Marvel delays 'Avengers: Doomsday' and 'Avengers: Secret Wars'

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Marvel’s latest Avengers lineup is going to need a few more months to assemble.

The studio announced this week it is delaying its next two Avengers films — Doomsday and Secret Wars — by seven months each.

Originally slated to open May 1, 2026, Avengers: Doomsday is now scheduled to hit theatres on Dec. 18, 2026, the same day as Dune: Messiah.

Likewise, Avengers: Secret Wars will also shift its release from May 7, 2027, to Dec. 17, 2027.

Robert Downey Jr., who played the heroic Iron Man in 10 Marvel films, from 2008’s Iron Man to 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, is set to portray the villainous Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom this time around.

“New mask, same task,” he told the crowd at San Diego Comic-Con last summer announcing his return.

Marvel announced a stacked roster for the upcoming superhero teamup in March, with the film set to include at least 27 characters, including several key stars from Fox’s early 2000s X-Men films as well as Chris Hemsworth (Thor); Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America); Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier); Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man); Letitia Wright (Shuri); Winston Duke (M’Baku); Tom Hiddleston (Loki); Channing Tatum (Gambit) and actors from this summer’s Fantastic Four movie.

Other rumoured names expected to appear include Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) and Chris Evans (Captain America).

In addition to shifting the release dates for Doomsday and Secret Wars, Marvel also removed several untitled films from its calendar, including films that were slated to open on Feb. 13, 2026, Nov. 6, 2026 and Nov. 5, 2027.

With the changes, it means only two Marvel films will open in theatres next year: Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday.

After directing Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War and the last two Avengers flicks, Anthony and Joe Russo are returning to helm the Avengers films, which are currently shooting in England.

During an appearance on an episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast last summer, Downey said he was convinced to return to Marvel after getting a pitch from studio boss Kevin Feige.

“He said, ‘It just keeps occurring to me, if you were to come back …’” Downey said. “He brought up Victor von Doom. I looked into this character. Later on, he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor von Doom right.”

In an interview with Postmedia earlier this year, Anthony said the brothers got an inkling to rejoin Marvel after they had a chance to “go away and do some other wonderful work over the past few years.”

“In order to do Infinity War and Endgame justice, we really had to think we really were concluding our journey through the MCU, and we were concluding other characters’ journeys through the MCU,” Anthony said. “A portion of the MCU was ending with those stories, and I think that helped us deliver something that was emotionally impactful, because we did believe that and we treated it that way.”

As Marvel continued with films and TV shows that explored a new roster of heroes, as well as expanding the adventures of older characters from its Infinity Saga, the siblings say they were intrigued by returning for a new team-up that will feature superheroes from across Marvel’s parallel universes.

“The narrative just started to re-seed itself in our brains,” Anthony added. “We started to find a road forward through the work Marvel had done since Endgame. It was just a very natural process of a sort-of regrowth of us finding a story that we wanted to tell, and really needed to tell.”

In other release news, Disney announced release dates for Ridley Scott’s apocalyptic thriller The Dog Stars (March 27, 2026) and The Devil Wears Prada 2 (May 1, 2026).

The next Marvel movie —The Fantastic 4: First Steps — opens on July 25.

mdaniell@postmedia.com