Though Marvel Studios is believed to have "cracked the story" for Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man 4, we're hearing that work continues on the scripts for both projects.
Marvel Studios had plans in place for a Kang-focused story in the fifth Avengers movie (FKA Avengers: The Kang Dynasty), but were forced to go back to the drawing board when actor Jonathan Majors was convicted of assault. The decision was then made to pivot to Doctor Doom, who will be played by Tony Stark actor Robert Downey Jr.
We're not sure exactly how much the original idea was altered, but coming up with a new story almost certainly involved more than simply switching one villain for another (some of the recently-revealed concept art might provide a few answers), and it sounds like the script still isn't quite where it needs to be.
According to scooper Daniel Richtman, Doomsday's script is not complete and will likely be worked on right up until April, shortly before filming is scheduled to commence. The same goes for Spider-Man 4, which we recently learned is set to shoot shortly after Doomsday in the UK.
The script for Tom Holland's next solo outing as the web-head, the film is believed to have undergone at least one major overhaul, possibly due to differences of opinion between Holland and Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige.
After reported disagreements about the best way to proceed, we've heard that Feige and Sony Pictures' Tom Rothman had settled on a mostly grounded story with some Multiversal elements, though the movie was still being described as an "Avengers-level event" up until very recently.
We have also heard that it will serve as a "direct sequel" to Doomsday, which may explain why both scripts are still being ironed out.
This isn't as unusual as you might think (the writing process often continues even when cameras are already rolling), and doesn't necessarily mean that shooting could be delayed (though it's certainly possible).
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027. Both films will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
Spider-Man 4 was recently pushed back a week from July 24, 2026 to July 31, 2026.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Have another look at some photos Downey Jr. shared to Instagram after the big reveal below.