The Avengers are reassembling! Marvel's Thunderbolts* is closing out Phase 5 of the MCU, and Phase 6 will be kicking off with the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, but it's all leading towards the next mainline Avengers movie: Avengers: Doomsday. Here's everything we know about the first MCU-wide crossover since 2019's Endgame
It's safe to say that Marvel Studios' Multiverse Saga has had a bit of trouble getting casual moviegoers (and even some diehard fans) to care about what's next. Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, and even the Secret Invasion series crashed and burned so hard that we wondered if 'Marvel mania' had run its course. remains an excellent subfranchise, but everything else floundered.
It's not all bad, though. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was excellent, Deadpool & Wolverine was good fun, and Thunderbolts* is a surprisingly spirited outing for Marvel's misfits. But outside of that? I mean, there was Captain America: Brave New World, a movie we've already forgotten the plot of.
Ever since Phase 4 began in the aftermath of Endgame, the MCU has felt scattered and disconnected, despite the movies themselves being decent. Without a major throughline to hold on to, audiences have struggled to find a reason to care. Now, all hopes rest on Avengers: Doomsday to reignite that spark.
Is it too late, or will the MCU rise from the ashes once again? We don’t have a time stone, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Need to catch up ahead of everything coming to the MCU in 2025 and beyond? Our list of the Marvel movies in order is what you want. And if you are a bit of a gamer, make sure you've played all the best Marvel games of all time.
Avengers: Doomsday release date
With filming starting in April 2025 in London, the current plan (we wouldn't be surprised if there's a delay) is to release Avengers: Doomsday in theaters on May 1, 2026.
As always, Disney and Marvel Studios' plans are subject to change if things don't line up, and the new creative team behind the movie, led by Marvel veterans Anthony and Joe Russo is already racing against the clock. Plus, Disney has also set The Mandalorian & Grogu for May 22, 2026. Bit of a packed month, ain't it?
What is the plot of Avengers: Doomsday?
The plot of Avengers: Doomsday is, unsurprisingly, being kept hidden away in a high-security SHIELD base,
We can, however, make some educated guesses, based on the general direction of the Multiverse Saga so far, about the larger picture. First, the concept of incursions appears to be a big deal as we wander into Doomsday and Secret Wars. Basically, after the huge multiverse-shaking events that went down in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Loki, the Sacred Timeline (Earth-616, the main MCU one) ain't that special nor as protected as before. Other realities are seeping into each other, and the whole thing could lead to another Multiversal War.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and The Marvels also highlighted some of the dangers threatening otherwise peaceful universes and even teased a strong X-Men presence elsewhere (now confirmed to be a major part of the story).
With the Council of Kangs subplot seemingly dropped after Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania's flop and Kang actor Jonathan Majors getting into real-life trouble, it's Doctor Doom's time to take over an entire Avengers movie, and he's played by... Robert Downey Jr. because the multiverse is funny like that (and also because, let's admit it, Disney and Marvel are a bit desperate).
We don't even know yet whether this new Doctor Doom will appear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps – which is set in another universe, by the way – before making his big Avengers entrance, but chances are we'll be feeling his presence before he threatens all of existence in Doomsday. Likewise, we don't know who the New Avengers are yet (in spite of all the candidates available) or how it all leads into the much larger, multiverse-shattering Secret Wars. We'll begin to learn things soon enough, though, so stay tuned.
Avengers: Doomsday trailers
No trailers or teasers for Avengers: Doomsday have been released yet. If the current filming schedule pans out, chances are we'll be getting our first look at the movie in the latter half of 2025.
Marvel, however, shared a ridiculously long stream on March 26, 2026, to unveil the bulk of the mind-bending cast for the next Avengers. You can watch it below, but if you don't want to watch a bunch of chairs for five and a half hours, you can just check out our Avengers: Doomsday cast livestream roundup.
Avengers: Doomsday cast
So far, the confirmed cast members for Avengers: Doomsday are:
- Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards aka Mister Fantastic
- Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm aka Invisible Woman
- Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm aka Human Torch
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm aka The Thing
- Robert Downey Jr. as Victor von Doom aka Doctor Doom
- Chris Hemsworth as Thor
- Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson aka Captain America
- Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes aka Winter Soldier
- Letitia Wright as Shuri aka Black Panther
- Paul Rudd as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man
- Wyatt Russell as John Walker aka U.S. Agent
- Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor
- Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
- Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
- Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy aka Beast
- Lewis Pullman as Robert 'Bob' Reynolds aka Sentry
- Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres aka Falcon
- David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov aka Red Guardian
- Winston Duke as M'Baku
- Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr aka Ghost
- Tom Hiddleston as Loki
- Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier aka Professor X
- Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto
- Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler
- Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkhölme aka Mystique
- James Marsden as Scott Summers aka Cyclops
- Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau aka Gambit
Two very safe (though not entirely confirmed) bets are Tom Holland (Peter Parker aka Spider-Man) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Stephen Strange aka Doctor Strange), mainly due to their connections to both the present multiversal menaces and the now-deceased Tony Stark (and his eerie lookalike Victor von Doom).
Cumberbatch claims he isn't sure about his next appearance in the MCU, but some of the leaked concept art pieces (which we won't share here) have something to say about that.
Benedict Wong (now Sorcerer Supreme Wong) should also have a major role, with the Earth-based Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) being another likely pick for a new Avengers team. She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany) seems like a solid candidate as well, but we haven't seen her for a while.
Add other heavy hitters like Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), or Black Panther (now Letitia Wright), and you've got a solid roster going. But, again, this is all speculation for now. It's not like the list revealed so far is small, and there's only so much the creatives can cram into a single event movie.
More characters have been set up throughout the Multiverse Saga, and plenty of veterans are still around, not to mention unexpected picks from other universes… basically nothing's off the table. We'll keep you posted with updates on this front as filming continues.
Avengers: Doomsday directors, writers, and crew
Anthony and Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier & Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame) are taking over directing duties after Shang-Chi captain Destin Daniel Cretton left the event movie (back when it was called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) to focus on several other projects including the fourth MCU-set Spider-Man (also coming in 2026).
Stephen McFeely, who also worked with the Russos on their past Marvel hits, is penning the script, though the return of Christopher Markus (the other half of the veteran writing duo) is off the table as he's chosen to focus on other projects.
In any case, the new creative team arrives after both Jeff Loveness (Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania) and Michael Waldron (Loki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) explored possibilities with the Kang storyline that's ultimately been pushed aside.
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