Marvel’s mega–two-part endgame machine keeps on going. The MCU has been struggling, and in a rather desperate move, decided to revert back to ‘Avengers’ movies — albeit without Iron Man, Captain America, and Hulk.
“Avengers: Doomsday” wrapped its marathon shoot this year, rolling cameras from April 28 until mid-September. Setting aside potential reshoots, the film now gets a luxurious 15-month post-production “break.”
Why so much breathing room? Easy — after finishing ‘Doomsday,’ the Russo brothers immediately pivot to its follow-up, “Avengers: Secret Wars.” Both films are rumored to become the costliest in Hollywood history, with budgets said to be in excess of 500M+ (although understandably, we cannot confirm at this time).
Hollywood North Buzz now claims “Secret Wars” will mirror the same April-through-September shoot next year in Vancouver. Another 15-month post window. Another VFX behemoth. More endless cameos — it’s all dialed to 11. Expect reshoots, and barely a finished script.
Oh, and did I mention the second phase of filming for ‘Doomsday’ — in other words, reshoots — kicks off in January 2026? There were probably some rewrites, maybe even a reshuffled cast list, since Marvel has been locking pieces of this puzzle together right up until the very last second.
The official synopsis includes Robert Downey Jr.’s return to Marvel — but this time as Doom himself. Not much else is known about the story being told here. Stephen McFeely and Michael Waldron are credited on the screenplay(s).
To give perspective: “Avengers: Endgame” cost $356M to make. ‘Doomsday’ already has $90M publicly accounted for — $40M for the Russos, $50M for Robert Downey Jr. With the avalanche of names reportedly attached, I’d be shocked if the final tally is under $400M. And that’s me being conservative.
Marvel continues to push the envelope: how many characters can they squeeze into a single movie before it collapses under its own weight?
Updated ‘Doomsday’ Cast:
Robert Downey Jr. – Dr. Doom
Pedro Pascal – Reed Richards
Vanessa Kirby – Sue Storm
Ebon Moss-Bacharach – The Thing
Joseph Quinn – Human Torch
Anthony Mackie – Captain America
Chris Hemsworth – Thor
Letitia Wright – Shuri
Paul Rudd – Ant-Man
Simu Liu – Shang-Chi
Danny Ramirez – Falcon
Winston Duke – M’Baku
Tenoch Huerta – Namor
Florence Pugh – Yelena Belova
Sebastian Stan – Bucky Barnes
David Harbour – Red Guardian
Wyatt Russell – John Walker
Hannah John-Kamen – Ghost
Lewis Pullman – Sentry
Tom Hiddleston – Loki
Patrick Stewart – Professor X
Ian McKellen – Magneto
Alan Cumming – Nightcrawler
Rebecca Romijn – Mystique
James Marsden – Cyclops
Channing Tatum – Gambit
Kelsey Grammer – Beast
Chris Evans – Captain America
Hayley Atwell – Captain Carter
Benedict Cumberbatch – Doctor Strange
Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool
This doesn’t even include the speculated characters that could very well join the cast in the coming weeks, including Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda), Paul Bettany (Vision), Xochitl Gomez (America Chavez), Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Ke Huy Quan (Ouroboros), Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau), Will Poulter (Adam Warlock), Dominique Thorne (Ironheart), and Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie).
“Avengers: Doomsday” hits theaters and IMAX on December 18, 2026. “Avengers: Secret Wars” is set to roll out on December 17, 2027.