Marvel StudiosAvengers: Doomsday has a 2026 release date, and after some turbulence, a new title and villain. Robert Downey Jr. is back in the MCU, but not as Iron Man.
San Diego Comic-Con 2024 was a feast for superhero movies. Marvel’s Phase 6, which has been in trouble since Kang the Conqueror was scrapped as Thanos’ successor, has put the wind back in its sails.
New movies like The Marvels, Ant-Man 3, and the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps have paved the way for the next big MCU crossover event to varying degrees of success, but The Russo Brothers are back to work their magic.
Below are all the latest updates on Avengers: Doomsday.
Avengers: Doomsday release date
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on December 18, 2026.
The release date was originally May 2, 2025, but Disney pushed it back in June 2023 amid a slew of major changes to upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows.
Then, the film was met with another delay soon after filming kicked off in March, 2025. In fact, both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were pushed back equally. They’re still set to launch exactly a year apart, though rather than in May, they’re not coming in December.
It’s the third of four confirmed movies in Phase 6, after Deadpool 3 and Fantastic Four, and before Avengers Secret Wars on December 17, 2027.
It was set to be directed by Daniel Destin Cretton, but Deadline broke the news in November 2023 that he stepped down to focus on other MCU projects, including Shang-Chi 2 and the Wonder Man series.
Cast details
Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday cast, alongside a massive roster of stars – including some old faces from the Fox-verse.
This is a list of every character that Marvel has confirmed to appear:
- Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom
- Anthony Mackie as Captain America
- Chris Hemsworth as Thor
- Florence Pugh as Yelena
- Tom Hiddleston as Loki
- Paul Rudd as Ant-Man
- Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
- Lewis Pullman as Sentry
- Danny Ramirez as the Falcon
- Sebastian Stan as Bucky
- Winston Duke as M’Baku
- Kelsey Grammer as Beast
- Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent
- Letitia Wright as Black Panther
- Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor
- Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost
- David Harbour as Red Guardian
- Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm
- Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm
- Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing
- Ian McKellen as Magneto
- Patrick Stewart as Professor X
- James Marsden as Cyclops
- Rebecca Romijn as Mystique
- Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler
- Channing Tatum as Gambit
While many assumed Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange would feature in the film, the actor told Variety in a January 2025 interview that he won’t appear at all. However, the actor quickly backtracked on these comments, following up and revealing, “I am in the next one.”
He later added, “Don’t ever believe anything I say,” in keeping with the Marvel tradition to avoid spoilers at all costs.
One character fans won’t see in Doomsday is the Scarlet Witch. According to Elizabeth Olsen herself, she’s not flying over to London for the back-to-back filming of both upcoming Avengers flicks. Instead, she’s taking time to film a pilot episode for a new FX series (unless she’s bluffing).
As for people who might show up, earlier reports suggested Chris Evans will return, but it’s unclear if he’ll play Steve Rogers or another role entirely (after all, he did play Johnny Storm again in Deadpool & Wolverine).
Speaking of Steve, it was also reported in December 2024 that Hayley Atwell would be returning as his beloved Agent Carter (though Marvel has yet to confirm this).
Downey Jr.’s return announcement wasn’t good news in everyone’s eyes, but Phase 6 now has potent OG Avenger energy.
Jonathan Majors has been dismissed as the overarching supervillain of this phase, Kang. On December 18, 2023 Majors was found guilty of assault and was dropped from the MCU.
One report from Deadline claimed up to 60 superheroes are involved. That’s a massive number, but a team that includes the major players from recent years makes sense.
James Gunn said Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would be the last time we’d see that Guardians team, so Peter, Gamora, and Drax will probably sit this out.
However, in a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Chris Pratt confirmed that Star Lord would return to the MCU at some point in the future. When asked about his involvement in Avengers: Doomsday, Pratt stated, “There was a promise that Star-Lord would return… we will make good on that promise!”
Topic starts 13:50 minute mark
While this doesn’t confirm anything, we do at least know that Pratt is eager to appear once more, whether that is in Doomsday or another project is still yet to be revealed.
It’s unclear if any of the MCU’s Disney+ heroes (Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight, and Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk, among others) will graduate to the big-screen Avengers arena,
Charlie Cox may reprise his role as Daredevil , especially since his appearance was seemingly spoiled by a now-edited Instagram post from Cox’s gym. In the post, the caption read, “Charlie is currently training for his role in the upcoming [Marvel] Avengers movie where he will play [Daredevil]. It’s been our absolute pleasure working with you both and we can’t wait to watch you on the big screen!” (The caption has since been changed to “training for a new role”.)
Plot details & theories
The Avengers: Doomsday plot hasn’t been shared, but Marvel revealed that Doctor Doom will be the main villain and the Fantastic Four will be involved.
Marvel ComicsAnother thing revealed at SDCC 2024 was that the Fantastic Four will feature in both of the next two Avengers films.
Stephen McFeely wrote films like Winter Soldier and Civil War and will write Doomsday and Secret Wars.
In an interview with Deadline, director Joe Russo joked that they “may or may not survive” the development of Doomsday but also noted that he and his brother (who are co-directing the film) are “excited” about the story they’ve been able to craft.
“We found a way into the story that we think is gonna be challenging for audiences; it’s challenging for us to execute. And it’s really exciting for us; it gets us out of bed to do it,” he continued.
With so many heroes rumored to star in the film, fans are also concerned about which character won’t survive until the final credits.
After all, half the population was snapped away at the end of Infinity War, and even after saving the world in Endgame, Black Widow and Vision didn’t make it out to the other end.
While anyone could meet their fate in Doomsday, the remaining original Avengers are the most likely, with fans speculating Thor, Hawk Eye, and Nick Fury are all leading suspects.
What’s more, Downey Jr’s return to the MCU, this time as Doctor Doom, is set to be one of the most prominent narrative focuses in the film. Will he be a variant of Tony Stark, who has turned villainous, and will his real identity remain a mystery until the final moments?
Given the secrecy around Marvel films, we likely won’t find the exact plot until the film is released. However, we’ll keep you updated here when details are revealed.
Secret Wars is expected to follow directly from Doomsday, so Victor Von Doom will surely set up the multiversal chaos coming in Secret Wars. Doom is one of the baddies in the comic events, so this makes sense.
Is there a trailer?
No, there isn’t a trailer for Avengers: Doomsday yet.
We’ll likely get the first full trailer in early 2026, given that filming has yet to even begin.
How to watch
Avengers: Doomsday will be a theatrical exclusive before streaming on Disney+ eventually.
Like all recent MCU movies, you’ll need to visit a cinema if you don’t want to wait months to see it.
That’s all about Avengers: Doomsday for now. In the meantime, check out what we know about Spider-Man 4, Avengers: Secret Wars, and read our breakdown of the Marvel movies in order.
