Avengers Doomsday and Avengers Secret Wars delayed; fans will have to wait longer for New Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four union

New release dates for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars

Initially, Avengers: Doomsday was supposed to be released on May 1, 2026. The film is set to bring together stars like Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Anthony Mackie (Captain America), Vanessa Kirby (Susan Storm), and others. But now, it’s been delayed by about seven months and will be released on December 18, 2026. The follow-up movie, Avengers: Secret Wars, was set for May 7, 2027, but it will now roll out on December 17, 2027. The original plan was dropped to let the movies fall in the December holiday schedule, aiming for a better and wider response.

In the process, Disney has also cleared out its calendars by removing some titles. For instance, a Marvel movie planned for February 13, 2026, has been taken off the schedule completely, with casting and production halted. Other Marvel projects scheduled for November 2026 and November 2027 are now just listed as “Untitled Disney” films, suggesting they might or might not be Marvel movies anymore. For 2026, this means the only confirmed Marvel movies will be Avengers: Doomsday and Sony’s Spider-Man movie called Brand New Day.

Fans are not as surprised, knowing that there were always telltale signs, given that the shooting didn’t start almost a year before its release was approaching. Another theory suggests that the new December dates are the same holiday window when Spider-Man: No Way Home came out in 2021, and the film went on to do a business of nearly $2 billion worldwide, becoming one of the biggest hits of the franchise. The makers are reportedly aiming to recreate the magic.

Also read: Robert Downey Jr. bulks up for Doctor Doom for Avengers Doomsday, gives a shout-out to co-star Hawkeye aka Jeremy Renner

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is scheduled to arrive on July 25, 2025, and then the next Tom Holland Spider-Man movie on July 31, 2026, marking the biggest gap between MCU films since the pandemic caused delays back in 2019–2021. Disney CEO Bob Iger explained the reason for this slowdown, revealing that the production had “lost a little focus by making too much.” He believes that by focusing more on quality and fewer films, the franchise could do better. The Doomsday and Secret Wars are mega Marvel projects bringing a mix of Avengers, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, and X-Men characters on board.