‘Avengers: Doomsday’: everything we know so far about the exciting Marvel movie (release date, confirmed cast, plot rumors, and more)

Avengers: Doomsday feels like it’s a long way away – and I say that in spite of its revised launch date, which means it won’t land in theaters until December 18, 2026.

Indeed, even though filming is well underway on Avengers 5, there’s lots of work to be done on the highly anticipated Marvel movie before it’s ready to be released.

Luckily, there’s been plenty of news and rumors about the superhero film in recent months, and you can learn all about them in this guide. So, whether you want more details on its cast, plot, or something else entirely, this hub is your one-stop shop to the next film starring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Possible Doomsday spoilers follow, so proceed with caution.

Avengers: Doomsday release date

Avengers: Doomsday will launch worldwide on December 18, 2026. Originally, it was due to arrive next May, but Marvel delayed Doomsday and its sequel in late May.

As both movies’ directors Joe and Anthony Russo confirmed on Instagram (see above), filming began on the Marvel Phase 6 film in early May. More recently, Anthony Mackie told ScreenRant that the cast and crew were “in the midst” of its shooting schedule, but that he was “nowhere close” to wrapping on the project yet. Expect the cameras to roll for many more months, then.

Avengers: Doomsday trailer – is there one?

No. There won’t be a full trailer for a long time, either.

Marvel could release a brief teaser at D23 Expo 2025 (August 29 to 31), but I’d be shocked if we see or hear anything until sometime in 2026, especially in light of the movie’s recent release date delay. I’ll update this section once a trailer is released.

Avengers: Doomsday confirmed cast

Here’s the 27-strong cast for Avengers: Doomsday that’s been announced so far:

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

The headline news is that Downey Jr, who played Tony Stark and his superhero alias Iron Man between 2008 and 2019, is back in the MCU. With Stark sacrificing himself in Avengers: Endgame, it seemed that the actor responsible for kickstarting Marvel Studios’ shared universe had run out of comic book movie road. However, following a crowd-cheering reveal (or a desperate Hail Mary move, depending on who you ask) at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Downey Jr announced his MCU return as Doctor Victor von Doom.

One of Marvel’s most iconic villains and long-time adversary of The Fantastic Four in Marvel Comics, Doom will be the primary antagonist of Avengers: Doomsday and its sequel Avengers: Secret Wars. Fan confidence in Downey Jr’s portrayal of Doom has grown since last year, too, especially after some behind-the-scenes photos showed how dedicated Downey Jr was being to bring the fan-favorite villain to life.

Is that the only character he’ll play, though? Some fans think not. Indeed, Downey Jr sparked a new Doomsday theory over a possible dual role in July, so place your bets now on whether we’ll see a different universe’s Iron Man appearing in this film.

There has been lots – and I mean lots – of other casting news and speculation in the months since filming began, too.

For starters, Chris Hemsworth is rumored to be Doomsday‘s second lead. That’s in spite of comments made by The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman, which were misinterpreted by numerous outlets who thought he was suggesting Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards would lead the Avengers in Doomsday – and, by proxy, be the second name on the call sheet. Pascal (via Entertainment Weekly (EW)) and Shakman (per IGN) have since clarified that isn’t the case.

As for the rest of the confirmed cast, 23 other actors members (alongside Downey Jr, Hemsworth, and Pascal) were confirmed via a lengthy livestream event in late March. Some inclusions spoiled what happened in Thunderbolts* and First Steps. Meanwhile, others were surprise additions to the roster, such as numerous legacy X-Men characters from 20th Century Fox’s defunct mutant-centric comic book movie universe.

There were many notable absentees from the initial cast list, but Marvel insists “there’s always room for more” announcements.

That could include former Captain America star Chris Evans, who was rumored to have signed on. He’s since played down those claims via ScreenRant. Tom Holland, who’ll reprise his role as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day is another curious no-show – for now, anyway – as is Hugh Jackman, who wouldn’t be drawn on whether he’s appear as Wolverine (per The View).

On the potential appearances front, Joe Locke’s Billy Maximoff/Wiccan could feature, with the actor’s mentor Steven Sater suggesting as much on TikTok (per the DailyJLocke X/Twitter fan account). The Hollywood Reporter (THR) has also claimed Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter is going to have a role to play. Lastly, Wong, the MCU’s current Sorcerer Supreme, was apparently seen in leaked Avengers: Doomsday set images in mid-April.

Four actors have seemingly ruled themselves out of appearing, though.

Benedict Cumberbatch has claimed Doctor Strange will only show up in Secret Wars. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Olsen seemingly denied that Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch is in either of the next Avengers movies. Halle Berry (per the Black Girl Nerds podcast) says she won’t be reprising Ororo Monroe/Storm, either, and Charlie Cox has denied Matt Murdock/Daredevil will join the film’s ensemble (via THR).

Until more cast additions are revealed, read my article on 17 Marvel heroes I want to see added to Doomsday‘s cast. Then, see what the Russo brothers told me about whether we’ll see other Marvel heroes from Disney+ shows appear in Avengers 5.

Avengers: Doomsday story speculation

Potential spoilers follow for Avengers: Doomsday‘s plot.

Avengers: Doomsday‘s story brief hasn’t been revealed yet but, thanks to the last three MCU film releases, some puzzle pieces have fallen into place. For more on what they tell us, read my Captain America 4 ending explained, Thunderbolts* ending explained and First Steps ending explained articles.

Next, the Russos told me the next two Avengers flicks will take inspiration from both ‘Secret Wars’ comic book series. The MCU hasn’t directly adapted many comics storylines, so it’s interesting to hear them confirm as much. Regardless, I won’t spoil anything about either comic book run here in case you haven’t read them. That said, Marvel detectives think they’ve solved Avengers: Doomsday‘s story – or, at the very least, part of it, so I’m curious to see if their theory is proved correct once the film is released.

In March, it appeared other story elements and cast announcements had been ruined by apparent concept art for Doomsday and Secret Wars leaked online. However, the Russos said this artwork doesn’t spoil anything significant, so read into that what you will.

Even if that leak gave us some idea about Doomsday and Secret Wars‘s plots, it doesn’t mean their narratives won’t have changed during production. Speaking to THR, Rebecca Romijn said the script was still being adjusted in late July, so what’s shown in the aforementioned art may not be used anyway.

Moving away from spoilers, Anthony Mackie has opined (per IGN) that Avengers: Doomsday will recapture “that old Marvel feeling”, whatever that means. He also told Deadline he’d like to see Cap 2.0 team up with the Fox-Verse’s first iteration of the X-Men – and, if he gets his wish, it could see the mutants and Sam Wilson face off against The Fantastic Four. Indeed, speaking to Buzzfeed, Alan Cummings let slip that he’ll fight Pascal’s Mister Fantastic in Avengers 5, so a hero on hero battle could be part of proceedings.

It seems like everyone will make up at some stage, though. Behind-the-scenes images (thanks to the MCU News and Rumors X/Twitter fan account for the screenshots) show Ramirez’s Falcon, Moss-Bachrach’s The Thing, and Russell’s US Agent standing in the same room together, so teamwork will eventually be the order of the day to tackle Doom.

A voyage to Earth-828 will be on the cards, too. Marvel President Kevin Feige confirmed (via ComicBook.com and Marvel.com) that scenes had been shot in the Baxter Building, so expect some MCU heroes to go on a multiversal road trip to The Fantastic Four’s home universe. Another set leak indicates we’ll revisit the Time Variance Authority (TVA), which isn’t a huge surprise considering Loki’s involvement in this flick.

Given the two-part nature of Doomsday and Secret Wars, it’s likely we’ll see the pair take a leaf out of Infinity War and Endgame‘s book, with Avengers 5 ending on a potentially lethal cliffhanger. Anthony Mackie has already suggested this’ll be the case (via Collider). Meanwhile, Hemsworth gave Marvel fans a shock when he posted a ‘thank you’ video on YouTube that had people wondering if Thor was going to die in Avengers: Doomsday.

Hemsworth has since said (per THR) that said video was taken out of context, but I wouldn’t be stunned if the next Avengers film kills off a bunch of current and legacy Marvel characters to make its ending hit as hard as possible.

How will Avengers: Doomsday set up Secret Wars and the MCU 2.0?

The short answer is: I don’t know. Nobody outside of Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast and crew, plus Marvel executives, know how it’ll specifically impact Secret Wars.

Nevertheless, the Russos and Feige have confirmed that the MCU will undergo a soft reboot post-Secret Wars. The former have said they’re actually telling “a beginning story” with the next two Avengers movies, while Feige has insinuated (via Variety) that Secret Wars will act as a “reset” for Marvel’s cinematic juggernaut.

Outside of this “reset” setting the stage for an exciting future that’ll be all about the X-Men, it’s unclear what form it’ll take or which heroes will populate it. Considering Avengers 6 won’t be out for another two and a half year (at the time of this article’s latest update), it’ll be a while before we find out, too.

For more Marvel coverage, find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order. Alternatively, see if you agree with my ranking of the best Marvel movies, which MCU films made it onto my best superhero movies list, and/or get the lowdown on Daredevil: Born Again season 2.