Avengers: Doomsday release date, cast, plot, & everything we know

Avengers: Doomsday has a 2026 release date, and after some turbulence, a new title and villain. Robert Downey Jr. is back in the MCU, but not as Iron Man.

San Diego Comic-Con 2024 was a feast for superhero movies. Marvel’s Phase 6, which has been in trouble since Kang the Conqueror was scrapped as Thanos’ successor, has put the wind back in its sails.

New movies like The Marvels, Ant-Man 3, and the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps have paved the way for the next big MCU crossover event to varying degrees of success, but The Russo Brothers are back to work their magic.

Below are all the latest updates on Avengers 5.

Release date

The Avengers 5 release date is May 1, 2026.

The release date was originally May 2, 2025, but Disney pushed it back in June 2023 amid a slew of major changes to upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows.

After months of anticipation, filming is finally set to begin; The Wrap reporting that Avengers: Doomsday will start shooting in March 2025, just over a year before it is set to arrive in theatres.

It’s the third of four confirmed movies in Phase 6, after Deadpool 3 and Fantastic Four, and before Avengers Secret Wars on May 7, 2027.

It was set to be directed by Daniel Destin Cretton, Deadline broke the news in November 2023 that he stepped down to focus on other MCU projects, including Shang-Chi 2 and the Wonder Man series.

Cast details

Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday cast, with Tom Holland also returning as Spider-Man.

Chris Evans will also return, but it’s unclear if he’ll play Steve Rogers or another role entirely (after all, he did play Johnny Storm again in Deadpool & Wolverine).

While many assumed Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange would feature in the film, the actor told Variety in a January 2025 interview that he won’t appear at all.

The Fantastic Four – Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are also confirmed alongside other other heroes, including the Thunderbolts:

Anthony Mackie as Captain America

Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova

Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes

David Harbour as Red Guardian

Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost

Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster

Wyatt Russell as US Agent

Downey Jr.’s return announcement wasn’t good news in everyone’s eyes, but Phase 6 now has potent OG Avenger energy.

Jonathan Majors has been dismissed as the overarching supervillain of this phase, Kang. On December 18, 2023 Majors was found guilty of assault and was dropped from the MCU.

A full lineup hasn’t been shared but a report from Deadline claimed up to 60 superheroes are involved. That’s a ludicrous number, but a team that includes the major players from recent years makes sense.

James Gunn said Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would be the last time we’d see that Guardians team, so Peter, Gamora, and Drax will probably sit this out.

It’s likely the new Disney+ casts will graduate to the big-screen Avengers arena, too, including Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight, and Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk.

Charlie Cox as Daredevil is also a likelihood, especially since his appearance was seemingly spoiled by a now-edited Instagram post from Cox’s gym. In the post, the caption read, “Charlie is currently training for his role in the upcoming [Marvel] Avengers movie where he will play [Daredevil]. It’s been our absolute pleasure working with you both and we can’t wait to watch you on the big screen!” (The caption has since been changed to “training for a new role”.)

Given The Marvels post-credit scene, we wouldn’t be shocked to see X-Men, too. Though they are more likely to be on reserve for Secret Wars.

What’s the plot?

The Avengers: Doomsday plot hasn’t been shared, but Marvel revealed that Doctor Doom will be the main villain and the Fantastic Four will be involved.

Another thing revealed at SDCC 2024 was that the Fantastic Four will feature in Avengers 5 and 6.

Stephen McFeely, who wrote films like Winter Soldier and Civil War, will write Doomsday and Secret Wars.

Secret Wars is expected to follow directly from Doomsday, so Victor Von Doom will surely set up the multiversal chaos coming in Secret Wars. Doom is one of the baddies in the comic events, so this makes sense.

Is there a trailer?

No, there isn’t a trailer for Avengers: Doomsday yet. We’ll likely get the first full trailer in early 2026.

The movie is yet to enter production so we won’t see any footage for a while.

How to watch

Avengers: Doomsday will be a theatrical exclusive before streaming on Disney+ eventually.

Like all recent MCU movies, you’ll need to visit a cinema if you don’t want to wait months to see it.