By India McCarty
Marvel fans will have to wait a little while longer for the next two AVENGERS movies; the studio just pushed back AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY and AVENGERS: SECRET WARS’ premieres.
“DOOMSDAY is now set to debut on Dec. 18, 2026, moving about seven months off of its originally slated date of May 1, 2026,” Variety reported, adding that “to match,” follow-up SECRET WARS will move from May 7, 2027, to Dec. 17 of the same year.
So, what brought this scheduling change about?
Deadline reported on comments from “insiders” who claim that, due to the size of both movies’ productions, “the delays simply allow more time to execute on a gargantuan vision.”
That “gargantuan vision” includes a massive cast of returning Marvel stars, from classic heroes like Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Anthony Mackie (Captain America) and Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) to new superhero favorites like Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Danny Ramirez (Falcon) and Wyatt Russell (John Walker).
Robert Downey Jr. is also set to star but not in his familiar role as Iron Man. Instead, the actor will portray villain Doctor Doom.
Related: CAPTAIN AMERICA Star Predicts AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY Will Bring Back ‘Old Marvel Feeling’
The outlet also noted that Marvel movies have previously been successful during the holiday season — who can forget SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME’s record-breaking box office take? — so the studio might simply be capitalizing on the December audience numbers.
This schedule shift also means reorganizing the entire Marvel calendar. Variety reported “several unannounced Marvel titles” have been completely removed from a previously-published schedule. Meanwhile, two “Untitled Marvel” features, set for Nov. 6, 2026 and Nov. 5, 2027 releases, have been changed to “Untitled Disney” projects.
While it’s still unclear why Marvel pushed back the releases of the next two AVENGERS movies, some have wondered if it has anything to do with Disney CEO Bob Iger’s comments about the studio focusing on quantity over quality.
“We all know that in our zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content, that we turned to all of our creative engines, including Marvel, and had them produce a lot more,” Iger said during an investor call. “We’ve also learned over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality.”
He explained that Marvel and Disney “lost a little focus by making too much” but plan to “[consolidate] a bit and [have] Marvel focus much more on their films,” which will “result in better quality.”
Some Marvel fans might be disappointed to have to wait a little longer for more AVENGERS installments, but most are glad Marvel and Disney are taking the time to make higher-quality movies.
Read Next: Marvel Directors Tease Major Changes Coming in Next AVENGERS Movie
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