Set to premiere in May 2026, Avengers: Doomsday will deliver the start of the big Multiverse Saga finale, which, in turn, will lead to the MCU reset Marvel fans have been waiting for. The massive crossover should be even more ambitious than Avengers: Endgame and reunite even more characters than the Infinity Saga finale.
If we had worries about the quality of Avengers 5 and Avengers 6, Marvel dispelled them last summer when it announced a major reshuffle. Kang Dynasty became Doomsday, with Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU to play not Iron Man, but the new villain of the final Avengers movie, Doctor Doom.
Also important were the returns of Anthony and Joe Russo, the directors of the previous two Avengers movies, who fans always wanted to direct the next two. Stephen McFeely, one of the writers who made Infinity War and Endgame with the Russos, is also back.
Add Marvel’s commitment to improving the MCU, as highlighted so far by the more recent movies and TV shows, especially Deadpool & Wolverine, and Doomsday and Secret Wars look more promising than ever.
However, there’s a brand new Doomsday rumor that might turn out to be the most polarizing Avengers leak we have seen in recent history. If accurate, it’s going to be such a major departure from the previous MCU crossover. Truth be told, I’m not even sure I know how to feel about it. I’m equal parts excited and worried.
Before I explain, you should know that massive spoilers might follow.
The only Doomsday character confirmed so far is Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, who will play the movie’s protagonist. Make no mistake, Avengers 5 will be the story of Doctor Doom, just like Infinity War was the story of Thanos (Josh Brolin).
We can assume that the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes that Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) will assemble after what happened in Brave New World will appear in the film. Also, it’s very likely many of the Thunderbolts members will be in the movie, perhaps acting as a New Avengers team separate from Captain America’s.
Sam’s new Avengers will surely include Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the Young Avengers who appeared in some MCU movies and TV shows will also show up in Avengers 5.
Then there’s the Fantastic Four, which should all have a role in Doomsday.
I was also counting on some multiverse characters to show up in Doomsday to inform the audience and the Avengers of how massive the danger is. Universes will be colliding in Doomsday and Secret Wars, and the Avengers based on Earth-616, the main MCU universe, will have a major role in trying to stop it.
Some of the breakout stars of What If…? were always on my list of surprises for the upcoming movies. Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter is the best example. But I never thought Marvel would include the animated versions of these characters.
If Insider Alex Perez’s information shared via The Cosmic Circus is accurate, we might see several animated MCU characters in Doomsday:
According to our sources, Marvel Studios has been exploring ways to bring their animated properties into this film, reportedly maintaining the animated format of their characters as well as their respective universe instead of transitioning a character from animated to live-action and vice versa.
It’s unclear what these animated characters are, but if Marvel goes this route, we might get a Space Jam / Who Framed Roger Rabbit? version of a massive superhero movie. As I said above, I’m unsure how to feel about it.
On one hand, Marvel’s animated series have been well received on Disney Plus. This trick also allowed Marvel to expand the multiverse in the background and give us an idea of the Multiverse Saga’s scope without breaking the bank. It’s much cheaper to go for animated TV shows instead of live-action movies or TV series.
On the other hand, not all MCU fans might have seen the animated TV shows. These will now feel like mandatory homework if Doomsday will indeed feature animated characters. Also, some fans might not appreciate the combination of cartoon characters and live-action ones.
Then again, these animated characters could come in handy. We need to see how dangerous Doctor Doom is, and one way to do that is to kill off animated characters that we don’t really care about.
Keeping animated characters in place also shows the vastness of the multiverse. But considering that What If…? is an animated story where every universe is animated, using animated characters in Doomsday would make Earth-616 one of the few exceptions that aren’t animated.
It’s not the first we hear animated characters might appear in one of the final Multiverse Saga movies. The same Perez said after Spider-Verse 2 that Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) and other Spider-Man variants might appear in Secret Wars. That was potentially exciting, but that’s no longer likely to happen, considering that Beyond the Spider-Verse isn’t expected to launch in time for Doomsday inclusion.
If these Doomsday plot details are accurate, it’s likely Marvel will spoil some of them in the first Avengers 5 trailer. It’s too big of a surprise to try to keep it secret. I’m speculating here, but we won’t have to wait too long to find out. The first Doomsday trailer will probably debut in late 2025 to kickstart the film’s massive promo campaign.
