Peter Parker's world will be flipped upside down in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a movie that will mark an important first for the franchise. Without a doubt, the Wall-Crawler's fourth MCU solo outing will be his toughest challenge yet. Old villains like Scorpion and new ones like Tombstone and Boomerang seek to make New York City their playground, putting countless lives at stake.

And to make matters worse, there's also a mystery villain on the loose with telepathic powers that they will seemingly use to unleash the Hulk. In the past, Spider-Man would've called up another MCU hero to help him with his giant green problem. However, he's riding solo this time around because everyone forgot all about him at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

All Spider-Man will have at his disposal are his own incredible gifts. But even those are going to stir up trouble because the hero's set to undergo a transformation. His strength, senses, and agility will get a significant boost, which will take some getting used to.

Marvel Studios finally revealed the official logos for all the major superhero teams in Avengers: Doomsday and even included a special crossover logo featuring the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men. For the first time in history, the three biggest superhero teams in Marvel will be showcased together in the same film. This is a massive moment for longtime Marvel fans and the superhero genre in general, and to commemorate it, Marvel Studios created some special logos.

As shared by @AvengersUpdated via X, Marvel Studios revealed brand-new merchandise for Avengers: Doomsday, specifically themed around the characters and superhero teams featured in the film. For example, the merch includes a wallet, a keychain, different pairs of socks, a laptop case, and other small collectibles. Notably, some of the merch pieces feature different logos, including for the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom, and Black Panther/Wakanda.

Avengers: Doomsday will challenge how fans see several of its characters, and some long-held opinions may not survive the movie. Joe and Anthony Russo’s crossover unites the Avengers, the New Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the original X-Men against Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom when it hits theaters on December 18. Nearly every hero on that roster arrives with history attached, whether from earlier MCU projects or from 20th Century Fox’s X-Men films.

Five of these characters stand out simply because general audiences have already made up their minds about them. Given how Marvel Studios and Fox originally portrayed these figures, fans naturally have rigid expectations. However, viewers should prepare for surprises, as Avengers: Doomsday is set to completely alter those long-held preconceptions.

Avengers: Doomsday Will Challenge How Fans View the Film’s Major Characters

Spider-Man: Brand New Day star Sadie Sink confirmed what everybody suspected about when her character's identity would be revealed to the world. For Spider-Man: No Way Home, the mystery leading up to its release was whether Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would be returning. But for Brand New Day, the million-dollar question is all about Stranger Things' Max Mayfield actress Sink, who is making her MCU debut in the summer blockbuster as one of its highest-billed cast members, despite her character remaining a mystery.

Stranger Things star Sadie Sink directly addressed Chinese audiences in a new promo for Spider-Man: Brand New Day and confirmed when the identity of her mystery MCU newcomer will be revealed. As most fans had theorized by this point, Sink declared that audiences "will have to find out in the theater" who she is playing, confirming that her character won't be revealed until Brand New Day releases on July 31 (July 29 in select international territories).

Responding to the "creative" theories from "[her] friends in China" about her MCU character's identity, Sink ruled out the obvious, saying, "I can confirm, I am not Spider-Man [or] Aunt May:"

Marvel Studios will be reversing course on one key aspect of its Netflix Marvel reboot. In 2025, Marvel Studios officially revived the dormant Defenders TV universe after Netflix canceled each of its shows, starting with a new Disney+ series, Daredevil: Born Again. The MCU show has since become a gateway for all of the Netflix Marvel characters to return, but after two seasons of Daredevil: Born Again, Marvel Studios is looking to change some things with the third season.

Daredevil: Born Again has had a rocky road to streaming success. Season 1 was paused and rewritten mid-way through production, resulting in a tonally incohesive debut that was part superhero show, part courtroom drama. Season 2 was stronger under the vision of showrunner Dario Scardapane, though it leaned further into political themes than the previous Netflix Daredevil series had. Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 is currently the next planned release in Marvel Studios' Netflix reboot universe, with the new season already deep into production, but it will be shifting tactics in a key area.

Scardapane revealed to Games Radar ahead of Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again's debut that he had "mixed feelings" about the political energy of the show. The showrunner added that dealing with "huge archetypes," and "mythological characters," made for "fun writing":

Obsession has officially grossed over $250 million at the domestic box office, a milestone that 14 Marvel Studios-produced MCU movies failed to reach. Having been produced on a $750,000 production budget, studio expectations were clearly high on Obsession from the get-go. Distributor Focus Features picked up the horror sensation for $15 million at the Toronto International Film Festival (via The Hollywood Reporter), but it's doubtful that, even then, many expected it to compete with the box office big dogs like Marvel, DC, and Star Wars franchises.

Now nine weeks into its box office run, Obsession is still winning big at the box office and recently crossed $250 million domestically. Only four other movies have reached that impressive milestone this year: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Toy Story 5, Michael, and Project Hail Mary, with The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day expected to enter the exclusive club in the coming weeks. 

Obsession stands at $256.78 million domestically and $430.13 million globally, making it the seventh biggest movie of the year worldwide. Perhaps its greatest milestone yet is crossing a quarter of a billion ($250 million) at the domestic box office on such a low budget, something even 14 of Marvel Studios' big-budget MCU tentpoles have failed to do over the years:

Marvel Studios is utilizing Thor in a completely different way than ever before, and for the first time in 14 years, the studio is breaking a tradition deeply tied to the character for Avengers: Doomsday. Chris Hemsworth's Thor is one of the most important characters in MCU history. He is the only character in the entire franchise to have four solo films and has made an appearance in every single Avengers flick. Thor will be returning in Avengers: Doomsday, as confirmed by Marvel Studios, but there have already been some changes made to the way he is being presented.

Avengers: Doomsday technically has already released a full-length trailer, just not publicly. Those who attended CinemaCon 2026 were able to see the special full trailer for Doomsday, but the general public still hasn't been given the opportunity to watch it. However, those in attendance at CinemaCon have described the footage in great detail, and one thing is clear — for the first time in MCU history, Thor is the main focus of the main trailer for an Avengers film.

Based on all of the descriptions of Doomsday's main trailer, Hemsworth's Thor is the clear central character. For example, Thor is featured in multiple shots, with all of them presenting him as the main focus.

LEGO has officially released its first set based on Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU). Alongside its partnership with Marvel Studios for Tom Holland's Spider-Man films, Sony Pictures owns the rights to several characters in Spider-Man lore, leading them to create a series of films based on characters adjacent to the web-slinger. While Venom, Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter failed to live up to expectations for Sony's Spider-Man Universe, one of these films has now been immortalized in LEGO form.

LEGO has released a brand-new Marvel set depicting a bust of the symbiote villain Venom. While LEGO has incorporated Venom into its sets before, this version is specifically based on the 2018 Venom film, making it the first LEGO set tied directly to Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

Avengers: Secret Wars will be the MCU's final Phase 6 film, and it's bringing along more than one villain character for the climactic finale. The 2027 Marvel movie is a direct sequel to this year's Avengers: Doomsday, which pits Earth's mightiest heroes against the villainous Doctor Doom, played by former Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. The cast for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars has shifted somewhat since the last Avengers films, but the lineup in Secret Wars is starting to take shape.

Joining the ranks of the antagonists in Avengers: Secret Wars is Tom Hiddleston's Loki, according to a post from insider Daniel Richtman. Richtman shared that Loki is only bound for a small role in Avengers: Doomsday, despite Hiddleston's name being featured in the infamous Doomsday chair reveal, but he "will return in Avengers: Secret Wars." 

Hiddleston has been both a villain and a hero in the MCU, serving as the main antagonist in Thor and The Avengers, and gradually transitioning to an ally in Thor: Ragnarok and Loki on Disney+. The God of Mischief made the ultimate sacrifice to become the God of Stories in the Season 2 finale of Loki, and now Hiddleston's character is literally holding together the threads of the Multiverse. 

Daredevil: Born Again Season 3's latest script update is something that James Gunn would not let fly over at DC Studios. Daredevil: Born Again finished airing its second season earlier in May 2026, and production on the third season is already underway, with filming taking place in New York. The Disney+ show is one of Marvel Studios' annual releases and is moving swiftly toward its 2027 return.

That said, there is one reveal about Daredevil: Born Again Season 3's scripting process that may garner disapproval. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane revealed that despite shooting already underway, "all the scripts except the last one are written:"

"I'm writing the finale right now. We wrap in early July at this point. So we're right about the halfway mark. All the scripts except the last one are written."

Avengers: Doomsday's cast has been set in stone since the chair announcement back in March 2025. Sure, there have been a couple of additions, such as Cassie Lang, who was shown in the film's CinemaCon trailer, and Steve Rogers. But they have been few and far between, making it seem like Marvel Studios is betting big on its original lineup.

A wrench was recently thrown in that plan, though. While promoting his return as Nightcrawler in Doomsday, actor Alan Cumming revealed that the highly anticipated movie features "secret" characters (via Deadline).

"Sometimes there were secret names in it because they didn't want to let out this certain character was coming back, so they called them somebody else in the script. It was so confusing."

A secretive character in Spider-Man: Brand New Day was finally seen in promo material. Brand New Day already boasts a massive cast of characters that have driven the marketing campaign forward, with only a short time left before the film swings into theaters on July 31. 

A new image from Spider-Man: Brand New Day revealed the first look at The Bear star Liza Colon-Zayas in the movie. She stands next to a fully suited-up Peter Parker in the middle of New York City, looking on at an undisclosed event.

Marvel Studios’ X-Men movie reportedly has its first villain, and he already has a big role in the MCU. The reboot will introduce a new generation of mutants under Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier, with Beef creator Lee Sung Jin and The Bear showrunner Joanna Calo penning the latest draft of the script. Casting rumors swirled around the project all week, though one name now looks far more settled than the rest.

According to a report from Nexus Point News, Tramell Tillman will reprise his role as William Metzger in the X-Men movie, making the anti-mutant character the first villain revealed for the reboot. The Severance star makes his MCU debut as Metzger in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which opens in theaters on July 31.

The MCU is calling it quits with its first (and greatest) Disney+ staple this fall. Fans learned as early as September 2018, over a year before Disney+ launched, that Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda Maximoff would headline a streaming show, which, of course, evolved into WandaVision and premiered by January 2021 as the first TV release from Marvel Studios, before the likes of Loki or The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. While the reality-bending chaos had finished unraveling by March, it wasn't even a year before October reports revealed that Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness would front a Disney+ sequel, later titled Agatha All Along, in September 2024.

Somewhere between the two, in October 2022, Marvel Studios doubled down on this trilogy by launching development on a WandaVision offshoot starring Paul Bettany's Vision, which has become known as VisionQuest. Marvel Studios has gone on to market the synthezoid spin-off as the end of the WandaVision trilogy, with its Disney+ premiere date now officially set for this fall, on October 14.

The WandaVision trilogy has been a cornerstone of the MCU's blockbuster live-action Disney+ slate for eight years, before the service even launched, effectively forming one three-season tale with overlapping themes and characters. This year will mark the end of an era for the MCU on Disney+ as Marvel Television phases away the WandaVision saga forever with this fall's VisionQuest.

Marvel Studios shared an exciting new look at Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. Downey's upcoming return to the MCU as Victor von Doom is one of the franchise's biggest developments in years, as he will embody one of Marvel's most iconic villains after playing Tony Stark/Iron Man for more than a decade. Fans don't have to wait too much longer as Doomsday's December 18 release date draws closer.

Marvel Studios (shared by X user @AvengersUpdated) shared a new logo and artwork centered on Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. The image highlights Downey's character from the shoulders up, showing his long green cape and hood over the metal mask he is known for wearing. This also includes a large image of his name behind the character, in silver and green lettering.

Tom Holland revealed Spider-Man's biggest fear, and it hits harder following the tragic fate of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The 2021 MCU blockbuster shocked everyone when May was killed by Green Goblin after impaling her while she was trying to help Peter during a pivotal confrontation. In her dying moments, May delivered a heartfelt speech to Peter that echoed the iconic "With great power comes great responsibility" mantra, encouraging him to be the hero who saves everyone rather than taking a vengeful path. At the end of No Way Home, Peter decided to make a sacrifice by allowing Doctor Strange's spell to erase any memory of him in the world. 

In a new promo for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland confirmed that Spider-Man's bigger fear is losing his sense of self, especially now that one of his emotional anchors, Aunt May, is gone. 

"Not only is everyone else gonna forget who Peter Parker is, but Peter Parker is gonna forget who Peter Parker is. And that is his biggest fear, because that is the only thing that links him to the love of his life, his best friend, his aunt that sacrificed everything for him."

Ryan Reynolds is said to have a trio of major X-Men names in mind for a potential Deadpool 4. Reynolds finally joined the MCU in 2024, starring in Deadpool & Wolverine, which became one of Marvel Studios' biggest hits and the most successful R-rated movie in history. While his next appearance in the franchise has not been set in stone, rumors and reports hint at where things could go.

According to insider Daniel Richtman, three major X-Men are reportedly on Ryan Reynolds' radar for roles in Marvel Studios' Deadpool 4. These characters would supposedly be included in a Deadpool "team-up film" that Reynolds is working on, which may reduce the Merc With a Mouth to a "supporting" role.

First up is Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, whose inclusion in this listing is no surprise, as he earned rave reviews for his return as James "Logan" Howlett in Deadpool & Wolverine. Rumors indicate that Marvel was looking to bring Jackman back for a potential fourth Deadpool movie, but he is not attached to return to the role in any future MCU movies, as of writing.

Marvel Studios recently made history due to a massive timeline jump in the months ahead of Avengers: Doomsday's release. The MCU frequently uses time jumps to advance character arcs, explore different eras, and compress longer stories. Some of the notable time jumps in the franchise include the surprise 5-year jump in Avengers: Endgame after Thanos' snap and Spider-Man: Far From Home's 8-month time jump after Avengers: Endgame. While most jumps have remained relatively modest to keep the main Sacred Timeline (which is expected to get shaken up in Avengers: Doomsday) feeling grounded and connected, the animation strategy has changed. 

Marvel Studios made history with its timeline jump in X-Men '97 Season 2, the furthest-forward on-screen leap in any of its projects. The show's sophomore run catapults part of the team to 3960 AD, a dystopian future at the height of the Apocalypse's global rule. 

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is set to introduce a new mentor for Peter Parker, and their dynamic will definitely be a must-see. Throughout his MCU journey, Peter Parker has rarely operated without guidance. His mentor-mentee arc began with Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, continued with Doctor Strange, and reached a heartfelt peak with his two Multiversal counterparts: Peter 2 (Tobey Maguire) and Peter 3 (Andrew Garfield), veteran Spider-Men who offered much-needed wisdom in the face of chaos. While he is completely isolated from his friends in Brand New Day, Spider-Man's mentor-mentee arc will continue with the arrival of an unlikely anti-hero.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter (THR), Jon Bernthal confirmed that his Frank Castle will serve as an "unusual mentor" for Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, pointing out that the character's signature toughness cracks open in moments of surprise protectiveness for the web-slinger: 

“Frank is purpose-driven, mission-driven, ‘leave me the f*ck alone’ — and I love when there are little cracks in that. Frank plays an unusual mentor role here by recognizing Peter’s warped state of mind: “He’s like, ‘Why are you being a dick to her? Don’t do that — that’s what I do.’ To see himself in this and then be a little bit protective like, ‘You’re trying to do the whole dark thing, don’t do that shit, I do that sh*t, it’s not fun, do your sh*t’ — I love that, and I really buy that.”

Marvel Studios is doubling down on post-credits scenes as the secret weapon to subtly launch Avengers: Doomsday. The Multiverse Saga used post-credits scenes extensively to build toward Doomsday, but it completely shifted from the original Kang focus to Doctor Doom after Jonathan Majors exited the MCU.  While earlier post-credits scenes from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are still expected to connect, other direct setups from The Marvels, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and most recently, The Fantastic Four: First Steps are set to lay the groundwork for Avengers: Doomsday. 

Entertainment scooper Cryptic HD Quality reported that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will have one post-credits scene that will directly set up the events of Avengers: Doomsday. 

This is crucial because it could clear the air about Spider-Man's real status in Doomsday while still planting seeds for its mysterious Doctor Doom-heavy plot.