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

While Avengers stalwarts such as Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo are of course absent, there is no shortage of big names on board the project, from MCU veterans like Chris Hemsworth to new additions to the franchise such as Pedro Pascal (who will make his debut in Fantastic Four this summer).

And there are also some major stars from the Fox X-Men movies set to take part, with the likes of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen following on from Hugh Jackman in crossing over to the MCU.

Arguably the biggest cast news of all had been revealed back in July last year when it emerged that former Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr would be returning to the fold – albeit in a very different role as iconic Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom.

And there are some familiar faces back behind the camera as well, with Anthony and Joe Russo returning to the director's chair for both this film and follow up Avengers: Secret Wars, several years after their last MCU flick – the record-breaking Avengers: Endgame.

The pair recently revealed exclusively to RadioTimes.com what enticed them to return, with Anthony explaining: "We think we finally lit on an idea that we felt really made it worth us coming back to tell another story."

And he added: "If you like the work that we had done previously in the MCU, I think you should be excited for what we've got coming."

But when exactly is it coming? And what else do we know about the film so far? Read on for everything you need to know about Avengers: Doomsday.

Avengers: Doomsday release date

Avengers: Doomsday is currently scheduled for release in cinemas on Friday 1st May 2026.

The first weekend of May has long been associated with Marvel Studios, which has kicked off many a summer movie season with its solo adventures and crossover flicks.

In an interview with Collider, directors Anthony and Joe Russo said that they intend to start filming in spring 2025 in order to meet that date, with a break of (at least) a month to separate filming on Doomsday and its sequel Secret Wars.

Meanwhile, in February 2025, the brothers confirmed that they would be shooting the films back to back, with Joe telling Deadline: "It’s all in London, we’re shooting them fairly back-to-back, it’s a lot of work again, we may or may not survive, we’ll see."

Who will star in Avengers: Doomsday? Confirmed members

The cast for the film has now been confirmed: and the starry ensemble includes returning Marvel icon Robert Downey Jr, along with the Fantastic Four: First Steps cast and several others.

In a shock move last summer, Downey Jr was unveiled as the MCU's Victor von Doom (aka Doctor Doom), leaving fans to wonder whether this version of the character could be an evil variant of Tony Stark.

The casting was announced in suitably dramatic fashion at San Diego Comic-Con, where co-director Joe Russo told the Hall H audience they had enlisted "the greatest actor in the world" for Doom.

Check out the electric moment of the reveal in the video below:

Approximately five months later, another bombshell dropped as Deadline reported that Chris Evans would feature in Avengers: Doomsday in an as-yet-undisclosed role.

The actor surprised and delighted fans with his recent Deadpool & Wolverine cameo, where he played Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch of the mid-'00s Fantastic Four film instead of returning as Captain America.

It begs the question of whether there could be more trickery afoot here, with some fans suggesting that Evans could play a variant of Cap similar to that from the Secret Empire comic book, where the Sentinel of Liberty was found to be a HYDRA sleeper agent.

However, Evans's name was conspicuously absent from the list of names unveiled by Marvel in its announcement video in March 2025, so it looks like he might not be included after all – although it's worth noting that The Hollywood Reporter maintains that he will appear in at least one of the two upcoming Avengers films.

A few days later, Deadline struck again with word that Hayley Atwell would also feature in Doomsday as Peggy Carter; however, she was also absent from the official list, and so unless we hear otherwise we have to assume she's not involved for now.

As for who will definitely be involved, the brand new Fantastic Four team, comprised of Pedro Pascal (Mr Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing) look set to play a major role in events.

And then there's the fact that several stars from Fox's classic X-Men movies – most notably including Sirs Ian McKellen (Magneto) and Patrick Stewart (Professor X) were set for roles in the film, while a number of MCU veterans including Chris Hemsworth, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie and Paul Rudd are all confirmed to be reprising their roles.

Confirmed cast

These actors have all been confirmed to be starring in the film – there's certainly no shortage of acting talent in that list!

• Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
• Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman)
• Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America),
• Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier)
• Letitia Wright (Shuri/Black Panther)
• Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man)
• Wyatt Russell (John Walker/US Agent)
• Tenoch Huerta Mejia (Namor)
• Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing)
• Simu Liu (Shang-Chi)
• Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova/Black Widow)
• Kelsey Grammer (Hank McCoy/Beast)
• Lewis Pullman (Bob/Sentry)
• Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres / Falcon)
• Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch)
• David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian)
• Winston Duke (M'Baku)
• Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr/Ghost)
• Tom Hiddleston (Loki)
• Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier/Professor X)
• Ian McKellen (Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto)
• Alan Cumming (Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler)
• Rebecca Romijn (Raven Darkhölme/Mystique)
• James Marsden (Scott Summers/Cyclops)
• Channing Tatum (Remy LeBeau/Gambit)
• Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic)
• Robert Downey Jr (Dr Doom)

As for notable omissions, there are a fair few to discuss.

Longtime Marvel actor Benedict Cumberbatch had previously confirmed he will be back for the next Avengers movies as sorcerer Doctor Strange, telling Entertainment Weekly that the team are "cooking up a storm" – but he later backtracked by confirming he was sitting out Doomsday before returning in Secret Wars.

"I [was] wrong, I am in the next one. Don’t ever believe anything I say," he told Business Insider.

Fans might also be especially surprised to see no mention of Tom Holland in the list, with the expectation having been that his Spider-Man seemed nailed on for a major role in the film.

Of course, it's very possible that matters might have been taken out of Marvel's hands in this instance given Holland is currently shooting Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and also has the fourth solo Spidey outing in the pipeline, but we'll be sure to report if we hear any further about reasons for his absence.

Another absentee is Brie Larson, despite the fact that Captain Marvel was once billed as the future of the MCU, while there's also no room for the likes of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, Teyonah Parris as Photon, or Evangeline Lily as Wasp among others.

Meanwhile, a less surprising exclusion – but one which will nonetheless be disappointing for fans – is Elizabeth Olsen, who had previously confirmed that she would not be returning as Wanda Maximoff for these films.

Of course, it's still possible that some of the names above could yet feature, with Marvel having teased that it wasn't yet done announcing names.

Commenting on the official announcement video, Robert Downey Jr wrote on Instagram: "That's what u call a deep bench of talent… actually it's more like a row, but an extra long one… That must be it…right?"

Meanwhile, a post from Marvel itself read: "There's always room for more."

So, it looks like there will be some more names added in due course... watch this space!

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 did to great success, Doomsday and Secret Wars will serve as two parts of a larger narrative, with one leading directly into the other.

In the 2016 comic book series Secret Wars, upon which the film appears to be based, Doctor Doom salvages elements of a destroyed multiverse and reforms them as Battleworld – a domain in which he is the unquestioned 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 defensive action.

Perhaps these terrifying events could begin occurring in Avengers: Doomsday, leading the titular baddie to create his surreal new reality, just as he did in the source material.

Of course, one thing that we can always rely on with Marvel is that very specific plot details will not be given out ahead of the film's release – but one thing that the Russo brothers have teased is that they hope the narrative will challenge audiences.

"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," Joe Russo told The Hollywood Reporter. Intriguing!

Why was Avengers: The Kang Dynasty cancelled?

Previously, the fifth movie in the Avengers franchise was to be named The Kang Dynasty and 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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