MARVEL MARATHON DEEP DIVE
AVENGERS
DOOMSDAY
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to reach US cinemas on 18 December 2026, with Anthony and Joe Russo directing. Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom, facing heroes from three universes as the multiverse collapses.
FROM KANG TO DOOM
HOW THE FILM CHANGED
Kevin Feige announced Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, with Jonathan Majors as Kang, Destin Daniel Cretton directing and Jeff Loveness writing. Loveness was no longer involved by May 2023, Cretton stepped down in November 2023, and Disney and Marvel Studios fired Majors the following month after he was found guilty of harassment and reckless assault in the third degree.
Marvel approached Robert Downey Jr. in May 2024, and he would only return if the Russo brothers came back to direct. At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, the Russos were confirmed as directors, the film was retitled Avengers: Doomsday, and Downey was revealed as Doctor Doom for both it and Secret Wars. Stephen McFeely joined Michael Waldron on the script, with Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers also working on it, and Alan Silvestri was confirmed as composer that July.
“He played the most iconic hero. Let’s have him play the most iconic villain.”
Kevin Feige on casting Robert Downey Jr.
APPLE PIE 1
HOW IT WAS FILMED
Principal photography began on 28 April 2025 at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire under the working title Apple Pie 1, with location work in Bahrain and at Windsor Great Park and further shooting at Shinfield Studios in Berkshire. Filming wrapped on 19 September 2025. The Russos said the two Avengers films were produced together, like Infinity War and Endgame, but not filmed back to back.
THREE UNIVERSES
WHO IS IN THE CAST
The film is set fourteen months after Thunderbolts*, as heroes from Earth-616, the Fantastic Four’s Earth-828 and the X-Men’s Earth-10005 converge to face Doom. The cast includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Channing Tatum as Gambit, and Ian McKellen and James Marsden as Magneto and Cyclops.
The full cast had still not been announced by September 2026, and some other returning actors are expected or reported rather than confirmed.
THE COUNTDOWN
WHEN AND HOW IT IS BEING RELEASED
The film was first dated for May 2025 as The Kang Dynasty, moved to May 2026 in June 2023, and moved again in May 2025 to 18 December 2026 to allow more time for production. The UK release is set for 16 December 2026. Four teasers played in cinemas before Avatar: Fire and Ash in December 2025, one of them revealing Evans’s return, before the first full trailer debuted at CinemaCon in April 2026.
In the Marvel Marathon it sits in the MCU release order guide between VisionQuest and Avengers: Secret Wars. It sits between Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Secret Wars in the MCU movies in order and Marvel movies in release order guides.
QUICK ANSWERS
AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY WATCH QUESTIONS
When is Avengers: Doomsday released?
It is scheduled for 18 December 2026 in the US and 16 December 2026 in the UK.
What should I watch first?
The film is set fourteen months after Thunderbolts* and brings in the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, so Thunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Endgame are the most useful recent viewing.
How long is Avengers: Doomsday?
About 165 minutes, the runtime set for ticket sales, though the final cut was reportedly unlikely to have been locked when that figure was set.
Which Marvel Marathon guides include Avengers: Doomsday?
It appears in the MCU release order, MCU movies in order and Marvel movies in release order guides.
EDITORIAL NOTES
SOURCES AND UPDATES
Development, production, cast and release-date details are checked against the film’s reference entry, cited below. The page will be revised after release.