Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars | |
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![]() Logos for Avengers: Doomsday (top) and Avengers: Secret Wars (bottom) | |
Directed by | Anthony Russo Joe Russo |
Screenplay by | |
Based on | |
Produced by |
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Cinematography | Newton Thomas Sigel |
Edited by | Jeffrey Ford |
Music by | Alan Silvestri |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are American superhero films based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, produced by Marvel Studios and AGBO, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. They are respectively the fifth and sixth installments in the Avengers film series following Avengers: Endgame (2019), and the 39th and 41st films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Both films are directed by Anthony and Joe Russo from screenplays by Michael Waldron and Stephen McFeely. They feature an ensemble cast composed of many previous MCU actors, headlined by Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, and Robert Downey Jr. In Doomsday, the Avengers, Wakandans, Fantastic Four, New Avengers, and the X-Men team up to face Doctor Doom (Downey).
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". Destin Daniel Cretton was hired to direct The Kang Dynasty and Jonathan Majors was set to reprise his MCU role as the villain Kang the Conqueror. Jeff Loveness was hired to write The Kang Dynasty that September and Waldron was hired to write Secret Wars a month later. In November 2023, Cretton departed, Waldron replaced Loveness as writer of The Kang Dynasty as well, 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 for the first film were all announced in July 2024.
Both films are being produced at Pinewood Studios in England. Filming for Doomsday took place from April to September 2025, and filming for Secret Wars is scheduled to begin in mid-2026. Jeffrey Ford is editing the films and Alan Silvestri is composing the musical score for them, both returning from previous MCU films.
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled for release on December 18, 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars is scheduled for release on December 17, 2027, both part of Phase Six of the MCU.
Discussing the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company, which saw the return of the film rights of Deadpool, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four to Marvel Studios, [1] Joe Russo—co-director of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) with his brother Anthony—said in April 2018 that it would be interesting to introduce those characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) using a Secret Wars film that brings together different characters and realities. Secret Wars is the name of a 1984–85 comic book crossover event written by Jim Shooter and a 2015–16 comic book storyline written by Jonathan Hickman that both follow various Marvel characters who converge on the planet Battleworld. [2] The next month, Disney CEO Bob Iger said Marvel Studios was focusing on new characters and franchises for the MCU following Endgame, but another Avengers film could happen eventually given the popularity of the previous films. [3] In April 2019, Infinity War and Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely said they would return to write a Secret Wars film if the Russo brothers were directing it. [4] Joe Russo discussed the idea again in July 2020, saying "to execute something on the scale of Infinity War was directly related to the dream of Secret Wars, which is even larger in scale". [5]
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said in January 2021 that another Avengers film would happen eventually. [6] In August 2021, Shooter said executives from Marvel had attempted to secure the rights to his Secret Wars storyline and he assumed they were planning a film adaptation, though Marvel would not confirm that. [7] Discussing the future of the MCU for Variety in May 2022, Adam B. Vary said there was no sense yet of where the franchise was heading after Endgame but several of the MCU's Phase Four projects had featured the multiverse and some potential "Big Bads" such as Kang the Conqueror. [8] Jonathan Majors had been cast as Kang in September 2020 for the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). He was introduced as an alternate universe "variant" of Kang named He Who Remains in the first season of the Disney+ series Loki (2021), which introduced the multiverse to the MCU. [9] [10] [11] Kang was described by Loki creator Michael Waldron as a "time-traveling, multiversal adversary" and the MCU's "next big cross-movie villain". [11] Quantumania writer Jeff Loveness called him a "top-tier, A-list Avengers villain". [12] Additionally, the Phase Four film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), written by Waldron, introduces the idea of "incursions"—a key idea in the 2015 Secret Wars comic—where one universe destroys another within the multiverse. Waldron compared this to introducing Thanos to the MCU long before he became the main villain of "The Infinity Saga", which covers the MCU's Phases One, Two, and Three. [13]
In July 2022, the Russo brothers reiterated that they were fans of the Secret Wars comic books, but said there were no plans for them to direct a film version. The pair added that they would have to consider the implications of such a project because it would be a "massive undertaking" and making Infinity War and Endgame had already been very difficult. [14] [15] At San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) later that month, Feige announced the films Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, to be released on May 2, 2025, and November 7, 2025, respectively. They were set to conclude Phase Six of the MCU and complete "The Multiverse Saga", which covers Phases Four, Five, and Six. [16] The first film was inspired by "Kang Dynasty", a 2001–02 comic book storyline written by Kurt Busiek in which Kang the Conqueror travels through time to enslave humanity. [17] Feige compared the films to Infinity War and Endgame concluding the Infinity Saga. He said a lot of the Phase Four projects had been building to the larger story of The Kang Dynasty and "The Multiverse Saga", and this would continue throughout Phases Five and Six. [18] Feige added that Majors's role as multiple variants of Kang made him a different type of villain from Thanos, and said there was "nobody's shoulders I'd rather be putting the Multiverse Saga on" than Majors's. [19] It was later reported that Marvel Studios had not initially been planning to have the next MCU saga revolve around Kang, but they decided to do so after seeing Majors's performance in the first season of Loki and in early footage from the filming of Quantumania. [20] Feige confirmed that the Russo brothers would not be returning as directors from Infinity War and Endgame. [21]
Destin Daniel Cretton was revealed to be directing The Kang Dynasty shortly after the SDCC announcement. [22] He directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) for Marvel Studios, and signed an overall deal with them in December 2021 that included directing a sequel to that film and developing the Disney+ series Wonder Man (2025). Cretton was only hired to direct The Kang Dynasty, unlike how the Russo brothers directed both Infinity War and Endgame. [23] Loveness was hired to write The Kang Dynasty in September 2022, [24] and began work two weeks later. [25] He was surprised to be considered for the film, thinking he would be "one and done" with Quantumania, and believed Marvel Studios asked him to pitch for The Kang Dynasty because they enjoyed his take on Kang and elements he included in Quantumania that he felt would be good setup for an Avengers film. [26] A scene with more details about Kang's backstory and future was cut from Quantumania and Loveness thought those details were better suited to be revealed in the next Avengers film. [27] Also in September, Marvel Studios met with potential writers for Secret Wars. Waldron was considered the frontrunner and was hired to write the film in October, [28] when its release date was pushed back to May 1, 2026. [29] In November, Simu Liu expressed interest in reprising his role as Xu Shang-Chi from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and working with Cretton again. [30] Majors had discussed The Kang Dynasty with Cretton by then, [31] and in January 2023 he was confirmed to be appearing in Secret Wars as well. [32] Loveness said he wanted The Kang Dynasty to feel like a "generational struggle" that would take the MCU's new characters from Phase Four and "throw them into the fire". [12] Shang-Chi was set to be one of the lead characters at that time. [33] In March, Loveness said the Fantastic Four and the X-Men would not appear in the film due to their MCU introductions being "pretty far away". [34]
Following Majors's arrest in March 2023 and subsequent assault allegations, Marvel Studios had not yet discussed removing the actor from the MCU by the following month. [35] He was still attached to star in both films, and was set to receive $20 million with back-end compensation for The Kang Dynasty. Disney was reportedly monitoring the situation. [36] Joanna Robinson of The Ringer described the allegations against Majors as a "huge problem" for Marvel Studios that put them in an unusual position, since it was unprecedented for the studio to plan so much of the franchise on one character and actor; she argued that Majors had become a much more integral part of the Multiverse Saga than Robert Downey Jr. or Josh Brolin had been for the Infinity Saga as Tony Stark / Iron Man and Thanos, respectively. Robinson said there were conflicting reports on how the studio would proceed with the matter. [20] By then, The Kang Dynasty was scheduled to begin filming in early 2024. [36] [37] Journalist Jeff Sneider reported in May that Loveness was no longer involved in the film and had exited before the start of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike earlier that month. [38] In June, the release dates for The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars were pushed back to May 1, 2026, and May 7, 2027, respectively, [39] in part due to the scripts not being ready before the strike. [40]
Tatiana Siegel at Variety reported in November 2023 that Marvel Studios executives had discussed potentially bringing back the original Avengers cast, including Downey as Iron Man and Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow after those characters died in Endgame. [41] Feige later denied that they had discussed this. [42] Siegel also reported that Marvel Studios executives had started discussing alternative plans for the Multiverse Saga due to Majors's legal issues, including pivoting to focus on another comic book antagonist such as Doctor Doom; [41] that character was already expected to be a major antagonist, if not the primary antagonist, in Secret Wars. [43] The studio reportedly started considering changes, including minimizing the role of Kang, following the disappointing box office performance of Quantumania. [41] [44] Siegel felt recasting Majors was an option given Marvel Studios had previously recast major roles in the MCU due to offscreen issues, and she reported that the final episode of Loki's second season (2023) would set-up the future role for Kang and his variants in a way that would be difficult for Marvel to change. [41] However, when the episode was released soon after, several commentators opined that it actually downplayed Kang's future role and provided several possible solutions for Marvel, including having the Kang variants be handled by Loki's Time Variance Authority (TVA) offscreen and potentially replacing them with Loki variants. [45] [46]
Also in November 2023, Robinson reported that Loveness departed The Kang Dynasty because he was closely associated with the Kang storyline and Marvel was "moving away" from that. [47] [48] Aaron Couch and Borys Kit, writing for The Hollywood Reporter , said Loveness completed a draft of the script before he left. [49] Directing duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead expressed interest in directing Secret Wars after they directed episodes of the MCU series Moon Knight (2022) and the second season of Loki. [50] In the middle of the month, Cretton stepped down as director of The Kang Dynasty to focus on other MCU projects. His exit was said to be amicable as he was still working on other projects with the studio, [51] and it was partially attributed to schedule delays. [49] Sneider reported that Marvel now wanted a writer and a director who could develop both films as a two-part finale to the Multiverse Saga. [52] [53] Waldron was hired to rewrite the screenplay for The Kang Dynasty at the end of the month. [54] In December, Majors was fired by Disney and Marvel Studios after he was found guilty of harassment and reckless assault in the third degree. It was unknown if Marvel would recast Kang or refocus their plans on a new villain, but the studio had started referring to The Kang Dynasty internally as Avengers 5. [55] [56] Sneider soon reported that Marvel Studios was now developing Secret Wars as a "giant five-hour movie" split into two parts, with a year between their releases, [53] and they were searching for a director who had not previously directed a Marvel film. [57] [58] Filming was delayed to late 2024 due to Majors's firing. [37] [59] In February 2024, Couch and Kit said Marvel was "cleaning up the creative mess" caused by Majors's firing and Quantumania's performance, with both Avengers 5 and Secret Wars being rewritten to minimize Kang's role or remove him entirely. They confirmed that Avengers 5 was being retitled to no longer reference Kang. [44]
Commentators noted that issue #5 of the 2015 Secret Wars comic book can be seen in a trailer for the Phase Five film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) that was released in February 2024. [60] [61] That film stars Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson / Deadpool, Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine, and several other actors reprising their roles from 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series or other prior Marvel films, as part of a multiverse story that serves as a tribute to Fox's Marvel films. [62] [63] While completing work on Deadpool & Wolverine in mid-March, director Shawn Levy was quietly asked to direct Avengers 5. He turned down the offer due to scheduling concerns with his role as a director and executive producer on the fifth season of Stranger Things (2025). [64] In April, filming for Avengers 5 was reported to be beginning in early 2025, [58] [65] after Marvel Studios delayed the production schedule by several months. [64] The next month, Waldron turned in a new draft of the script that was given to Levy, who was still considered to be the studio's top choice to direct. Levy was in contention again following the production delay and began early discussions with the studio by the start of June. Other directors were still being considered, and Levy had yet to commit to the film due to his work on Stranger Things and the film Star Wars: Starfighter (2027). [64] [66]
Marvel Studios approached Downey about returning to the MCU to take on the new character of Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom. [67] The actor had auditioned for that role in Fox's film Fantastic Four (2005) before he was cast as Iron Man in the MCU. [68] Feige wanted Downey to return to the franchise and they discussed the idea of him playing Doctor Doom before the release of Quantumania in February 2023. Feige said the studio came to feel, even before Majors's legal issues, that Kang "wasn't big enough, wasn't Thanos", and the right character to serve as the main antagonist of the Multiverse Saga was Doctor Doom, who they finally had access to following the Fox acquisition. He said casting Downey was a long-term plan to "take one of our greatest characters and utilize one of our greatest actors". [69] The studio made repeated offers to the actor, but Downey said he would only return if the Russo brothers also returned as directors. [67] [70] [71] Feige and Downey pitched the idea to the Russo brothers several times, but they were reluctant to return, [72] feeling "creatively spent" by their previous MCU films. [73] Joe Russo added that the process of filming, completing, and promoting multiple MCU films within a short time period had been intense and physically exhausting for the pair. [74] After McFeely approached the Russos with an idea for the films that excited them, [72] they entered early talks to direct both Avengers 5 and Secret Wars by mid-July 2024. [75] It had become clear by then that Levy was not interested in returning to the MCU so soon after Deadpool & Wolverine. [67] Matthew Belloni of Puck reported that talent agency Creative Artists Agency suggested Greg Berlanti and Noah Hawley to Marvel Studios as potential directors for both films, but they were turned down by Feige. [76] Downey signed a deal to star as Doctor Doom by late July. Sneider reported that he would be introduced in the MCU film The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) before starring in the next Avengers films. [67]
At SDCC at the end of July 2024, the Russo brothers were confirmed to be directing the next two Avengers films. [73] They revealed that Avengers 5 was now titled Avengers: Doomsday, and both films would feature Downey as Doctor Doom, who they felt was required to do justice to the Secret Wars story. [77] The Russos were producing Doomsday and Secret Wars through their production company AGBO, McFeely had taken over as writer for both films, [73] [78] and filming was set to begin in early 2025 in London. [70] [79] Markus did not return to co-write the films, choosing to focus on running projects for AGBO instead. [80] The reunion of Marvel Studios, Downey, and the Russo brothers was considered by industry insiders to be a return to what had worked in the past and a "perfect combination of timing and everyone being on the same page". [70] Responding to the SDCC announcements, Majors said he was "heartbroken" over the decision to move forward on the films without him and said he was open to return to the MCU as Kang if Marvel Studios ever wanted to explore the character further. [81] In May 2025, Disney delayed the release of Doomsday to December 18, 2026, and Secret Wars to December 17, 2027, to allow more time for production to be completed. [82]
The Russos and Downey were reported to be earning $40 million and $50 million, respectively, for each film. They were expected to receive bonuses based on the films' box office performances, with potential for Downey's salary to double. [67] [70] Downey also negotiated private jet travel, dedicated personal security, and multiple trailers on the film sets in his deal. [70] After earning $500–600 million total for his previous MCU appearances, Downey was not expected to take a discounted salary. Neither was Thor actor Chris Hemsworth, [83] who Belloni reported would have a major role in Doomsday and be the "second lead" of the film after Downey. He attributed this to Marvel Studios feeling that they needed established stars in recognizable roles to help "eventize" the film. [84]
The book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios (2023) by Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards, includes a quote from Feige which Robinson felt implied Secret Wars would be a soft reboot of the MCU, allowing Marvel Studios to keep what was working, remove what was not, and bring back characters that audiences thought were "gone forever". [85] Feige said in November 2024 that characters from Fox's X-Men films would continue to appear in the MCU leading up to Secret Wars, which would introduce a "new age of mutants and of the X-Men"; [86] The Wall Street Journal reported that Doomsday and Secret Wars would introduce a new version of the X-Men to the MCU and Feige had a ten-year plan for those characters. [87] In July 2025, Feige confirmed that Secret Wars would "reset" the MCU with a new "singular timeline" and a recast X-Men team would be introduced. He avoided using the term "reboot", saying it was a "scary word" that means different things to different people. He added that there was potential for other MCU characters to be recast as well, feeling this was inevitable. [88]
Acknowledging concerns about the growing size of the MCU, the Russo brothers said they had also struggled to keep up with the large number of projects that had been released since Endgame. They wanted to restore the franchise's focus on a central narrative, which had been important to them during the Infinity Saga. [89] Though Doomsday and Secret Wars are the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga, the Russos saw the two films as a new beginning for the MCU in contrast with the ending story they told with Infinity War and Endgame. [74] Feige reiterated this, saying "Endgame, literally, was about endings. Secret Wars is about beginnings." [88] As they began work on the story and scripts for the films, the Russo brothers visited the sets of The Fantastic Four: First Steps and viewed early cuts of scenes with director Matt Shakman. He said this allowed him to "pass the baton to them and [ensure that the Fantastic Four characters] would be well cared for". [90] After comments by Shakman about his approach to Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic led to misconceptions about that character becoming the leader of the Avengers in Doomsday, [91] Siegel clarified that Richards would have an integral role in the films but not as the "centerpiece". [83] In July 2025, Feige revealed that Waldron was helping McFeely with the scripts. [69]
The Russo brothers confirmed in March 2025 that the 1984–85 Secret Wars event, which they grew up with, and the 2015–16 "Secret Wars" storyline would both serve as "loose inspiration" for the films. [92] After several actors from Fox's X-Men film series were announced to be returning for Doomsday that month, Devin Meenan of /Film opined that the film could be adapting elements from the 2012 comic book crossover event "Avengers vs. X-Men" written by Bendis, Matt Fraction, Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, and Hickman. He also felt elements of the 2010 limited series Doomwar , written by Jonathan Maberry, could be included. That comic depicts Doctor Doom invading Wakanda and features the X-Men. [93] In April, Sam Wilson / Captain America actor Anthony Mackie said the film would have a cliffhanger ending and described it as "push[ing] the boundaries" to set up the continuing MCU story. He added that "everyone is expendable". [94] Feige said Doomsday would focus on the Avengers, Wakandans, Fantastic Four, Thunderbolts—revealed in the film Thunderbolts* (2025) to be the government-sanctioned New Avengers—and the "original" X-Men teaming up to face Doom. [95] [96] The events of First Steps lead directly into the story of Doomsday, [97] which is set fourteen months after Thunderbolts* and four years after the events of First Steps. [96] [98] In July, Feige said it was a long-time dream for Marvel to bring the Fantastic Four and the X-Men into the MCU, and it was surreal for him to see these characters together after working on Marvel films for 25 years. He said the fun of the Avengers films was bringing together different characters and seeing how they get along, and added that they were "really delving into [the X-Men] with Doomsday" after Deadpool & Wolverine had "scratched the surface". [99]
In June 2024, Deadline Hollywood described the first of the two films as more of an ensemble than the prior Avengers films, which mostly focused on a core group of Avengers. There was potential for more than 60 actors to reprise their MCU roles in the film, including established characters from the Infinity Saga alongside newer ones from the Multiverse Saga, [66] though Feige cautioned that not all of the new Multiverse Saga characters would be able to appear in the two films. [100] Similar to Infinity War and Endgame, magnetic baseball cards were used to track which characters and actors were available for the films. [101]
Benedict Cumberbatch said in June 2024 that he would reprise his MCU role as Dr. Stephen Strange in the first film. [102] The next month, Sneider reported that Jeremy Renner would reprise his MCU role as Clint Barton / Hawkeye in the film. [103] At SDCC later in July, Robert Downey Jr.'s casting as Victor von Doom / Doctor Doom for both films was announced. He discussed changing from Tony Stark / Iron Man to Doom, saying he enjoyed portraying complex characters and his role in the films was "new mask, same task". [73] [77] Different storylines within Marvel Comics have seen Stark and Doom swap bodies, [104] and Doom takes on the Iron Man mantle in the 2016–17 Infamous Iron Man comic book series by Bendis and Alex Maleev. [104] [105] The announcement of Downey's casting led to speculation about whether he would be playing an alternate universe variant of Stark or if his recasting would be ignored in the films' story. [106] [107] Also at the convention, cast members from the MCU films Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps were said to be reprising their roles in the next two Avengers films, [108] including the main Fantastic Four actors: Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing. [109] Tom Holland, who was also expected to reprise his MCU role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in Doomsday, said he knew about Downey's casting as Doom before the SDCC announcement. [110] [111]
In November 2024, Feige said the studio was looking for ways to include Ryan Reynolds's Wade Wilson / Deadpool and Hugh Jackman's Logan / Wolverine in future MCU projects following Deadpool & Wolverine. [112] The next month, Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, and Hayley Atwell were reported to be in Doomsday, with Mackie and Atwell reprising their respective MCU roles as Sam Wilson / Captain America and Peggy Carter. [113] [114] [115] It was unclear what Evans's role would be after he played Steve Rogers / Captain America in the Infinity Saga and a variant of Johnny Storm / Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine, reprising the latter role from Fox's films Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). [113] Sneider reported that Evans might play a version of Nomad, a mantle taken on by Rogers and other characters in the comics. [116] Marvel attempted to develop a separate film with Evans and Atwell before deciding Doomsday would be a better film to revisit them in. [115] Evans denied that he would be in the film, saying he was "happily retired" from Marvel. [117] In January 2025, Sneider reported that Marvel Studios was casting an alternate version of T'Challa / Black Panther for multiple MCU projects starting with Doomsday. The character was originally portrayed in the MCU by Chadwick Boseman until his death in August 2020. Sneider said the studio offered the role to an actor in late 2024, but they declined and took on a different superhero role. [118] [119] He later said the casting was for T'Challa's son T'Challa II / Toussaint, who would become the new Black Panther. The character was introduced as a child in the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), portrayed by Divine Love Konadu-Sun. [119] Cumberbatch said he would no longer appear in Doomsday following changes to the story after Majors's firing, [120] but he soon said he had been mistaken and would appear in both films, with a central role in Secret Wars. [121] Mackie said he would also be in both films. [117]
With the start of production at the end of March 2025, Marvel officially announced 26 cast members for Doomsday. Actors returning from previous MCU media included Chris Hemsworth (who portrays Thor in the MCU), Kirby, Mackie, Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier), Letitia Wright (Shuri / Black Panther), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang / Ant-Man), Wyatt Russell (John Walker / U.S. Agent), Tenoch Huerta Mejía (Namor), Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu (Xu Shang-Chi), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Lewis Pullman (Bob Reynolds / Sentry), Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres / Falcon), Quinn, David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian), Winston Duke (M'Baku), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr / Ghost), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Channing Tatum (Remy LeBeau / Gambit), and Pascal. Several actors from Fox's X-Men film series were also announced to be returning: Kelsey Grammer (who portrayed Hank McCoy / Beast in those films), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier / Professor X), Ian McKellen (Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto), Alan Cumming (Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn (Raven Darkhölme / Mystique), and James Marsden (Scott Summers / Cyclops). Stewart and Grammer previously reprised their X-Men roles in the MCU films Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and The Marvels (2023), respectively. [122] [123] After the announcement, Downey and Marvel Studios teased that there were more cast members to reveal for Doomsday. [124] Couch and Kit reported that Marvel had only revealed approximately half of the film's cast and noted the absence of some previously reported actors, such as Holland and Evans. They said Evans was expected to appear in at least one of the two films, [122] [125] while Atwell was reported to have signed a deal to star in both films. [126] Sneider reported that the film Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) would take place concurrently with the events of Doomsday and he did not expect Holland to appear in the latter film as a result. [127]
In April 2025, set photos revealed that Benedict Wong was reprising his MCU role as Wong in Doomsday. [128] The following month, photos with Doomsday cast members in Bahrain revealed that Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli were also returning for the film, in their respective MCU roles as Namora and Attuma. [129] In August, Ryan Reynolds posted an image on Instagram of the Avengers logo vandalized by graffiti, reminiscent of a similar logo seen in Deadpool & Wolverine, leading to speculation that he was teasing Deadpool's role in Doomsday and Secret Wars. [130] [131] Couch and Kit reported through The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision newsletter that Deadpool would appear in Doomsday, [132] while Anthony D'Alessandro of Deadline Hollywood reported that Reynolds was not set to appear in the two Avengers films, had not been seen on the Doomsday set, and had posted the fan-made logo because it intrigued him and he was "just having some fun". [130] Umberto Gonzalez of TheWrap discussed these conflicting reports, questioning The Hollywood Reporter's confidence in its sources while noting that Reynolds not appearing on set did not mean he would not be in the film. Gonzalez reported that Reynolds would appear as Deadpool in Doomsday, but said sources were not yet ready to go on the record confirming this. [131] Reynolds explained that he posted the image because it was his favorite design of the flag that appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine, despite there being others that were "great" to use like a red and black one. [133]
Gavin Bocquet was set as the production designer for Doomsday, reteaming with the Russo brothers after working on the second season of their television series Citadel (2023–present). [134] [ independent source needed ] Sets for the Baxter Building that Kasra Farahani designed for First Steps were reused, with some updates, for Doomsday. [135] [99] [136] Costume designer Judianna Makovsky returned from previous MCU films. [137]
In October 2024, the Russo brothers said Doomsday and Secret Wars were being produced together in a similar way to Infinity War and Endgame, but they would not be filmed back-to-back like those films were; [138] there was just four weeks between the end of filming for Infinity War and the start of filming for Endgame. [74] Anthony said there would be around a year between the end of filming on Doomsday and the start of filming on Secret Wars. [138] Joe later said the two films were being made "fairly back-to-back". [139] In early 2025, filming for Doomsday was reported to be taking place from that March to August. [140] Mackie said he would be splitting his time between filming Doomsday in London and filming the television series 12 12 12 in Budapest, [141] and the Russos said filming would primarily occur on soundstages and specifically chosen locations to avoid set photos from leaking. [142]
Production for the two films is based at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. [143] Some "pre-photography" filming for Doomsday occurred in April 2025, [144] including the filming of the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene with the New Avengers cast. The Russos filmed the scene accompanied by Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier. [96] [145] The Russos also directed the mid-credits scene of First Steps during production on Doomsday. [98] Principal photography for Doomsday began on April 28, [146] under the working title Apple Pie 1. [65] [ independent source needed ] Production was originally expected to begin in early 2024, but this was delayed due to Majors's firing and the films' creative shifts. [37] [64] Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel reteamed with the Russo brothers after working on Citadel and their film Cherry (2021). By the end of May, location filming was taking place in Bahrain. [129]
Four days of filming were set to occur at Windsor Great Park in mid-to-late June, where sets for a spaceship and a 1960s-style bungalow were built. The latter was referred to as the "Luke Cage house". [147] [148] An additional day of filming will occur at Windsor Great Park in August, with a set being built that was referred to as "Annie Reynolds's house". [149] [150] By late July, the cast of First Steps had finished filming half of their scenes, [151] and Romijn had filmed some scenes. She was unsure if she would have to film more because the script was still being written. [152] Pascal and Cumming finished filming their scenes by early August. [153] [154] Cumming said his schedule for the series The Traitors (2023–present) meant he was not available when some of his Doomsday scenes were being shot, so all of his scenes were shot together using green screens and other techniques, alongside some "little scenes" where he acted with other people. [154] Wright also confirmed she wrapped filming in late August. [155] After he was injured on set, Tatum had to rely on his stunt double for action sequences. [156] Filming for Doomsday wrapped on September 19. [157]
Principal photography for Secret Wars is scheduled to begin in mid-2026, [141] around a year after filming for Doomsday is completed, [138] and last for approximately six months. [142]
Jeffrey Ford is editing both films, after working on previous MCU media. [158] [ independent source needed ] In March 2025, the Russo brothers estimated that Doomsday would be approximately two-and-a-half hours long and Secret Wars would be approximately three hours long. [142]
The Hollywood Reporter reported that a "healthy" amount of additional photography was expected for Doomsday. [157]
In April 2024, Alan Silvestri indicated that he could be composing the music for an upcoming MCU project after doing so for Infinity War, Endgame, and other MCU films. [159] That July, he was confirmed to be returning for both Doomsday and Secret Wars. [160]