Avengers: Doomsday

Premise

Fourteen months after the events of Thunderbolts* (2025), 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 a separate universe—converge to face the existential threat of Doctor Doom.

Cast

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

Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic: A highly intelligent scientist and the leader of the Fantastic Four who can stretch any part of his body to great lengths

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

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America: An Avenger and former pararescueman who was trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack

Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow: A member of the New Avengers who was trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow assassin

Production

After directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) crossover films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), Anthony and Joe Russo expressed interest in directing a Secret Wars film based on the 1984–85 comic book crossover event written by Jim Shooter and the 2015–16 comic book storyline written by Jonathan Hickman. Both follow various Marvel characters who converge on the planet Battleworld. Infinity War and Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely said they would return to write such a film if the Russo brothers were directing it.

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 was a producer 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.

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.

Marketing

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.

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 re-release of Endgame in September, under the name Avengers Endgame: Encore.

Release

Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to be released in the United States on December 18, 2026, in over 4,000 theaters. 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. 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 $16.5 million 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 $35 million in advance ticket sales, with Global Box Office reporting that it could earn $260–300 million in its opening weekend. Pre-sales had reached $50 million 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.

Sequel

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.