Avengers: Doomsday
Avengers: Doomsday opens December 18, 2026 (runtime 165 min). Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom, not Iron Man. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm. Tickets now on sale for all theaters. New footage shown at Disney D23 on August 14, 2026. Sources: Marvel, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline.
The context
Avengers: Doomsday is Marvel Studios’ most anticipated film since Avengers: Endgame, and its most surprising casting decision. Robert Downey Jr., who spent more than a decade as the face of the MCU as Tony Stark / Iron Man, returns in a completely different role: Victor von Doom, better known as Doctor Doom, one of Marvel’s most complex and powerful villains. The casting, revealed at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, instantly became one of the most discussed decisions in recent superhero cinema.
The Russo Brothers, Joe and Anthony, are back behind the camera for the first time since Endgame, joined by screenwriters Michael Waldron (Loki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) and Stephen McFeely (Captain America trilogy, Infinity War, Endgame). The film introduces the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) into the main Avengers storyline, uniting the MCU’s legacy characters with its newest.
Tickets went on sale for all theaters in August 2026 ahead of the December 18 opening, with a runtime of 165 minutes. Disney presented new footage from the film at its D23 convention on August 14, 2026. The film is expected to be one of the highest-grossing films in MCU history; it opens on the same global weekend as Dune: Messiah (Denis Villeneuve’s Dune 3), setting up one of the most competitive box-office weekends in years. Sources: Marvel, Hollywood Reporter, Deadline.