
At San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) in July 2022, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced the films Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, to be released on May 2, 2025, and November 7, 2025, respectively. They were set to conclude "The Multiverse Saga", which covers Phases Four, Five, and Six of the MCU. The Kang Dynasty was inspired by a 2001–02 comic book storyline written by Kurt Busiek in which Kang the Conqueror travels through time to enslave humanity. Jonathan Majors was cast as Kang for several Phase Four projects, and was confirmed to be starring in both new Avengers films. Destin Daniel Cretton was hired to direct The Kang Dynasty, with Jeff Loveness writing the script, and Michael Waldron writing Secret Wars. Following Majors's arrest in March 2023 and subsequent assault allegations, reports and speculation emerged about his future in the MCU. Loveness was no longer involved by the start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike in May, reportedly because Marvel was "moving away" from the Kang storyline. In June, the release dates for The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars were pushed back to May 1, 2026, and May 7, 2027, respectively, in part due to the scripts not being ready before the strike. Cretton stepped down as director of The Kang Dynasty in November 2023, and Waldron was set to rewrite the film. The next month, Majors was fired by Disney and Marvel Studios after he was found guilty of harassment and reckless assault in the third degree. The studio had started referring to The Kang Dynasty internally as Avengers 5. By February 2024, both Avengers 5 and Secret Wars were being rewritten to minimize Kang's role or remove him entirely.
Shawn Levy became the studio's top choice to direct Avengers 5 by mid-March 2024, after he directed the MCU film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), but there were potential scheduling issues with his other projects. By that May, Marvel Studios had approached Robert Downey Jr.—who starred as Tony Stark / Iron Man in "The Infinity Saga", covering the MCU's Phases One, Two, and Three—about returning to the MCU to take on the new character of Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom. Downey said he would only return if the Russo brothers also returned as directors. After McFeely approached the Russos with an idea for the films that excited them, they entered early talks to direct both Avengers 5 and Secret Wars by mid-July. At SDCC at the end of the month, the Russos were confirmed to be directing the two films. They revealed that Avengers 5 was now titled Avengers: Doomsday, and both films would feature Downey as Doctor Doom. McFeely had joined as writer for both films, working with Waldron. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, writers on the MCU Spider-Man films, also worked on the scripts for Doomsday and Secret Wars. Marvel Studios co-president Louis D'Esposito and executive Jonathan Schwartz also produce Doomsday alongside Feige. On casting Downey as Doom, Feige said, "He played the most iconic hero. Let's have him play the most iconic villain." Feige stated that "Time Runs Out", the prelude storyline for the 2015–16 "Secret Wars", also served as inspiration for the two films, and said one of their goals was to give closure to Marvel storylines that predated the MCU, including those of characters from 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series.
In March 2025, Marvel announced 26 cast members for the film alongside Downey. Many of those actors returned from previous MCU media and some were reprising their roles from Fox's X-Men films. Downey, Marvel Studios, and Feige teased that there were more cast members to reveal, including the return of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers; the Russos felt the correct way for them to return to the MCU would be to continue his story, and Joe Russo said the story they came up with for the films had integral roles for both Downey and Evans. By September 2026, some additional cast members had been revealed, with the full cast still yet to be announced. Doomsday features groups of heroes from three different universes—the Avengers, Wakandans, and New Avengers from Earth-616; the Fantastic Four from Earth-828; and the "original" X-Men from Earth-10005—converging to face Doom. Feige said they were using the Secret Wars idea of different universes colliding to unite cast members from different film franchises, and that Doomsday was picking up where Endgame left off.
Production designer Gavin Bocquet and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel reteamed with the Russo brothers after working on their television series Citadel (2023–present); Sigel also worked on the Russos' film Cherry (2021) and a selection of Fox's X-Men films. Costume designer Judianna Makovsky returned from previous MCU films. The Russos said Doomsday and Secret Wars were being produced together in a similar way to Infinity War and Endgame, but they would not be filmed back-to-back like those films were. Principal photography for Doomsday began on April 28, 2025, at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England, under the working titleApple Pie 1. In May 2025, Disney delayed the release date to December 18, 2026, to allow more time for production to be completed. Location filming was taking place in Bahrain by the end of the month, and was also set to occur at Windsor Great Park in June and August. Filming also took place at Shinfield Studios in Berkshire, England. Filming wrapped on September 19. Jeffrey Ford and Matthew Schmidt are editing the film, having worked on previous MCU media.[independent source needed][independent source needed]The Hollywood Reporter reported that there would be a "healthy" amount of additional photography, which was expected to take place in early 2026.[needs update]
Music
In April 2024, Alan Silvestri indicated that he could be composing the music for an upcoming MCU project after previously doing so for Infinity War, Endgame, and other MCU films. That July, he was confirmed to be returning as the composer for both Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Following the announcement of Downey's casting as Doom and other details at SDCC in July 2024, several unique marketing stunts were used for Doomsday. Many cast members were announced as part of a nearly five-and-a-half-hour-long livestream in March 2025, which became the most-viewed cross-platform livestream stunt. Four short teasers premiered in theaters ahead of showings for the film Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025), including one that revealed Evans's return as Rogers. These teasers were leaked upon their debuts, which Marvel had expected, and were officially released online soon after. The first full trailer debuted at CinemaCon in April 2026, and was met with mixed responses when it was released online in July. A "special look" focusing on Doom received more positive responses when it was released in August, after being shown at SDCC 2026 and Disney's D23 convention. A common element of the teasers and trailers is a clock counting down to the film's release. A re-release of Endgame, subtitled Encore, was released in September 2026, with new footage that acts as a narrative bridge between the two films, enhancing the story of Doomsday. The additional footage was shot during production of Doomsday.
The Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday official podcast, hosted by Iman Vellani—who stars as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel in the MCU—and podcaster Frank Alvarez, premiered on August 27, 2026. The five-episode weekly podcast recaps key MCU moments leading up to Doomsday, respectively covering the films The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Infinity War, and Endgame, with the final episode coinciding with the Encore re-release of Endgame in September. Six additional podcast episodes will begin releasing weekly on November 5, 2026, covering the films of the Multiverse Saga, with one episode covering the original Fox X-Men film trilogy.
Release
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2026, and in the United States in over 4,000 theaters on December 18. It was originally scheduled for May 2, 2025, but was delayed to May 1, 2026, in part due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, followed by another delay to the December 2026 date to allow more time for production to be completed. It will be part of Phase Six of the MCU.
In early 2026, Doomsday was revealed to not have access to IMAX theaters in the United States for at least three weeks because the film Dune: Part Three, which is also scheduled for release on December 18, has exclusivity in that time frame. Doomsday is expected to be released in IMAX in select international markets, and will also be available in other premium large formats (PLFs) such as Dolby Vision, ScreenX, D-Box, and 4DX, as well as RealD 3D. TheWrap reported in March that Disney was planning to push hard to gain access to those other formats and to get into as many of the 322 chain-specific theater formats around the world as possible. The next month, Disney announced that Doomsday would receive the company's Infinity Vision certification for PLFs, which is intended to inform audiences which theaters offer "the biggest, brightest, and most immersive cinematic experiences" and meet certain technical standards. Many commentators felt Infinity Vision was created in response to Doomsday not being able to open in IMAX in the United States.
Box office projections
Rebecca Rubin at Variety reported in March 2026 that early box office tracking was "strong" and there were predictions that Doomsday would be 2026's highest-grossing film. Rubin and her colleague Jordan Moreau elaborated that Marvel Studios' recent box office track record had been "rocky", but the studio had success with the Avengers-style crossover films Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Deadpool & Wolverine. Theatrical exhibitors were excited for Doomsday considering Endgame's record-breaking run, and there was potential for the combined release of Doomsday and Dune: Part Three to result in one of the biggest box office weekends ever.
The film generated $16.5million in advance premium format ticket sales in the first 24 hours of sales in July 2026, more than double the pre-sales Deadpool & Wolverine had. Rubin called the sales "notable" since they did not include IMAX. Many of the roughly 1,000 PLF theaters had sold out screenings on December 17 and 18, with theaters looking to add more screenings on Christmas Day and beyond. By the end of August, the film had grossed $35million in advance ticket sales, with Global Box Office reporting that it could earn $260–300million in its opening weekend. Pre-sales had reached $50million by early September 2026, 100 days before its release, becoming the first film to achieve that in that time frame. Disney said 70 percent of advance tickets sold were for Infinity Vision showings.
A sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, is scheduled to be released on December 17, 2027. It is also being written by Waldron, McFeely, McKenna, and Sommers, and directed by the Russo brothers. The film will conclude Phase Six and the Multiverse Saga of the MCU.
Notes
↑The Hollywood Reporter noted that the 165-minute runtime was set to allow for the film's premium format ticket sales in July 2026, adding that the film's final cut was "unlikely to be locked this far in advance" and could only change within a small margin given showtimes were being scheduled against the 165-minute runtime.
12Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (September 19, 2025). "Heat Vision". Heat Vision (newsletter). Archived from the original on September 20, 2025. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
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