Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel Studios is delaying the release of one key Avengers project.
The last few years have been rough for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following the release of Avengers: Endgame (2019), superhero fatigue has hit the franchise hard, with several projects – such as The Marvels (2023), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), and the likes of Secret Invasion and She-Hulk on Disney+ – failing to impress audiences and critics alike.
Even some critically acclaimed projects, such as Thunderbolts* (2025), have struggled to take home big money at the box office.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Marvel is betting big on the Avengers to steer the MCU back on course. Avengers: Doomsday (2026) is set to bring back Robert Downey Jr. – albeit as Doctor Doom, not Tony Stark/Iron Man – and Chris Evans, with the latter’s return confirmed in one of several teaser trailers released before Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025).
The lengthy cast list of Avengers: Doomsday includes Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier), Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), and Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America). While fans were already surprised by several names set to appear in the film, multiple reports suggest more surprises are on the way, with some theorizing that we’ll see the likes of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parkers in either Doomsday or its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
For now, several key names are missing. For example, there’s no word on whether Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, or Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang, will make an appearance – and according to a recent report, there may be more to their absence than we thought.
Marvel Delays Long-Awaited ‘Avengers’ Project
Industry insider Daniel Richtman reports that Marvel has big plans for its “Young Avengers” lineup, but that it’s holding back until after Avengers: Secret Wars.
Richtman reports that the Young Avengers series – which will apparently use the team’s alternate name of “Champions” – won’t hit Disney+ while the Avengers arc is still ongoing. That means it will likely take place after the end of the Multiverse Saga.
The good news is that the show will potentially “run for multiple seasons,” making it an outlier for Marvel projects. To date, the only live-action shows to receive more than one season are Loki and Daredevil: Born Again (although there are rumors that Hawkeye could eventually receive a second outing).
Secret Wars isn’t set to hit theaters until December 2027. There are rumors that this could be delayed even further, or that the project may be split into two films. That means 2028 is the very earliest we can expect to see the Young Avengers finally unite on-screen – but, realistically, it could also be much later.
Marvel has teased its Young Avengers lineup across multiple MCU phases, quietly laying the groundwork for a next-generation superhero team. Instead of announcing a dedicated Young Avengers movie or Disney+ series, Marvel Studios has introduced potential team members individually through major films and streaming shows.
Characters such as Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness mirror the comic team’s core lineup through legacy roles and succession.
The clearest signal came in The Marvels, when Kamala Khan openly referenced assembling a team and sought out Cassie Lang, marking Marvel’s first explicit on-screen nod toward a Young Avengers-style formation.
Of course, by this point, Marvel has teased the Young Avengers for so long that the label itself is starting to feel questionable. Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Kate Bishop, is now 29, older than Scarlett Johansson was when she joined the MCU as Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (2010).
That age creep may explain Marvel’s apparent pivot toward the Champions model, which allows for a looser, youth-driven team without strict “next Avengers” expectations.
The latest news aligns with a 2024 report that Marvel had abandoned plans to center a film around the Young Avengers. YouTuber Kristian Harloff claimed that Marvel was instead developing a TV show named “Champions.”
“I am hearing that this is as a show,” Harloff said. “It’s a full-on show that they’re going to do. What I’m hearing again is that this is going to be a show, and we’re going to get the people that [are] the two main stars that you know – with Hailee Steinfeld and Iman Vellani – we’re going to get them. I don’t know how many episodes. I would assume limited. That’s what I heard as far as those things go.”
Are you excited for Marvel’s Young Avengers project?