Avengers: Doomsday release date and latest news as first trailer drops

Chris Evans is officially confirmed for the cast of Avengers: Doomsday, with a brand new teaser trailer showing our first look at Steve Rogers since his emotional send-off in 2019's Endgame.

The actor pulled an Andrew Garfield on fans with his earlier insistence that he wouldn't feature in the upcoming sequel, echoing the Spider-Man star's rigorous denials of his own involvement in No Way Home.

As recently as this summer, Evans was lamenting not being "invited to the party" (via ScreenRant), but this brand new footage proves that he is very much on the guest list – and no doubt, a VIP!

In the exciting teaser, we see Steve pull up on his trademark Harley-Davidson motorcycle, right outside the quaint home he moved into with the love of his life, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).

Notably, Atwell doesn't feature in the teaser, but we do see Steve wearing a wedding ring and caring for a baby, so Peggy surely cannot be far away – unless this is all an intentional misdirect!

Check out the Avengers: Doomsday trailer for yourself:

Alas, any fans left wanting more have a long time to wait. Doomsday is still a full year away, after a seven-month delay was announced around the same time that cameras started rolling.

Evans joins original Avengers co-stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston in this long-awaited fifth film, with veteran MCU talents Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan and Paul Rudd also due to feature, among others.

Perceived as a make or break moment for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doomsday is hoped to redeem a spotty period in the franchise's history, which has seen some giddy highs as well as some embarrassing lows.

If you're eager to know more about the Avengers: Doomsday cast, plus the current release date and fleeting story details released so far, read on for your full guide to the hotly anticipated film.

Avengers: Doomsday release date

Avengers: Doomsday will be released in cinemas on Friday 18th December 2026.

The epic film had previously been scheduled for early May of that year – a weekend that the MCU has previously dominated – but was forced to move as production was behind schedule.

In its new spot, the Marvel flick will face formidable competition from Dune: Messiah – the third film in Denis Villeneuve and Timothée Chalamet's sci-fi saga – which means that sci-fi fans will be having a very merry Christmas indeed.

Who will star in Avengers: Doomsday? Confirmed members

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

It's unclear 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 comic book fans know that he is not to be underestimated.

It appears that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) will play a major role in the resistance to Doom's machinations, with the first Avengers: Doomsday trailer revisiting the character after his final moments in Endgame.

Previously, Deadline had reported that Hayley Atwell would also appear as Peggy Carter, which seems very likely given how the short clip references Steve's marriage and apparent fatherhood.

Some fans aren't ruling out the possibility of a misdirect, however, with one theory suggesting that this version of Steve could be a member of HYDRA – adapting a controversial storyline from the source material (see 'Secret Empire').

Even before Evans's reveal, the cast of Doomsday was looking spectacularly starry, boasting the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men and Thunderbolts teams, as well as wild cards Namor (Tenoch Huerta) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

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).

First Steps director Matt Shakman said – apparently mistakenly – in an interview that Mr Fantastic would go on to be "leader" of the Avengers, but Pascal himself has since corrected the record.

"It’s big news to me, that's for one," he joked, in an interview with Associated Press. "There is something that happens in the comics where he is sort of drawn in by the Avengers family and asked to be put into a leadership position.

"That is something that happens in the comics. It isn't necessarily something that my character's future entails."

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.

Meanwhile, 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).

Both Cumming and Marsden had warm words to say about returning from a long absence, with their incarnations of Nightcrawler and Cyclops not being seen since 2003's X-Men 2 and 2014's Days of Future Past respectively.

On filming Doomsday, Paradise's Marsden said (via Deadline): "It's been a blast. It really has. It's been a nice little homecoming to a role that really put me on the map. It was the first real event project that I was ever a part of, and a very beloved character – this icon from the comics. And so, to step back into that role was pretty special."

Meanwhile, Cumming described it as "really healing and really nice to go back to something that was a terrible experience when I did it the first time" (in another Deadline chat), although his time on set was short as his scenes were scheduled tightly so that he could be released to host the next season of The Traitors (US).

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.

Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds and Andrew Garfield are also uncertain, with the latter Spider-Man actor recently telling GQ that he is "unequivocally" not appearing in the blockbuster. It's just so hard to believe him after No Way Home!

Recently, Marvel fans have been debating the probability of Reynolds returning as Deadpool for the crossover, with a source telling The Hollywood Reporter that the Merc with a Mouth would have a role – albeit, probably a small one.

Reynolds himself later cast doubt on the claim, telling Variety that he hasn't "stepped foot on set", although that may just be some creative wording from the actor – after all, he could well have filmed scenes or recorded audio remotely.

As for Jackman, the actor recently appeared on The Graham Norton Show, where he told the host that he is "never saying 'never' ever again," after cancelling his post-Logan retirement for 2023 hit Deadpool & Wolverine.

Sadly for fans of Fox's original X-Men cast, Famke Janssen recently revealed (via Entertainment Weekly) that Marvel Studios hasn't ever reached out to her about the prospect of a Jean Grey comeback, so the reunion may never be complete.

Something to consider, though, is that 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.

What is Avengers: Doomsday about?

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

The character made a brief appearance in the Fantastic Four: First Steps post-credits scene, where he is seen (albeit, only from behind), approaching the universe's most powerful four-year-old: Franklin Richards.

What does he want with him exactly? That remains to be seen. It's possible that the intricacies are still being worked out!

Producer Kevin Feige confirmed (via The Hollywood Reporter) over the summer that the script was still being worked on after cameras started rolling, which he actually views as a strength of the production.

He said: "Those actors, both the ones that are playing these characters for the first or second time and the ones playing them for the 10th or 12th time, are the best in the world at it, and know these characters so well. So if they have an idea, you want to listen to it and you want to adjust to it and you want to improve it. I wouldn't want to change that."

Much like Infinity War and Endgame, which became two of the highest-grossing films of all time, Doomsday and its sequel 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."

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.

Avengers: Doomsday trailer

Marvel dropped the teaser for Avengers: Doomsday in December 2025, playing first before screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash before being released online days later. Watch here:

Avengers: Doomsday is coming to cinemas in December 2026.

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