- Set to arrive in December 2026
- First trailer might arrive before the end of 2025
- 27-strong cast confirmed so far
- Plenty of other cast rumors swirling online
- Story synopsis yet to be unveiled
- Two big comic book series offer clues about its story
- Will directly lead into sequel film Avengers: Secret Wars
Avengers: Doomsday isn't set to be released until December 18, 2026, but the highly anticipated film's first teaser could be with us very soon.
Indeed, rumors are swirling that the Marvel movie's first official footage will arrive before the end of 2025. Before Avengers 5's inaugural trailer drops, you'll want the lowdown on what we know so far about the forthcoming flick.
Below, I've rounded up the biggest and latest news, plus the odd rumor or 20, about the Multiverse Saga's penultimate movie's cast, plot, and other details. Here, then, is your complete guide to Avengers: Doomsday.
Avengers: Doomsday release date
Avengers: Doomsday will be released worldwide on December 18, 2026. Originally, it was due out in May 2026 but Marvel delayed Doomsday and its sequel Secret Wars in May 2025.
Filming began on the Marvel Phase 6 film in early May and, while principal photography wrapped in September, The Hollywood Reporter (THR) has indicated additional footage will be captured in early 2026.
Avengers: Doomsday trailer – is there one?
275 million views. 50+ trending topics. 27 chairs. 5+ hours.One massive thank you to the greatest fans in the universe. pic.twitter.com/uS6hrX8ZypMarch 28, 2025
No, but that could change in the near future.
In October 2025, rumors began to circulate that Avengers: Doomsday's first trailer would be released before the end of the year. One month later, a new Marvel report all but confirmed Doomsday's inaugural teaser would arrive in December. More recently, we've learned what the apparent runtime is for Avengers 5's first teaser, too.
So, when might it arrive? Right now, speculation is rife that it'll premiere on December 11 or December 17. Whatever date it drops on, I'll be covering it extensively and then add it to this section.
Avengers: Doomsday confirmed cast
#AvengersDoomsday. Now in production. pic.twitter.com/G84UVU8HOcMarch 26, 2025
Full spoilers follow for Avengers: Endgame. Possible Doomsday spoilers are also discussed.
Here's the 27-strong, confirmed cast for Avengers: Doomsday:
- 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 superstar responsible for spear-heading Marvel's shared universe was done with it.
However, in 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 return to the MCU as Doctor Victor von Doom. One of Marvel's most iconic villains and long-time adversary of The Fantastic Four in the comics, Doom will be the primary antagonist of Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Fan confidence has grown about Downey Jr playing Doom since last year, too. Indeed, behind-the-scenes photos showeinghow dedicated Downey Jr was being to bring the fan-favorite villain to life, plus a leaked image of how Doctor Doom will look in Marvel's cinematic franchise, have buoyed its fanbase.
Is that the only character he'll play, though? In July, Downey Jr sparked a new Doomsday theory over a possible dual role. Then, in November, a new Avengers: Doomsday video teased more ties between Downey Jr's Doom and another character, leading some fans to believe Doom will be a multiversal variant of the MCU's Tony Stark.
As for the rest of the confirmed cast, a Doomsday production wrap gift has given us a glimpse at the costumes they'll wear. We'll see if these outfits are legitimate when the movie's first trailer drops.
Avengers: Doomsday cast rumors: Wanda Maximoff, Spider-Man, and more
Potentially huge spoilers follow for Avengers: Doomsday.
Avengers 5 might not only feature the 27 actors confirmed to appear, though.
Indeed, speculation is rife about who else might show up and, with Marvel insisting "there's always room for more" announcements, a whole host of other MCU stars have been asked about their possible involvement.
For starters, Elizabeth Olsen has continuously denied Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch is in Avengers: Doomsday. Benedict Cumberbatch initially claimed Wanda's fellow magic wielder Doctor Strange will only show up in Secret Wars. More recently, though, he's left the door open on a possible Strange appearance (per ETOnline).
Recently leaked images also seemed to reveal Strange and Brie Larson's Captain Marvel would join the fight against Doctor Doom. However, while Larson has been coy on showing up – she told The View "I can't answer" when pressed over her possible involvement – it appears the aforementioned photographs are AI-generated.
Tom Holland, who'll reprise his role as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day is another curious no-show. Original Avenger Jeremy Renner has rebuffed suggestions that Clint Barton/Hawkeye will pop up, too (per The Breakfast Club radio show).
Elsewhere, Hugh Jackman, who wouldn't be drawn on whether he'll appear as Wolverine (per The View) but his new best bub – Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool – might. In August, Reynolds sparked a frenzied fan reaction about Deadpool turning up in Doomsday and, depending on who you believe, THR and Deadline have respectively indicated he will and won't be part of proceedings.
While we're on the topic of mutants and, by proxy, the X-Men, Halle Berry (per the Black Girl Nerds podcast) says she won't be back as Ororo Monroe/Storm. Famke Janssen says he wasn't asked to reprise her role as Jean Grey from the original X-Men film trilogy (per Variety), either.
There are other rumored cast inclusions, including the possibility that Doomsday could bring back a major Marvel villain from the dead and reunite us with a former Spider-Man. The biggest rumor of all, though, concerns another OG Avenger.
I cannot stress this enough. Do not proceed past this point unless you really want to know which of them it'll be, because I'm about to discuss an absolutely massive albeit potential cast spoiler.
In December 2024, none other than former Captain America star Chris Evans was said to have signed on. Evans has since played down those claims via ScreenRant but, in the months since, there have been other murmurings about Steve Rogers' return.
For one, in April 2025, THR also claimed Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter will have a role to play. Four months later, industry insider DanielRPK said Evans was filming scenes for Avengers: Doomsday. Leaked images (thanks to the Marvel Leaks X/Twitter fan account for the shots) emerged days later that looked a lot like the house that Rogers and Carter are seen dancing in at the end of Avengers: Endgame, too.
There's a very specific rumor doing the rounds online about how that scene might tie into Doomsday, but I'll refrain from discussing it here. If you want some actual concrete details on its plot, though, read on...
Avengers: Doomsday story speculation
Potential spoilers follow for Avengers: Doomsday's plot.
Avengers: Doomsday's story brief hasn't been revealed yet. However, some puzzle pieces have fallen into place via the last three MCU movies. For more, read my Captain America 4 ending explained, Thunderbolts* ending explained and First Steps ending explained articles.
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo has also been busy telling – and teasing! – us about its plot.
Firstly, they told me that the next two Avengers flicks will take inspiration from both 'Secret Wars' comic book series. The MCU hasn't directly adapted many storylines from the comics so, while I won't spoil anything major about either literary work here, it's nonetheless interesting to hear them confirm this will be the case.
On the story tease, front, a Doomsday teaser image from the Russos had fans scrambling to work out what it meant in September 2025, before another cryptic photo from the Russo brothers also had Marvel devotees scratching their heads two months later. That pair came months after Marvel detectives implied they'd solved Avengers: Doomsday's story – or, at the very least, part of it.
In March 2025, it appeared other story elements and cast announcements had been ruined after apparent concept art for Doomsday and Secret Wars leaked online. However, the Russos said this artwork doesn't spoil anything significant, so read what you will into their response.
Even if that leak gave us some idea about the duology's overarching narrative, it doesn't mean tit 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", while Simu Liu told ScreenRant that it's "a love letter to the entire genre of superhero movies". Adding to the fanfare, Channing Tatum teased (via ETOnline) that it'll include moments that are 50 times bigger than, say, Wesley Snipes' Blade showing up in Deadpool and Wolverine.
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.
With such a large roster of characters, Doomsday will have a lot to juggle, including who teams up with who to cover as much ground in their attempts to intercept Doom.
Indeed, in December 2025, an Avengers: Doomsday cast update sparked a wild new Marvel fan theory about one of the MCU movie's teams. There's been plenty more speculation about heroes battling one another and/or joining forces but, in a bid to preserve more than a few surprises, I won't discuss any of those here.
However, two things I will mention are a trip to Earth-828, aka The Fantastic Four's home universe, being on the cards – Marvel President Kevin Feige has confirmed as much via Marvel.com– and a set leak (see below) indicating we'll revisit the Time Variance Authority (TVA). Considering Loki's involvement in this flick, that isn't a huge surprise.
Avengers: Doomsday is shooting in the TVA #Doomsday pic.twitter.com/VQB5qTPvnhJuly 12, 2025
Given the two-part nature of Doomsday and Secret Wars, it's likely we'll see them take a leaf out of Infinity War and Endgame's book, with Avengers 5 ending on a potentially lethal cliff hanger.
Indeed, speaking at Tokyo Comic-Con 2025, Sebastian Stan heavily implied that not everyone will make it out alive (thanks to the sebstanaddict Instagram fan account for sharing the footage). Cast your votes now on who you expect to bite the dust.
How will Avengers: Doomsday set up Avengers: Secret Wars?
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.
What we do know, though, is filming will begin in mid-2026 (per THR). Downey Jr's Doctor Doom aside, two other actors have also seemingly been confirmed to feature. Indeed, speaking to ScreenRant, Letitia Wright said she'll return as Shuri/Black Panther, while a key character from Spider-Man 4 is also believed to be part of Secret Wars' roster.
As for how the Multiverse Saga's dual capper will impact the MCU, the Russos and Feige have confirmed that it'll undergo a soft reboot post-Secret Wars. The former 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 until December 2027, it'll be a long time 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.
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