Marvel fans will have to wait a bit longer for the next big ensemble films as Disney has postponed the release dates for Marvel Studios’ upcoming features “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.”
Originally scheduled for May 1, 2026, “Doomsday” will now premiere on December 18, 2026, a shift of approximately seven months. Similarly, “Avengers: Secret Wars” has been pushed back from its initial date of May 7, 2027, to December 17, 2027.
The announcement of these delays was part of a broader reshuffling of Disney’s film release calendar, revealed on Thursday afternoon. This reshuffling also included the removal of several yet-to-be-announced Marvel projects. Specifically, a slot reserved for an “Untitled Marvel” movie on February 13, 2026, has been eliminated. Additionally, the release dates for November 6, 2026, and November 5, 2027, previously earmarked for “Untitled Marvel” films, have been changed to “Untitled Disney” projects.
With these adjustments, “Avengers: Doomsday” and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” are now the sole Marvel Cinematic Universe movies scheduled for release in 2026. Notably, the new December release dates for both “Avengers” movies coincide with the successful pre-holiday launch of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in December 2021, which amassed $1.9 billion globally, becoming one of the franchise’s top earners.
Furthermore, there will now be a significant gap in the MCU theatrical releases between “The Fantastic 4: First Steps” on July 25, 2026, and the fourth installment of the Tom Holland-led “Spider-Man” series on July 31, 2026. This interval marks the longest pause between MCU films since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted release schedules between “Spider-Man: Far From Home” in 2019 and “Black Widow” in 2021.
Despite this slowdown, Disney has retained several dates in 2028 for “Untitled Marvel” movies. Meanwhile, Marvel Studios has previously announced projects like “Armor Wars” and “Blade,” though these films currently do not have confirmed release dates.
This reduction in the number of forthcoming theatrical Marvel films coincides with Disney CEO Bob Iger’s recent comments during an investor call. Iger mentioned that Marvel Studios might have shifted its focus slightly by overproducing content across both major films and various Disney+ series. He emphasized that by streamlining their efforts and concentrating more on their cinematic projects, there should be an improvement in the quality of their outputs.
“Doomsday” and “Secret Wars” are set to be grand productions with extensive casts, including the return of Robert Downey Jr. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this time portraying the villainous Doctor Doom. These films will also feature characters from the “Thunderbolts” and “Fantastic 4: First Steps” movies, as well as appearances from “X-Men” franchise veterans Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. Production for “Doomsday” has recently intensified, with Downey posting a photo online of himself and fellow cast members attending a showing of “Thunderbolts” to support their Marvel colleagues.
*Contributions to this report were made by Adam B. Vary.
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