Avengers: Doomsday has a lot – and I mean a lot – riding on it ahead of its May 1, 2026 launch.

The next Marvel team-up movie has already promised us plenty. Still with the comic book giant’s cinematic universe spluttering at various points over the last six years, Avengers 5 needs to be a huge hit for the Disney subsidiary. Otherwise, interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) could really start to wane.

So, what do we know about it thus far? Below, I’ve rounded up the latest and most important information on Doomsday. That includes its confirmed cast, possible story details, how it’ll set up future MCU projects, and more. Potential spoilers follow, so proceed at your own risk.

Avengers: Doomsday will be released in theaters worldwide on May 1, 2026. The movie’s official launch date was one of nine big reveals at San Diego Comic-Con 2024.

The Marvel Phase 6 film was confirmed to be in full production on March 28, too. That announcement was made following the culmination of a five-hour-plus livestream that unveiled the first members of its ensemble cast (more on this later).

No. There won’t be a full trailer for a long time, either.

Marvel could release a snippet or two of footage at Comic-Con 2025 (July 24 to 27) or this year’s D23 Expo (August 29 to 31). Given the secrecy that’ll surround this project, though, I’d be amazed if we see or hear anything from a story and/or footage perspective until December 2025 or January 2026 at the earliest.

Here’s the 27-strong cast for Avengers: Doomsday that’s been announced so far:

Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Victor von Doom
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic
Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman
Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America
Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres/Falcon
Sebastian Stan as James ‘Bucky’ Barnes/The Winter Soldier
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian
Wyatt Russell as John Walker/US Agent
Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost
Lewis Pullman as Bob Reynolds/Sentry
Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
Letitia Wright as Shuri/Black Panther
Winston Duke as M’Baku
Tenoch Huerta Meija as Namor
Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X
Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto
James Marsden as Scott Summers/Cyclops
Kelsey Grammar as Henry ‘Hank’ McCoy/Beast
Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkholme/Mystique
Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler
Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau/Gambit

The headline news is that Downey Jr, who played Tony Stark and his superhero alias Iron Man between 2008 and 2019, is back in the MCU. With Stark sacrificing himself in Avengers: Endgame, it seemed that the actor responsible for kickstarting Marvel Studios’ shared universe had run out of comic book movie road.

However, following a crowd-cheering reveal (or a desperate Hail Mary move, depending on who you ask) at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Downey Jr announced his MCU return as Doctor Victor von Doom. One of Marvel’s most iconic villains and long-time adversary of The Fantastic Four in Marvel Comics, Doom will be the primary antagonist of Avengers: Doomsday and its sequel Avengers: Secret Wars.

It’s unclear how Marvel plans to introduce Doom to the MCU – or, rather, the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse (MCM). Some fans believe he’ll be a multiversal variant of Tony Stark, one who followed a darker path than the MCU’s more heroic counterpart. Others believe Downey Jr’s take on Doom won’t be dissimilar to the God Emperor form he takes in 2015’s ‘Secret Wars’ comic book series (more on this in the plot section).

Regardless, nobody knows how Doom will work his way into the MCU. He could do so alongside The Fantastic Four if, as predicted, their universe is destroyed by Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Alternatively, Doom could already exist in the MCU without anyone knowing, or show up from one of the multiverse’s other realities. Simply put, your guess is as good as mine.

Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, and Daredevil weren’t part of the first raft of Doomsday cast reveals (Image credit: Sony Pictures/Marvel Studios/Disney+)
As for the rest of Avengers 5‘s cast, 26 more members were confirmed via a lengthy livestream event on March 26. Some inclusions spoiled what’ll happen in the next Marvel Phase 5 film – that being Thunderbolts* – while others were surprise additions to Doomsday‘s roster, including the return of legacy X-Men characters from 20th Century Fox’s defunct mutant-centric comic book movie universe.

There were many notable absentees from the aforementioned list, but Marvel insists “there’s always room for more” cast announcements in the near future. Marvel chief Kevin Feige doubled down on this during Disney’s CinemaCon 2025 panel, too (per ScreenRant). One of those individuals may be another MCU returnee, too, with former Captain America star Chris Evans rumored to have signed on.

Three actors have seemingly ruled themselves out of appearing, though – Halle Berry, Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen. Cumberbatch has claimed Doctor Strange will only show up in Secret Wars. Olsen has seemingly denied that Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch is in either of the next Avengers movies. Halle Berry (per the Black Girl Nerds podcast) says she won’t be reprising Ororo Monroe/Storm, either.

Will we learn more about other cast additions at Comic-Con or D23 Expo? Maybe. For now, read about the 17 Marvel heroes I want to see added to Doomsday‘s cast, and what directors Joe and Anthony Russo say about whether we’ll see any other Marvel heroes from Disney+ shows appear in Avengers 5.

Unsurprisingly, Doomsday‘s story brief hasn’t been revealed yet. However, we have some idea of what might happen.

For starters, Joe and Anthony Russo have confirmed that, while Doomsday and Secret Wars will close out the Multiverse Saga, they’re actually telling “a beginning story” with Avengers 5 and 6. According to Marvel chief Kevin Feige, this will set the stage for the MCU’s exciting future that’ll be all about the X-Men.

The next two Avengers flicks will take inspiration from both ‘Secret Wars’ comic book series, too. The MCU hasn’t directly adapted many Marvel Comics storylines, but that doesn’t mean they won’t influence the story that’ll be told in Doomsday and Secret Wars.

Nonetheless, I won’t spoil anything about either comic book run here. You can read the previously linked-to article for some spoiler-based details if you wish, or take advantage of our exclusive Marvel Unlimited App deal below, which will allow you to read both comic series for ‘free’.

Speaking of spoilers, Marvel detectives think they’ve solved the case of Avengers: Doomsday‘s story – and it’s all down to the shadow cast by a director’s chair in an image taken after the film’s cast livestream reveal.

In March, it appeared that other story elements and cast announcements had been ruined by apparent concept art for Doomsday and Secret Wars leaked online. According to the Russo brothers, though, that artwork doesn’t spoil anything significant about the films. Read into that what you will.

As for previous MCU projects that may set the scene for Avengers 5‘s plot, Captain America 4 director Julius Onah suggested that Brave New World might have laid the groundwork for Doomsday’s narrative. You can learn more about what that may entail in that article and my Captain America 4 ending explained piece.

Based on Beast’s cameo appearance in The Marvels‘ mid-credits scene, that much-maligned Marvel film could have a part to play in establishing Avengers: Doomsday‘s story.

Lastly, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which takes flight in theaters on July 25, is the final MCU film to be released before Doomsday. Given the group’s ties to Doctor Doom, it’s as inevitable as Thanos that it’ll leave some plot threads unresolved to be picked up in Avengers 5. Based on the Thunderbolts team’s inclusion in the latter’s cast, expect Doomsday to build on the ending to that group’s big-screen debut, too.

I can’t tell you how Avengers: Doomsday will impact the MCU.

What I can say, though, is that it’ll definitely set up events to come in Avengers: Secret Wars. That film, which will bring the Multiverse Saga to a close, will arrive in theaters in May 2027. Just like Infinity War set up events to come in Endgame, the fifth Avengers movie will directly affect the plot of its sequel, so expect Doomsday to establish what’ll play out in Secret Wars.

That isn’t the only film that may be impacted. Spider-Man 4, which was recently christened Spider-Man: Brand New Day, bisects the next two Avengers movies. It’s due out on July 31, 2026.

If Brand New Day‘s events run concurrent to Doomsday – just as Ant-Man and the Wasp did with Infinity War – its story isn’t likely to be influenced by events elsewhere. However, if the webslinger’s next big-screen adventure takes place after Avengers 5, there’s no question that it won’t pick up some loose plot threads from that superhero flick. While we wait for more concrete details, read my Spider-Man 4 hub for the latest news and rumors.