Marvel Studios and Disney surprised the MCU fandom by changing the dates for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and insiders explained why. The next two Avengers films are set to be arguably the biggest superhero movies in history, with fans across the globe circling their release dates on the calendar years in advance.
Disney delayed the release dates for both Avengers: Doomday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Doomsday will now be released in theaters on December 18, 2026 instead of May 1, 2026, while Secret Wars moves from a May 7, 2027 release date to December 17, 2027. Both films were pushed back by over six months from their original debut dates.
Disney insiders explained to Deadline that this delay gives Marvel extra time to execute its massive vision. Additionally, they discussed how the new movies' December release dates are strategic, noting how Spider-Man: No Way Home found enormous success with a holiday season debut on December 17, 2021.
For perspective, Spider-Man: No Way Home broke countless box office records when it premiered in 2021. It concluded its run in theaters with a box office haul of $1.92 billion, peaking as the sixth-highest-grossing movie of all time and Marvel's highest-grossing non-Avengers movie ever.
Looking back at the MCU's history, Doomsday and Secret Wars are only the second and third movies with December release dates after No Way Home.
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the fifth and sixth Avengers films, will be the final act of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga as the Avengers reassemble for the first time since 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Plot details are unconfirmed, but Doomsday will assemble a massive cast of MCU veterans and newcomers, and Secret Wars is expected to do the same; Robert Downey Jr. will portray both films' main villain, Doctor Doom.
How Avengers: Doomsday & Avengers: Secret Wars Delay Will Affect the MCU
On its face, it is no surprise that Marvel wants six extra months to make its next Avengers movie the best it can possibly be after filming for Doomday started in England in late April. This move gives both Doomsday and Secret Wars more time for principal photography and reshoots and Marvel's VFX team a much-needed cushion to bring the best special effects possible, which has been a sore point for many newer MCU films.
Additionally, in recent years, blockbusters released in December have often become massive financial successes. Disney and the MCU are desperate for that these days after three straight underwhelming box office totals.
History shows five of the 10 highest-grossing films ever had December release dates, including the first two Avatar films, Titanic, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Although the MCU's Avengers movies have all performed well at the box office (no less than $1.4 billion globally) with May/April releases, Doomsday and Secret Wars are being hyped as Marvel's biggest endeavors ever, meaning Disney needs them to be hits.
The big question for the MCU's release schedule is how this will affect Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is rumored to take place at the same time as Doomsday. This could mean a delay for that movie until sometime in 2027, depending on how heavily plot points from both movies affect one another.
Additionally, Marvel now has no theatrical releases between July 2025 (The Fantastic Four: First Steps) and December 2026, marking the longest delay in releases since the COVID-19 pandemic halted Phase 4's debut in 2021. It is unclear whether Marvel plans to push any releases forward to fill that gap or leave fans waiting anxiously for Avengers 5 for what could be 17 months.
Also important to remember is that two other major sequels are set to hit theaters on Doomsday's current date: Dune: Messiah and Ice Age 6. Even though Doomsday would unquestionably be the biggest film on any given release date, many will wonder how much competition Disney will want to have for its biggest film in years, especially with Ice Age 6 being a Disney release as well.
In the meantime, plenty of questions need to be answered, so Marvel will continue filming Doomsday, which now has a major buffer in terms of its production schedule.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
