Doctor Doom star Robert Downey Jr. is playing into the Avengers: Dunesday hype with a gorgeous piece of crossover art. Downey, who is best known to Marvel fans for his time as Tony Stark/Iron Man, is set to return to the super-powered world later this year, playing the titular villain in Avengers: Doomsday. However, the upcoming Marvel mega-movie will have some competition when it comes to theaters.
As of this writing, Doomsday is set to release on the same day as Denis Villenueve's Dune 3, setting up a box office clash for the ages, and a uniquely sci-fi "Barbenheimer" moment for moviegoers worldwide. While some have speculated that one of these titles will ultimately move, robbing fans of their Avengers: Dunesday double-feature, as it stands, both seem confident in sticking to their December date.
Downey recently shared a new Instagram Story, hyping the potential of Avengers: Dunesday, leading fans to think neither movie will move from December 18. The Doctor Doom actor teased the clash of box-office heavyweights with new art from beloved poster maker BossLogic, which embraces the potential of both movies hitting screens on the same day.
The image sees the iconic Dune sandworm breaching the surface of a sand-covered landscape, with Downey's green-caped Doom looking on at the titanic beast. It features an unofficial Dunesday logo, made with the curved Dune font, as well as the sandworm's gaping maw refashioned into the Avengers "A."
Both Avengers: Doomsday and Dune 3 are currently slated for release on December 18. This came about after Avengers was pushed from its initial 2026 release in early May.
Doomsday brings together several realities worth of heroes to take on the villainous Doctor Doom in a Multiversal clash for the ages. Whereas Dune 3 is set to tell the next chapter in Frank Herbert's sweeping sci-fi story, Dune: Messiah, following Timothée Chalamet's Paul Atredies as he rules over the galaxy as Emperor.
Who Will Blink First: Avengers or Dune?
It has been fun to think that on December 18, moviegoers will be able to settle in for two of the biggest blockbusters of the year, but it feels like the Avengers: Dunesday rug could be pulled out from under us at any time.
Of course, fans would love to have both these movies playing in theaters at the same time, but it just does not make logistical sense. The reason something like the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon happened back in 2022 had a lot to do with the fact that Barbie and Oppenheimer were not fighting each other the way Doomsday and Dune would.
Barbie was notably not released in IMAX for its initial theatrical run. This means that it and Christopher Nolan's atomic epic were not competing for premium large-format (PLF) theaters at the same time. To contrast this, Dune and Avengers will both be trying to get on these premium screens, and there are only so many.
There have been whispers that Dune 3 could move up, leaving Doomsday to have the December 18 date all to itself. A recent quote from Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera suggested that Denis Villeneuve's 2026 blockbuster is being considered for a premiere at this year's festival (via World of Reel).
Since Venice runs from September 2 to 12, it would be surprising for Warner Bros. to hold a movie of that size for nearly three months after premiering at the festival.
With filming completed and post-production underway, several industry insiders have suggested Dune could move up as early as the first week of October, which would align much more seamlessly with its reported Venice Film Festival plan.
