Summary
- Marvel is pushing back the release dates of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars for more production time.
- Doomsday boasts the return of the Russo brothers, RDJ as Doctor Doom, and a star-studded cast, aiming for a massive cultural impact.
- The delay gives Marvel a chance to chase a monumental success akin to Avengers: Endgame.
Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are riding high on the success of Thunderbolts* and the upcoming release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but some bad news about the next two Avengers films is sure to halt the celebration a bit. That being said, it could all be for the best anyway.
It has been a rough couple of years for Marvel Studios, with successes such as Deadpool & Wolverine and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 being weighed down by flops like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels. It truly seems like Marvel Studios can't help themselves from putting a foot wrong even when things seem to be going well. 2025 has been a bit of a different story, even with the relative failure of Captain America: Brave New World. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Daredevil: Born Again, and Thunderbolts* have been successes for Marvel, with First Steps looking to follow in their footsteps. While it remains to be seen what happens when Ironheart, Eyes of Wakanda, Marvel Zombies, and Wonder Man all release later this year, things were looking up leading into the one-two punch of Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday next summer. Not any longer.
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Deadline is reporting that Marvel Studios is officially moving back the release dates of both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Doomsday was originally set to release on May 1, 2026 and has now been pushed back to December 18, 2026. Secret Wars, the direct sequel to Doomsday, is also moving from May 7, 2027 to December 17, 2027. Considering filming on Doomsday didn't even begin until the end of April, it's not too surprising to see Marvel and Disney push the release date back half a year, but that won't make it any easier for Avengers fans to swallow.
Pushing Back Avengers: Doomsday Is The Right Move For Disney And Marvel, As It Needs To Be A Monumental Success
Marvel is pulling out all the stops for Avengers: Doomsday. First off, they brought the Russo brothers back into the fold as directors. While their post-MCU work has certainly left something to be desired, there is no arguing with their success at Marvel Studios: the lineup of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame speaks for itself. Secondly, they pulled that crazy wild card move of casting Robert Downey Jr. As Doctor Doom. Does it make sense? Not really, but people like RDJ and he put butts in seats as Iron Man for over a decade, so sure... Why not?
Lastly was Marvel's viral cast announcement that listed the majority of the film's main actors. Along with the expected returning Avengers like Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Anthony Mackie's Captain America, and Letitia Wright's Black Panther, Marvel announced that the Fantastic Four, Thunderbolts, and X-Men (from the original Fox films) would be joining the fray. All of a sudden, Doomsday was no longer a simple Avengers film, but a status quo-altering mega picture featuring so many famous faces that you'll need a spreadsheet just to keep track of them all.
Clearly, Marvel desperately needs Avengers: Doomsday (and Avengers: Secret Wars) to capture the cultural consciousness the way Avengers: Endgame did back in 2019. Giving the production team (and post-shooting special effects artists) another six months to work on things isn't exactly a bad idea. Doing so will simply leave fans more time to build up Avengers anticipation that will be hard to meet. Time will tell if it all works out for Marvel and the Mouse House.
Source: Deadline