Marvel delays Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars — Here's why it matters
Marvel Studios has chosen to delay its next two high-stakes Avengers movies by seven months apiece. Avengers: Doomsday moves from May 1 to December 18, 2026, while Avengers: Secret Wars shifts from May 27, 2027 to December 17 of that year.
the delay is just to accommodate the 'gargantuan vision' of two films that will be 'among the biggest ever made.' (Or maybe Marvel is scared of GTA 6.) The films are being made back-to-back by directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who directed the two previous Avengers team-up movies and Marvel's two highest-grossing films: 2018's Infinity War and 2019's Endgame. Avengers: Doomsday is in production now.
Marvel owner Disney won't have any concerns about moving the Avengers movies from their traditional early summer slots to the holidays. Spider-Man: No Way Home launched in mid-December 2021 and was a massive success, becoming the third-highest-grossing Marvel film. (Avengers: Doomsday's coveted May 1, 2026 slot will go to another big Disney movie, The Devil Wears Prada 2.)
(L-R) Louis D'Esposito, Co-President, Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios, Robert Downey Jr., Joe Russo and Anthony Russo (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney/AFP)
Still, the move reflects a shift from quantity to quality at Marvel Studios, which Disney CEO Bob Iger said during an investor call had 'lost a little focus by making too much.' After releasing only one film in 2024 (Deadpool & Wolverine), Marvel is putting out three in fairly quick success in 2025: Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and the forthcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps. But then there will be a break of a full year — long by Marvel standards — before Spider-Man: Brand New Day in July 2026, followed by another yearlong break between the two upcoming Avengers movies.
Disney has removed or swapped out several slots for 'untitled Marvel' projects in 2026 and 2027, though it has three slots in 2028 reserved for Marvel films. What these might be — indeed, what the future holds generally for the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Secret Wars — remains a mystery. The status of the Armor Wars movie is unknown, to say nothing of the beleaguered Blade, while plans for Shang-Chi and Black Panther sequels remain vague. Above all this looms the specter of a possible X-Men movie, which finally seems to be coming together.
The two Avengers films ought to be more than enough to look forward to in the meantime. Marvel's announced cast for Doomsday is a multiversal pile-up of MCU veterans, newcomers from Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts*, actors from the legacy Fox X-Men movies, and wild cards like Channing Tatum's Gambit. The cast is led by Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, not Tony Stark. They really could go anywhere from here.
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