After years of moviegoers and characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe alike asking, “Where are the Avengers?” the question is finally going to be answered in Avengers: Doomsday. To die-hard fans, the title of this upcoming Marvel movie seems to indicate that one of the most feared villains in comic book history is about to make its MCU debut, and they would be correct. But just how the character is being inducted is really something to behold.
There are still many secrets surrounding the fifth Avengers movie, which is also currently slated to be the 39th installment of the Marvel movies in order. However, there are also plenty of astonishing confirmed facts to discuss about this highly anticipated upcoming superhero movie which is going to bring the Marvel multiverse to its knees in ways we have not yet seen. So, let’s get into everything we know about Avengers: Doomsday so far.
What Is The Avengers 5 Release Date?
Currently, Avengers: Doomsday is set to come out on an unspecified date in May 2026. It was previously set to hit theaters on the first of that month when it was formally announced as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, until a major casting shake-up we will get into soon led Kevin Feige and co. to go back to the drawing board. The new title was announced during Marvel Studios’ 2024 San Diego Comic-Con panel, along with an intriguing detail that certainly got heads turning.
The Avengers: Doomsday Cast Includes Robert Downey Jr. As Doctor Doom
As announced at SDCC to a roaring reaction from the Hall H crowd, Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU, but not as Iron Man. The Academy Award-winning Oppenheimer star is going to put the “doom” in Avengers: Doomsday by starring as Victor von Doom, who is otherwise known as Doctor Doom. The wealthy and highly intelligent Marvel character is actually a lot like Tony Stark, save for his criminal exploits, so, despite the shocking nature of the casting, RDJ might just be a perfect fit.
At the moment, Downey is the only actor confirmed to appear in the Avengers: Doomsday cast and it is anybody’s guess which vigilante characters are going to face off against his Doctor Doom. For a while, the movie’s ensemble was completely barren, following the news that Jonathan Majors was dropped by Marvel Studios in late 2023 after he was found guilty in a harassment and assault case. The Emmy-nominated Lovecraft Country star was set to reprise his role as ruthless interdimensional traveler, Kang the Conqueror when the fifth Avengers film still bore the subtitle, The Kang Dynasty.
What Avengers: Doomsday Will Be About
Confirmed story details for Avengers: Doomsday are still a mystery to us at this point. However, we do know from Downey’s casting as Doctor Doom that the story will surely involve the villain. We can also make an educated guess that the stars of Marvel’s upcoming reboot, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, will be involved, considering how Doom is recognized as the superhero family’s archnemesis.
Of course, Victor von Doom is not just an enemy to the Fantastic Four, but to just about anybody who calls themself a hero in the Marvel Universe and even parallel universes. Thus, we have reason to believe that fans are in for an epic showdown between the Latverian tyrant and, at least, most of the interdimensional characters that have been featured prominently in the Multiverse Saga thus far. Of course, even then, this film will probably only serve as one part of a larger story.
The Follow Up Has Also Been Announced
One likely part of the plan is to have another Avengers: Infinity War/Avengers: Endgame situation and make Avengers: Doomsday the first half of a two-part story. Reason being: there are already plans well underway for a sixth Avengers installment, called Avengers: Secret Wars, which is currently set to release roughly a year later in May 2027.
Primed to serve as the finale for MCU’s Phase Six and the Multiverse Saga overall, Avengers: Secret Wars shares its name with a popular crossover event from Marvel Comics which ran for 12 issues from 1984 to 1985. It involves an omnipotent being called the Beyonder (literally the physical manifestation of an entire alternate dimension), who kidnaps various superheroes and supervillains and pits them against each other on a planet of his own creation called “Battleworld.” One such character who plays a pivotal role in this story is Doctor Doom, whom Downey is already confirmed to be reprising in this monumental cinematic event.
Joe And Anthony Russo Are Directing Avengers: Doomsday
Not only is one of the most beloved Marvel movie actors coming back to the MCU, but so are two of the most acclaimed Marvel movie directors. Joe and Anthony Russo, who personally announced the Doctor Doom casting at SDCC, are helming Avengers: Doomsday, which Variety reported was one of Downey’s big conditions for returning to the franchise.
The brotherly duo first made a grand impression on the universe when they directed 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which they followed with 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. They later helmed the iconic one-two punch of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame and now they are repeating history. Not only are they overseeing the fifth Avengers movie, but Avengers: Secret Wars, as well.
Stephen McFeely Is Writing Avengers: Doomsday
Another esteemed MCU veteran returning to pen the screenplay for Avengers: Doomsday is Stephen McFeely. He previously had a hand in writing six of the best Marvel movies, including Infinity War and Endgame, and created the short-lived series spin-off, Agent Carter, with his partner, Christopher Markus. However, this will mark his first solo effort for the franchise.
McFeely most recently collaborated with the Russo Brothers as one of the screenwriters for their 2022 Netflix original movie, The Gray Man, and served alongside them as a producer for the platform’s 2023 sequel to Extraction, starring Thor actor Chris Hemsworth. The writer’s most notable earlier writing credits include the first two Narnia movies, the 2007 dark comedy You Kill Me, and Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain, starring another future Marvel movie actor: Anthony Mackie.
It has taken us the strength of all the Avengers combined to withstand our anticipation for said superhero team’s long-awaited return. Now that we know Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the franchise in a new, more sinister role is also occurring in Avengers: Doomsday, it is nearly impossible to contain our excitement. That being said, wish us luck as we wait.
