Avengers: Doomsday

• 1. From Kang To Doom

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  Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced two new Avengers films at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022. The titles were Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, set to release on the 2nd of May 2025, and the 7th of November 2025 respectively. Destin Daniel Cretton was hired to direct the first film while Jonathan Majors played the villain Kang the Conqueror. Jeff Loveness joined as writer for The Kang Dynasty that September.

  Majors faced legal troubles starting in March 2023 with arrest and assault allegations. Reports emerged about his future in the MCU following these events. By the start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike in May, Loveness was no longer involved in the script. Marvel began moving away from the Kang storyline due to Majors's legal issues and the strike itself.

  Cretton stepped down as director of The Kang Dynasty in November 2023 partially due to schedule delays. Michael Waldron was set to rewrite the film the next month. Disney fired Majors after he was found guilty of harassment and reckless assault in the third degree. The studio started referring to The Kang Dynasty internally as Avengers 5 by then.

  Shawn Levy became the studio's top choice to direct Avengers 5 by mid-March 2024 after directing Deadpool & Wolverine. Marvel Studios approached Robert Downey Jr. about returning to take on Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom by May 2024. Downey said he would only return if the Russo brothers also returned as directors.

  The Russos entered early talks to direct both Avengers 5 and Secret Wars by mid-July 2024. They were confirmed to be directing at San Diego Comic-Con at the end of that month. Avengers 5 was now titled Avengers: Doomsday with both films featuring Downey as Doctor Doom. The Russos produced the films through their production company AGBO while McFeely joined as writer for both.

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• 2. Ensemble Cast Revealed

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  Marvel announced 26 cast members for the film in March 2025 alongside Downey. Many actors returned from previous MCU media while some reprised roles from 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series. Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, Vanessa Kirby portrays Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, and Anthony Mackie appears as Sam Wilson / Captain America.

  Sebastian Stan returns as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier who serves as de facto leader of the New Avengers. Letitia Wright plays Shuri / Black Panther while Paul Rudd appears as Scott Lang / Ant-Man. Wyatt Russell joins as John Walker / U.S. Agent and Tenoch Huerta Mejía portrays Namor.

  Ebon Moss-Bachrach plays Ben Grimm / The Thing encased in orange rock granting superhuman strength. Simu Liu returns as Xu Shang-Chi described as older and more self-assured compared to his introduction in 2021. Florence Pugh appears as Yelena Belova trained in the Red Room as a Black Widow assassin.

  Kelsey Grammer plays Hank McCoy / Beast with blue fur and pointed ears. Lewis Pullman portrays Bob Reynolds / Sentry believed stronger than all Avengers combined. Danny Ramirez appears as Joaquin Torres / Falcon using a wing pack similar to Wilson's.

  Joseph Quinn plays Johnny Storm / Human Torch controlling fire and flight. David Harbour portrays Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian as Russian counterpart to Captain America. Winston Duke appears as M'Baku king of Wakanda while Hannah John-Kamen plays Ava Starr / Ghost able to phase through objects.

  Tom Hiddleston returns as Loki, Patrick Stewart plays Charles Xavier / Professor X paralyzed in wheelchair, and Ian McKellen portrays Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto generating magnetic fields. Alan Cumming appears as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler with blue skin and teleportation abilities.

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• 3. Livestream And Teaser Strategy

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  Marvel aired a nearly five-and-a-half-hour-long livestream coinciding with production start in March 2025. The stream showed director chairs with cast member names revealed approximately every 12 minutes accompanied by music from previous Marvel projects. After revealing 26 cast members the livestream ended with Downey appearing and renditions of Silvestri's Avengers theme.

  The event saw around 100,000 concurrent viewers on YouTube becoming most viewed cross-platform livestream stunt. It became second-most trending video on YouTube with 275 million views in first 24 hours surpassing past livestreams for Marvel red carpet premieres. Social media accumulated 3.1 million mentions which is five times higher than social volume of Deadpool & Wolverine trailer.

  Anthony D'Alessandro of Deadline Hollywood described the stunt as pop cultural event while Variety called it slow-burn like Game of Thrones season seven reveal. Austen Goslin of Polygon found it agonizingly slow but exceedingly fun checking each new reveal and responses on social media.

  On the 18th of December 2025 Russo brothers released short teaser of 12-month countdown clock marking year until scheduled release. Different teasers shown during screenings for Avatar: Fire and Ash starting December 19. First revealed Evans return holding baby while second features Thor praying to Odin for strength to return to daughter Love.

  Third focuses on X-Men characters showing ruined Xavier School while fourth centers Wakandans meeting Fantastic Four member Ben Grimm. All four teasers leaked ahead of online releases frustrating some commentators who felt rollout was fumbled by Marvel due to leaks.

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• 4. Release Timeline And Delays

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  Avengers: Doomsday scheduled for United States release on the 18th of December 2026 as part of Phase Six MCU. Originally planned the 2nd of May 2025 then delayed to the 1st of May 2026 partly due to Writers Guild strike. Another delay pushed date to December 2026 allowing more time for production completion.

  Disney delayed release in May 2025 to allow additional time for filming to finish. Location filming took place in England and Bahrain with principal photography beginning the 28th of April 2025 at Pinewood Studios under working title Apple Pie 1.

  Filming wrapped September 19 after location work continued through June and August at Windsor Great Park. Jeffrey Ford edits film having worked on previous MCU media while The Hollywood Reporter reported healthy amount of additional photography expected early 2026.

  Sequel Avengers: Secret Wars set for the 17th of December 2027 concluding Phase Six MCU written by Waldron and McFeely directed by Russo brothers. Both films intended to conclude Multiverse Saga covering Phases Four Five and Six of franchise.

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• 5. Production Logistics And Crew

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  Production designer Gavin Bocquet and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel reteamed with Russo brothers after Citadel television series. Costume designer Judianna Makovsky returned from previous MCU films while Alan Silvestri confirmed returning as composer for both Doomsday and Secret Wars in July 2024.

  Russos said films produced together similar way to Infinity War and Endgame but not filmed back-to-back like those movies were. Principal photography began the 28th of April 2025 at Pinewood Studios Buckinghamshire England under working title Apple Pie 1.

  Location filming took place Bahrain by end of May also set occur Windsor Great Park June and August. Filming wrapped September 19 after extensive schedule across multiple countries. Downey developed own backstory for Doom performance contributing costume ideas while Joe Russo described character three-dimensional most complex comic book role he could take on.

  Alan Cumming noted makeup process reduced hour-and-a-half from four-and-a-half hours X2 film because tattoos no longer applied individually hand. He found working on Doomsday healing following miserable experience making X2. Chris Evans confirmed returning December when Russos called character changed their lives always going come back story.

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