Avengers: Doomsday is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the sequel to Avengers: Endgame (2019) and the 39th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, and written by Michael Waldron, Stephen McFeely, and the writing team of Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, the film features an ensemble cast led by Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. In the film, the Avengers, Wakandans, New Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men converge from different universes to face Doom amidst the collapse of the multiverse.

Two new Avengers films, The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, were announced in July 2022 as the conclusion of the MCU's Phase Six and "The Multiverse Saga". Jonathan Majors was set to reprise his MCU role as the villain Kang the Conqueror, with Destin Daniel Cretton and Jeff Loveness hired to direct and write The Kang Dynasty, respectively. In November 2023, Cretton departed, Waldron replaced Loveness as writer, and Marvel was considering moving away from the Kang storyline, in part due to Majors's legal issues; Majors was fired the following month. The return of the Russo brothers as directors and McFeely as co-writer, the casting of Downey as new villain Doctor Doom, and the new subtitle Doomsday were all announced in July 2024. The large cast features actors from previous MCU media and 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series, using the idea of colliding universes to bring together actors from different franchises. Filming took place from April to September 2025 at Pinewood Studios in England, with location filming in England and Bahrain.

Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to be released in the United States on December 18, 2026, as part of Phase Six of the MCU. The sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, is set to be released on December 17, 2027.

Premise Fourteen months after the events of Thunderbolts* (2025), amidst the collapse of the multiverse, groups of heroes from three different universes—the Avengers, Wakandans, and New Avengers from Earth-616; the Fantastic Four from Earth-828; and the X-Men from Earth-10005—converge to face the existential threat of Doctor Doom.

Cast

Robert Downey Jr. as Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom:Directors Anthony and Joe Russo said Doom was one of the most complex comic book characters, and they thought Downey—who previously starred as Tony Stark / Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)—was the one person who could take on the role. They found Doom challenging because of his "immense" power, but they also felt free to explore "the complexities and the vulnerabilities"; Joe said Doom hits the "sweet spot" of balancing original elements for their story with "the most awesome things about Doom in the comics". Downey developed his own backstory for Doom as reference for his performance, and also contributed costume ideas. He speaks in a "heavily accented" voice. Chris Evans as Steve Rogers:The former leader of the Avengers, a super soldier, and World War II veteran who was the first person to carry the Captain America mantle. He returned to the 1940s at the end of the film Avengers: Endgame (2019) to live with Peggy Carter. After his "definitive ending" in that film, Evans said he would only return to the MCU if there was a good reason. He believed that the story for Doomsday had a "very real reason that these heroes need Steve Rogers ‌now". Evans and Mackie indicated that Rogers would take on the Nomad mantle, similar to the comics. Chris Hemsworth as Thor:The Asgardian god of thunder and a founding Avenger, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. Thor returns to the "warrior"-like persona and mindset last seen in the film Avengers: Infinity War (2018), with co-director Joe Russo explaining that the character seeks to "achieve meaning through battle". Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic: A highly intelligent scientist and the leader of the Fantastic Four who can stretch any part of his body to great lengths Paul Rudd as Scott Lang / Ant-Man: An Avenger and former petty criminal with a suit that allows him to shrink or grow in scale while increasing in strength Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Captain America: An Avenger and former pararescueman who was trained by the military in aerial combat using a specially designed wing pack Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova / Black Widow:A member of the New Avengers who was trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow assassin. Producer Kevin Feige indicated that Doomsday would be "anchored" by Belova. Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman: Reed's wife and a member of the Fantastic Four who can generate force fields and turn invisible Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing:Reed's best friend and a member of the Fantastic Four whose skin has been transformed into a layer of orange rock, granting him superhuman strength and durability Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent: A member of the New Avengers who is an enhanced super soldier and the former Captain America Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau / Gambit:A mutant with the ability to charge objects with kinetic energy, causing them to explode on impact. After using a thick, unintelligible Cajun accent for the character as part of a running joke in the film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), Tatum said he would not "go full Cajun" in Doomsday, with the Russo brothers wanting the film to have a more dramatic and serious tone. Simu Liu as Xu Shang-Chi:A highly skilled martial artist and the wielder of the mystical Ten Rings who was trained to be an assassin by his criminal father Xu Wenwu. Liu said Shang-Chi is older, more self-assured, and "a little more lived in with who he is and his responsibilities" compared to his introduction in the film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto: A powerful mutant who can generate and control magnetic fields Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter Tom Hiddleston as Loki:The Asgardian god of mischief and Thor's adopted brother, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. This version of the character was explored in the series Loki (2021–2023), which Hiddleston said was the starting point for his appearance in Doomsday. James Marsden as Scott Summers / Cyclops: A mutant and the leader of the X-Men who can emit powerful optic energy beams, controlled by a special visor Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X: A telepathic mutant and the founder of the X-Men who is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch: Sue's younger brother and a member of the Fantastic Four who can control fire and fly Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier: An enhanced super soldier with a cybernetic arm who is the de facto leader of the New Avengers David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian:A member of the New Avengers who is the Russian super soldier counterpart to Captain America and a father figure to Yelena. Harbour said the relationship between Shostakov and Yelena is changed by the events of Doomsday. Letitia Wright as Shuri / Black Panther:<br/ >The former princess of Wakanda who gained superhuman abilities by ingesting the heart-shaped herb. After taking on the mantle of Black Panther in the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), Wright said Shuri has now fully assumed that role and has taken a leadership position. Lewis Pullman as Bob Reynolds / Sentry:A superpowered member of the New Avengers who possesses a dark alter ego known as the Void and is believed to be stronger than all the Avengers combined Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy / Beast: A highly intelligent mutant and member of the X-Men with animalistic physical characteristics, including blue fur, pointed ears, fangs, and claws Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang: Scott Lang's daughter Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres / Falcon: An Avenger and first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force who uses a wing pack similar to Wilson's Winston Duke as M'Baku: A powerful warrior and the king of Wakanda Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler:A blue-skinned, demonic-looking mutant who can teleport. Cumming said the make-up process was reduced to an hour-and-a-half for Doomsday from the four-and-a-half to five hours it took on the 20th Century Fox film X2 (2003), in large part because the character's tattoos were no longer applied individually by hand. He also found working on Doomsday to be "healing" following his "miserable" experience working on X2.

Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / Ghost: A member of the New Avengers who can phase through objects Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkhölme / Mystique:A blue-skinned, shapeshifting mutant. Romijn's make-up process was faster for Doomsday than it had been for Fox's X-Men film series, but she lamented the lost time because she had used the longer process time to get into the "right headspace" to play Mystique, whom she called "angry". Mabel Cadena as Namora: A Talokanil warrior who is Namor's cousin and right-hand woman Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor: The king of Talokan and a powerful mutant with pointed ears and wings on his ankles who is capable of breathing both on land and underwater

Additional actors slated to reprise their MCU roles in the film include India Rose Hemsworth as Thor's adopted daughter Love, and Alex Livinalli as Talokanil warrior Attuma. Wesley Holloway has been cast in an undisclosed role. Characters set to appear include H.E.R.B.I.E., the Fantastic Four's robot companion; Franklin Richards, Reed and Sue's super-powered son; mutant-hunting robot Sentinels; and Latverian witches.

Also expected to return are Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk, Owen Wilson as Mobius M. Mobius, Ke Huy Quan as Ouroboros, Eugene Cordero as Casey, James Dryden as Ralph, and Tara Strong as the voice of Miss Minutes. Following the release of Avengers Endgame: Encore (2026), where the preceding actors all appeared in newly-added scenes, the Russos would not explicitly confirm Ruffalo's appearance in Doomsday, but said Banner was "involved in the story that revolves around Doom". Actors reported to appear include Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye, and Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man. Following conflicting reports on whether Ryan Reynolds would appear in the film, he and Hugh Jackman made promotional appearances for Doomsday which some saw as confirmation that they would be in it. Reynolds and Jackman portrayed Wade Wilson / Deadpool and Logan / Wolverine, respectively, in the X-Men films and Deadpool & Wolverine.

Production

After directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) crossover films Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), Anthony and Joe Russo expressed interest in directing a Secret Wars film based on the 1984–85 comic book crossover event written by Jim Shooter and the 2015–16 comic book storyline written by Jonathan Hickman. Both follow various Marvel characters who converge on the planet Battleworld. Infinity War and Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely said they would return to write such a film if the Russo brothers were directing it.