Avengers: Doomsday – release date and latest news on Robert Downey Jr epic

However, with principal photography only getting underway in early April 2025, fans had been sceptical that directors Anthony and Joe Russo would manage to finish the project in time – and it turns out they were right to be concerned!

The Marvel franchise has been navigating a rough patch as of late, but the combined star-power of the Avengers, Thunderbolts*, Fantastic Four and X-Men should be enough to break the rut – and if not, Marvel Studios really is in trouble.

Offering some reassurance is a recent uptick in quality led by Florence Pugh's antihero flick and Charlie Cox's Daredevil: Born Again, both of which earned a generally positive response from critics and fans.

If this summer's Fantastic Four: First Steps can keep up the winning streak, we should have some strong momentum behind us by the time that Doomsday rolls around (here's hoping the Russos deliver something stronger than The Electric State).

Wondering when Avengers: Doomsday is now scheduled to be released? If you're excited to see Marvel's premier super-team assemble on screen once more, read on for everything we know so far about Avengers: Doomsday.

Avengers: Doomsday release date

Avengers: Doomsday has now had its release date pushed back from 1st May 2026 to 18th December 2026.

This means the movie will drop on the same day as the Dune: Part Two sequel, Dune: Messiah.

Meanwhile, filling the film's original slot in May will be Disney's long-awaited sequel to The Devil Wears Prada.

Who will star in Avengers: Doomsday? Confirmed members

Avengers: Doomsday stars Robert Downey Jr as Victor Von Doom, who will be a towering villain that unites the combined might of several superhero teams.

It's unclear as yet precisely what Doom has planned, or if he'll have any direct connection to Downey Jr's earlier role of Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), but he must have a pretty spectacular plan to warrant so much opposition.

The ensemble cast of Doomsday now includes members of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men and Thunderbolts teams, as well as wild card choices like Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), whose allegiances could shift.

Anthony Mackie is reprising the role of Sam Wilson aka Captain America, who was tasked with putting together a new Avengers team at the end of his recent solo outing Brave New World.

Likely candidates for that group include Letitia Wright's Shuri, the new Black Panther, plus Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Simu Liu's Shang-Chi, Paul Rudd's Ant-Man and Danny Ramirez's Falcon.

As previously confirmed, the cast of Fantastic Four: First Steps will also reappear here, comprised of Pedro Pascal (Mr Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing).

In a surprise move, Marvel Studios has also announced the return of several cast members from 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, which appears to have been revived in the wake of Deadpool & Wolverine's success.

Returning from that smash-hit is Channing Tatum as Gambit, alongside franchise veterans Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), James Marsden (Cyclops) and Kelsey Grammer (Beast).

The Thunderbolts* cast will also reappear in Doomsday, with Florence Pugh (Black Widow), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Wyatt Russell (USAgent), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), David Harbour (Red Guardian) and Lewis Pullman (Sentry) all credited in the announcement.

Here's the confirmed Avengers: Doomsday cast in full:

• Robert Downey Jr (Doctor Doom)
• Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic)
• Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman)
• Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch)
• Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing)
• Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America)
• Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
• Letitia Wright (Shuri/Black Panther)
• Winston Duke (M'Baku)
• Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man)
• Simu Liu (Shang-Chi)
• Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres / Falcon)
• Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova/Black Widow)

• Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier)
• Wyatt Russell (John Walker/US Agent)
• Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr/Ghost)
• David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian)
• Lewis Pullman (Bob/Sentry)
• Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier/Professor X)
• Ian McKellen (Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto)
• James Marsden (Scott Summers/Cyclops)
• Rebecca Romijn (Raven Darkhölme/Mystique)
• Alan Cumming (Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler)
• Kelsey Grammer (Hank McCoy/Beast)
• Channing Tatum (Remy LeBeau/Gambit)
• Tenoch Huerta Mejia (Namor)
• Tom Hiddleston (Loki)

As you might have noticed, that list includes some rather glaring omissions who were thought to be all but guaranteed for the next Avengers film.

The absence of Tom Holland's Spider-Man, Brie Larson's Captain Marvel, Chris Pratt's Star-Lord, Mark Ruffalo's Hulk and Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch have been greeted with particular outcry from the fanbase.

However, there is hope yet that these characters could factor into the story, with Marvel teasing on its social media channels that there is "always room for more" cast members.

Meanwhile, while there's been no official word yet on whether Hugh Jackman's Wolverine will make a return to the MCU in the film, with various X-Men stars already announced, it would be a waste not to have Wolverine there.

When asked whether he could be returning to the MCU in Avengers: Doomsday during an appearance on The View, Jackman said in a cryptic response: "I really can't say much, except when you say 'appear', [it's] more like dominate and destroy every other character – I'm kidding."

He continued: "I really have nothing to add, and if I did, I would find a really cool way to not say it, but I actually have nothing to add."

Additionally, this line-up is for Avengers: Doomsday only, which is one half of a two-part storyline set to conclude in 2027's Secret Wars – so it seems likely that the sequel could scoop up some late-comers.

Case in point: Benedict Cumberbatch has already told Business Insider that he'll be in the "next one" as Doctor Strange, after previously assuring fans that Marvel Studios was "cooking up a storm" with its latest cinematic event.

Other rumoured names include Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell, best known for playing star-crossed lovers Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter, who Deadline reported were returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe some time ago.

What is Avengers: Doomsday about?

Avengers: Doomsday does not yet have an official plot synopsis, but the movie is poised to introduce Victor von Doom as a major threat to the Marvel multiverse.

Much like Infinity War and Endgame, which became two of the highest-grossing films of all time, Doomsday and Secret Wars will serve as two parts of a larger narrative – with one leading directly into the other.

Teasing the plot to The Hollywood Reporter, co-director Joe Russo said: "I think these movies are going to be a surprise to people — we found a way into the story that’s very exciting to us but we think very radical and I think it’s going to challenge audiences."

In the 2016 comic book series Secret Wars, upon which the film may be inspired, Doctor Doom salvages elements of a destroyed multiverse and reforms them as 'Battleworld' – a domain in which he is the unquestioned god and ruler.

Prior to this storyline, the Marvel comics had dealt with the concept of incursions, whereby one reality would collide with another, either destroying both or causing one side to take a deadly defensive action.

Perhaps these terrifying events might begin occurring in Avengers: Doomsday, leading Doctor Doom to create his surreal new reality as he did in the source material – leaving enormous questions lingering for Secret Wars to answer.

The post-credits scene in Thunderbolts* added weight to this theory, with Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) addressing a "space crisis" which could well be other planets or realities on a collision course with Earth.

Yelena vents frustration that her own New Avengers teams are viewed negatively by the press and public, while Sam Wilson's separately assembled team is regarded as more legitimate – and refusing to share intel.

That's when an inter-dimensional ship carrying the Fantastic Four is spotted entering the atmosphere, with the team likely to be carrying a dire warning of apocalyptic threat (if the film's subtitle is any indication).

Interestingly, the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene was actually filmed on the set of Avengers: Doomsday, with director Jake Schreier describing it as "a small hint of that film" (via Entertainment Weekly).

Another threat to the Fantastic Four will come from a most unexpected place, with Nightcrawler actor Alan Cumming recently revealing that he's filming an action scene that involves "hitting Pedro Pascal against the head" (via Buzzfeed).

No doubt Mr Fantastic and Nightcrawler will eventually reconcile to face their real adversary.

Don't expect the crossover to come to a neat conclusion, though, with Captain America star Mackie apparently confirming that – as expected – Doomsday will end on a cliffhanger comparable to the catastrophic 'snap' in 2018's Infinity War.

"It's one of those stories that really pushes the boundaries," he teased in an interview with Collider. The cliffhanger at the end... the last moments of the film, it really builds and sets us up for a way for the continuation of the Marvel saga, which is really exciting."

Mackie added: "You see these characters, and you see how they're introduced and how they play in the universe moving forward, and no one is safe. Everyone is expendable."

In an interview with RadioTimes.com, Anthony Russo added: "We think we finally lit on an idea that we felt really made it worth us coming back to tell another story... You should be excited for what we've got coming."

Why was Avengers: The Kang Dynasty cancelled?

Previously, the fifth movie in the Avengers franchise was to be named The Kang Dynasty and to continue plot threads previously established in Disney Plus series Loki and Marvel blockbuster Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Jonathan Majors appeared in both projects as variants of Kang the Conquerer; a powerful time-travelling menace who was initially intended to be the MCU's next Thanos-level threat.

However, Majors was dropped by Marvel Studios after he was found guilty of assaulting and harassing his ex-girlfriend by a jury in New York. He was convicted on two counts but acquitted of a different assault charge and of aggravated harassment.

Some had expected Marvel Studios to continue the storyline with a new actor as Kang, but the company has instead decided to go in an entirely different direction with its plans.

Is there an Avengers: Doomsday trailer?

Not yet! But we'll update this page the moment that any footage arrives.

Avengers: Doomsday is coming to cinemas in May 2026.

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