Avengers: Doomsday: Release Date, Trailer, Cast & More
We break down everything we know about the upcoming film, from the massive cast to potential storylines and more.
Since 2021, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have known another Avengers film was on the horizon. Of course, thanks to various shifts in Marvel Studios’ planning, cast upheavals, and industry strikes, the exact nature of that film was tougher to ascertain.
That changed, of course, in the summer of 2024 when the studio took to the Hall H stage at Comic-Con International: San Diego to reveal a new plan, a new antagonist, and a new name: Avengers: Doomsday. The announcement came with the surprise reappearance of Robert Downey Jr., who will play the titular Doctor Doom as he, presumably, sets his sights on the Marvel Multiverse.
But other details remained vague until March 26, 2025. That morning, the studio launched a live feed on its social media accounts to unveil a surprising number of actors joining Downey and celebrate the beginning of filming. Of course, some details still elude those who sift through all the rumors, conjecture, and possible leaks, but the confirmation of the cast — with more potentially on the way — we thought it was the perfect time to assemble everything we know about Doomsday so far. Join us as we put together a Time Variance Authority dossier and, maybe, glean just what Doom will do as the Secret Wars approach.
All That Is Doom’s Is Doom’s
While story details are still very much under wraps, we do have a few bits of solid information. At the 2021 SDCC presentation, Marvel Studios revealed the previous version of the film (more on that later) would begin the culmination of the current Multiverse Saga. Although that story thread turned out more opaque than the hunt for the Infinity Stones, it at least suggests what will transpire in Doomsday.
Becoming aware of the Multiverse, the wise and fair Doom spies other realities to rule, presumably having conquered his own. As the film will also introduce the character in the Marvel Multiverse context, we will also learn what sort of Doom the heroes of the MCU will eventually face. With decades of story behind him, Doom can be, at various times, a wise ruler of Latveria — his Eastern European country — a would-be global despot, a criminal genius, a partner in crime with the likes of Kang the Conqueror, a comedic foil for the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, a caring surrogate father for one of the Richards’ children, the Sorcerer Supreme and — in a recent comic book storyline — king of the world.
Also, he’ll look almost exactly like the MCU’s Tony Stark.
But that still leaves plenty of questions. Is he from the reality introduced in this summer’s Fantastic Four: First Steps? The film’s end credit stinger implies as much. Is he already the sworn enemy of that Earth’s Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal)? Is his knowledge of the Multiverse a product of some scientific curiosity, an examination of the mystical arts, or both? Will he speak with a Latverian accent?
As it happens, the trailer released on July 20 confirms Doom will speak with the accent and, seemingly, in a manner slower than Tony’s mile-a-minute quipping. Instead, as he claims in the trailer, he will be faced with “an unthinkable decision.” So, maybe, he is not the foe we’ve believed him to be.
The true nature of Doom’s goals will be revealed in time, of course. The July 20 trailer seemingly pits him against the others as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) works his darndest to convince the various heroes that what is coming is unlike any other threat they’ve faced before. Indeed, Doom’s ability to bring Stormbreaker to a dead stop with just a flick of his wrist means he is quite powerful, but is he also the reason X-Men are fighting Avengers and why the Fantastic Four is working with both Wakanda and Talokan?
There is another possibility. The eventual Doomsday sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, takes its name from two comic book stories, the latter of which is a 2015-2016 tale that saw Doom become the unquestioned ruler of the single reality resulting from the collapse of the Multiverse. Is it possible this is his true aim: taking the Sacred Timeline of the MCU as his bedrock reality? We imagine a lot of people will be mad about that. Then there is the very slim chance that Doom is right to do what he’s doing and the X-Men, Avengers, and other assorted heroes are the real bad guys.
But then, one would have to believe Doom is all-wise and all-knowing.
The Wide Multiverse … And A Very Familiar Reality
The setting of the film takes us pretty much anywhere from Hell’s Kitchen of the MCU to a Doomstadt (the capital city of Latveria) in a far-off reality, to an Earth populated by Mutants who first made their presence known in the year 2000. We also expect to see the TVA again, Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) throne room at the nexus of all realities, the laboratory of Reed Richards, and at least two very recognizable buildings in the New York skyline. Oh, and as of the July trainer, Steve Rogers’s (Chris Evans) home with Peggy (Hayley Atwell) will be a key location as many have already noted the curtains in a close-up of Loki greatly resembles the house glimpsed at the end of Avengers: Endgame.
As Deadpool & Wolverine proved, one of the most thrilling things about the Multiverse as a concept is the way it can remix the familiar into something funny or startling, from the Calverine (Henry Cavill) to a foul-mouthed Johnny Storm (also Evans). Although, we imagine Doomsday will play those variant settings in a far more serious tone than Wade Wilson’s (Ryan Reynolds) most recent burst of chaos.
And speaking of, where is Deadpool?
Thunderbolts* Assemble!
As mentioned ealier, March 26, 2025 saw the reveal of an expansive Doomsday cast. Confronting Downey’s Doom are Pascal, Hiddleston, Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Letitia Wright, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Paul Rudd, Sebastian Stan, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Kelsey Grammer, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Joseph Quinn, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, and Channing Tatum.
It’s an interesting collection of names. Chief among them are the Fantastic Four themselves (Pascal, Kirby, Quinn, and Moss-Bachrach). While we imagined they will follow Doom into the Multiverse and, perhaps, even rally the other teams they encounter along the way, like the Thunderbolts, it seems from the trailer that Thor will be a key mover in creating the coalition between the various groups. Pugh, Stan, Russell, Pullman, Harbour, and John-Kamen reprise their roles as the New Avengers While Wright, Duke, and Mejia return from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
And although the trailer makes it clear the X-Men will tussle with the MCU heroes — notably we see moments of a fight between Tatum’s Gambit and Shang-Chi (Liu) and what appears to be the beginning of a literal face-off with Yelena and Mystique (Romijn) — we still think Doom’s first stop will be the reality where the X-Men of the 20th Century Fox films reside. With Stewart, Marsden, McKellen, Grammer, and Romijn reprising their roles, we bet another last stand for the Mutants is in the offing. Oh, but what a surprise to see Cumming among that group of actors. We’ll be happy to hear him recall his days on the Berlin stage once again.
Also, we’re quite thrilled to see Tatum return as Gambit, although we imagine his accent will be reined in a little this time.
And what what of Rudd’s Ant-Man? Will he finally use the oft-memed tactic he never employed against Thanos (Josh Brolin)? One thing to note from the trailer: he seemingly stands alone with Captain America Sam Wilson (Mackie) as Thor convenes a meeting with Sam’s group, the New Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. Is Ant-Man finally a proper Avenger? And, considering the way Marvel trailers erase people in group shots, are there more members of Sam team in this scene than we can currently see? Add to that the glimpse of Kathryn Newton in the trailer … Is Cassie an Avenger or a Young Avenger?
Of course, the confirmed castmembers aren’t the only names we’ve heard connected to Doomsday. In the months after the film received its new name, Evans, Atwell, Jeremy Renner, and Tom Holland were said to be returning. While Evans was finally confirmed in the December 2025 teaser, the same could still be true for the others even if Marvel has yet to put out chairs for them. Similarly, Benedict Cumberbatch was quoted as saying he would appear in the “next” Avengers film, though he has been unclear on whether that is Doomsday or Secret Wars. One rumor suggests the actor filmed scenes for the upcoming re-release of Endgame, but that will be the extent of his involvement until, possibly, Secret Wars.
Then there are the other wildcards, like a surprise cameo from Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider, a constantly bandied-about return of Andrew Garfield‘s Spider-Man for one final goodbye, and long-shot returns for other actors who have not played Marvel characters in decades. But those could just all be hallucinations bubbling up from the depths of the internet. And with the July trailer striking a more serious tone, there may not be the room for, say, Finola Hughes to reprise her Emma Frost from the Generation X TV pilot as humorous Easter egg.
Meanwhile, Holland has been too busy keeping Sadie Sink‘s character in Spider-Man: Brand New Day a secret to even comment on his possible Doomsday appearance.
The Russos Return
In its previous existence as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the film was meant to be directed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ Destin Daniel Cretton from a script by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness. Creative upheavals, the poor response to Kang in Quantumania, and the legal situation regarding the actor who played him led to a complete rethink of the film and, for a time, its name simply becoming Avengers 5.
But then Marvel Studios surprised their audience at the 2024 SDCC panel by announcing the return of Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo. Although the duo admitted to creative burnout after making four Marvel films essentially back-to-back from Captain America: The Winter Solider to Endgame, they’ve seemingly been recharged after making films at Netflix and for their own production company. They’ve also said the pitch to introduce Downey as Doom ultimately excited them.
Providing the script is Stephen McFeely, perhaps best known for co-writing Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. His other Marvel credits include Captain America: The First Avenger and The Winter Solider, and Thor: The Dark World. He also contributed to the three Chronicles of Narnia films and Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain with previous writing partner Christopher Markus (who also co-wrote McFeely’s other Marvel films).
Other key department heads include director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel, production designer Gavin Bocquet, costume designer Judianna Makovsky, and frequent Marvel movie editor Jeffrey Ford. Composer Alan Silvestri takes on scoring duties. Producers include the Russos, Feige, and Jonathan Schwartz while Louis D’Esposito and Callum McDougall serve as executive producers.
Doom’s Day Is A Holiday Treat
Avengers: Doomsday is currently scheduled for release on December 18, 2026. Following that, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will go into a relative pause with a handful of Disney+ series and specials filling the gap until Doom returns for Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.
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