Release date delays rarely make for fun reading, but as the end of the Multiverse Saga nears, we now know that the two-part finale is coming later than expected.
Disney and Marvel Studios have announced that Avengers: Doomsday has been moved from May 1, 2026 to December 18, 2026. Avengers: Secret Wars, meanwhile, will now open on December 17, 2027 after it was originally scheduled for May 7, 2027.
While there's bound to be some disappointment surrounding this news, there were telltale signs that Avengers: Doomsday might be delayed. The movie didn't start shooting until roughly a year before its release, and it always seemed strange for Disney to release an Avengers movie within a few weeks of a Star Wars one (The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22).
Ultimately, this feels like the right move on Disney's part. This gives both movies more time to shoot, increase the odds of more actors being able to appear (Tom Holland's Spider-Man, for example), and vastly extends that all-important post-production time.
It's also been confirmed that an "Untitled Marvel Movie" has been removed from February 13, 2026, while November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2027 - which were previously bookmarked for MCU titles - have been amended to "Untitled Disney" films.
Back to Spidey for a moment, and this means Spider-Man: Brand New Day no longer opens between Doomsday and Secret Wars when it swings into theaters next July. The odds of it being a street-level adventure have surely increased.
While previous Avengers movies found huge success in May, countless franchises - Avatar, Spider-Man, and Star Wars to name a few - have similarly broken box office records in December. That's no doubt what Disney is hoping for. And who could blame them for backing down from Grand Theft Auto VI?
Alas, this likely means we'll be waiting a little longer for that highly anticipated first look at Doctor Doom.
"So, probably a year ago...cause, you know, [Kevin] Feige and I have kept in touch. We're pals," Robert Downey Jr. said last year about how his MCU return happened. "Favreau, Feige, and I have kept in touch. I'm close with the Russo Brothers; we have other business we're doing."
"So, there's this little group of fellow travellers and I had this instinct that I wanted to go to Bob Iger and I had an idea outside of the Cinematic Universe for how I could be of service to what's going on in the Parks and all their location-based entertainment."
"Susan and I were sitting down with Feige at one point and he said, 'It just keeps occurring to me that if you were to come back...' and Susan was like, 'Wait, wait, come back as what?'"the Oscar-winner continued. "Then we both realised over time that it was another thing that just disproves any doubt anyone could ever have about that guy, a very sophisticated creative thinker, about how can we not go backwards, how can we not disappoint expectations, how we can continue to beat expectations?"
"And he brought up Victor Von Doom. I looked up this character and I was like, 'Wow.' Later, Kevin goes, 'Let’s get Victor Von Doom right. Let's get that right,'" Downey said of the villain who replaces Kang as the Multiverse Saga's big bad.
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make the Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
So do The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn, with X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, and Channing Tatum set to join them.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on May 1 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on May 7, 2027.