Marvel Makes Major Update to Avengers: Doomsday Release Date (And Fans Won’t Be Happy)

Doomsday is delayed. Marvel Studios on Thursday pushed back the release dates of the next two Avengers movies, moving Avengers: Doomsday from May 1, 2026, to December 18, 2026, and sequel Avengers: Secret Wars from May 7, 2027 to Dec. 17, 2027. Multiple outlets reported that the seven-month delay for both films is due to the scope and scale of what insiders describe as the biggest movies Marvel has ever made.

Disney shifted 20th Century’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 onto the Doomsday date, and the fifth Avengers movie will now open opposite Disney’s own Ice Age 6 (also currently slotted for Dec. 18). That’s one week after the Dwayne Johnson-fronted Jumanji 3 from Sony, and another week before Universal and Illumination’s Shrek 5 in the Christmas corridor of Dec. 23. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures previously staked out the Dec. 18 release date for the Denis Villeneuve-directed Dune 3.

RELATED: Hugh Jackman Has Surprising Answer About Wolverine Return With Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool in Avengers: Doomsday

2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home was the first Marvel Studios movie to release in December (Disney typically slots its superhero blockbusters in the summer months of May-July). The Sony Pictures-Marvel Studios co-production swung into theaters on Dec. 17, 2021, and grossed $1.92 billion at the global box office to become Sony’s highest-grossing film and the third highest-biggest Marvel movie behind only Avengers: Infinity War ($2.05 billion) and Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion), released a year apart in April 2018 and 2019.

The new Avengers: Doomsday release date comes a month after principal photography got underway in the UK.

In March, during a five-and-a-half-hour livestream, Marvel announced the 27 actors so far confirmed to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition to former Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. donning the metal mask of Doctor Doom in the lead role, Doomsday will reunite Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki), and will feature franchise regulars like Anthony Mackie (Captain America) and Paul Rudd (Ant-Man). Letitia Wright (Black Panther), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Danny Ramirez (the Falcon), Tenoch Huerta Mejía (Namor the Sub-Mariner), and Winston Duke (M’Baku) are also confirmed to return.

The Thunderbolts* cast — which includes New Avengers Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Lewis Pullman (Bob Reynolds/Sentry) — will also be assembling alongside the stars of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, who make their MCU debuts this summer: Pedro Pascal (Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (the Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (the Thing).

Channing Tatum (Gambit) will reprise his fan-favorite Deadpool & Wolverine role with cast members from the Fox X-Men movies, including franchise vets Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), James Marsden (Cyclops), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), and Kelsey Grammer (Beast).

Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige confirmed that the entire cast list has yet to be announced and that more actors are still to come (likely at Marvel Studios’ Hall H takeover at San Diego Comic-Con in July). Notable names missing from the initial roll call include Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Benedict Wong (Wong), Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), and Chris Pratt (Star-Lord). Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter) and Chris Evans (Steve Rogers) are also reportedly set to return.

Disney’s 2026 slate includes Pixar’s Hoppers (March 13), 20th Century’s The Dog Stars (March 27) and The Devil Wears Prada 2 (May 1), Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian and Grogu (May 22), Pixar’s Toy Story 5 (June 19), and the live-action Moana (July 10). Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, also co-produced by Marvel Studios, was previously set for July 31, with Avengers: Doomsday now earmarked for Dec. 18 in the pre-holidays slot reserved for other Disney heavyhitters like Star Wars and Avatar.