- Friday, May 23, 2025
Marvel Studios has officially postponed the releases of its major team-up films Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, shifting both blockbusters to December 2026 and 2027 respectively, as part of Disney’s strategic slate reshuffle.
By: Vibhuti Pathak
Marvel fans will have to wait a little longer to witness the next epic superhero showdown. Disney has officially announced delays for its highly anticipated Marvel Studios films Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, pushing their release dates to December 2026 and 2027, respectively.
Avengers: Doomsday was initially set to release on May 1, 2026, but will now hit theaters on December 18, 2026. Its follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars, originally scheduled for May 7, 2027, has been postponed to December 17, 2027. The shift positions both films in the same lucrative pre-holiday release window that benefited Spider-Man: No Way Home, which earned $1.9 billion globally after its December 2021 debut.
The changes are part of a broader restructuring of Disney’s theatrical slate, which also involved removing multiple untitled Marvel projects from the calendar. Previously scheduled dates like February 13, 2026, and November 6, 2026, have been taken off or rebranded as generic “Untitled Disney” slots. As it stands, only Avengers: Doomsday and Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day are slated as Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) releases for 2026.
This leaves a significant content gap for the MCU. Following the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25, 2026, fans won’t see another Marvel movie until Tom Holland’s fourth Spider-Man film premieres on July 31, 2027. This year-long gap marks the longest MCU theatrical hiatus since the COVID-era break between Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Black Widow (2021).
Disney CEO Bob Iger addressed this shift in strategy during a recent investor call, acknowledging that Marvel had “lost a little focus by making too much.” He emphasized that streamlining the studio’s output would “result in better quality,” aligning with efforts to consolidate storytelling and restore fan confidence in the franchise.
Despite the delays, excitement remains high for the upcoming Avengers films. Avengers: Doomsday is expected to be a major event in the MCU, with Robert Downey Jr. returning in a surprising twist — not as Iron Man, but as the iconic villain Doctor Doom. The film will also feature crossover appearances from characters introduced in Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four: First Steps, along with X-Men veterans Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.
Production for Doomsday has already begun ramping up, with Downey sharing a behind-the-scenes photo showing cast members attending a Thunderbolts screening in support of their fellow Marvel stars.
Looking further ahead, Disney has left placeholders for three “Untitled Marvel” films in 2028, scheduled for February 18, May 5, and November 10. Other previously announced projects like Armor Wars and Blade currently remain undated.
As Marvel reshapes its roadmap, fans are bracing for a leaner but potentially stronger cinematic future — one that promises fewer releases, but bigger moments.
