(Updated 08/02/2024)
Everything we thought we knew about the next two Avengers movies has totally changed! AVENGERS 5 is now called AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY, and that subtitle refers to one of the most classic of all Marvel Comics villains: Doctor Doom! But that's not the only big change announced for the movie once meant to revolve around Kang the Conqueror.
Robert Downey, Jr., whose career rose to new heights thanks to his portrayal of Tony Stark for Marvel, will return to the Avengers cast. But he's not playing Iron Man… or maybe it's better to say he's playing a different Iron Man. He's Doom! And the Russo Brothers, who directed INFINITY WAR and ENDGAME, are back to direct! That's quite a lineup. Here's everything we know about AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY.
The Next Avengers Movie Opens in 2026
Marvel Studios will release AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY on May 1, 2026. There is likely to be another Marvel movie earlier that year, but we don't have a title for it yet. (Though if we had to place a bet, it would be on the SHANG-CHI sequel, which is rumored to be subtitled WRECKAGE OF TIME.)
Is There an Avengers: Doomsday Trailer?
We understand why you have to ask but no, there is definitely no official trailer or images from the next Avengers movie. It hasn't even been filmed yet! Production will hopefully get underway later in 2024.
What Comics Is Avengers: Doomsday Based On?
We don't know what comics, if any, will be the basis for AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY. There are quite a few possible threads the movie might draw on but there isn't one single "Doomsday" storyline that stands out as an obvious jumping-off point.
It's very possible that the fifth Avengers movie will organically grow out of the other MCU movies. And with Doctor Doom as a major character, it's not difficult to guess that THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS will clarify the story path that leads to the next Avengers movie — but we have to wait until July 2025 for that movie.
Has Tony Stark Ever Been Doctor Doom?
Short answer: It's complicated. In a variety of different offshoot comics stories, alternate versions of Tony Stark have become villains who very much resemble Doom. In "Exiles," from 2003, Stark manipulates Doom into attacking New York. Iron Man ultimately becomes the Iron Monarch, a dictator cloaked in Doom's green cape. And in 2004's "Marvel Team-Up #2," another alternate Tony Stark becomes the Iron Maniac, wearing something like the gray prototype Iron Man armor with a green hooded cloak — basically Doctor Doom, but without using the name.
There's also the "Infamous Iron Man" series from 2016, in which Doom becomes Iron Man after the events of "Civil War II." It's a great redemption story that takes Doom in many new directions. (In some ways it is similar to the "Superior Spider-Man" arc in which Doctor Octopus becomes Spider-Man.)
The Russos Return to Direct Avengers: Doomsday
AVENGERS 5 once had Destin Daniel Cretton set to direct, when it was planned to be THE KANG DYNASTY. But a variety of changes led to Anthony and Joe Russo to return to Marvel. The Russos, of course, directed two CAPTAIN AMERICA movies, THE WINTER SOLDIER and CIVIL WAR, before turning to the last two AVENGERS movies, INFINITY WAR and ENDGAME.
With the Russo Brothers back in the directors chair(s) for DOOMSDAY, they'll soon have the longest directorial streak in the MCU. And they're sticking around to make AVENGERS: SECRET WARS, too! That's the project they have long said might be able to lure them back to Marvel, so we can probably credit that concept with the dealmaking that set them up for DOOMSDAY.
And Stephen McFeely, one of the two INFINITY WAR and ENDGAME writers, is penning the DOOMSDAY script.
Who's in the Cast of Avengers: Doomsday?
Right now we don't know too much about the DOOMSDAY cast. Robert Downey, Jr. leads the roster as Doctor Doom. And since Doom is in the movie we expect the Fantastic Four — played by Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach — will be in the movie, too.
Beyond that, we just don't know! Will Anthony Mackie return as Sam Wilson, aka Captain America? Probably! Which members of the Thunderbolts team will still be around to fight when that movie is done? No idea! Will Tom Holland return as Spider-Man? Good question!
Expect a lot more info about AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY to arrive in the months to come.
We'll tell you more about AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY soon.
All images courtesy of Marvel Studios.