Credit: Marvel StudiosRobert Downey Jr. has confirmed new information about the Avengers movie in a recent interview.
This year, after seven years, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will reconvene to take on a new threat: Doctor Doom. Famous in the Marvel Comics universe, Victor Von Doom’s arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a hugely significant moment. The character’s debut in Kevin Feige’s MCU was made all the more thrilling when, in 2024, Marvel Studios confirmed that it would be Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. taking on the part for the Phase Six movies, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
Doomsday, of course, replaced Avengers: The Kang Dynasty following Marvel’s pivot from Kang (Jonathan Majors). While Feige claimed the shift to Doctor Doom was being considered long before Majors’ legal troubles, the removal of Big Bad Kang and his Variants is one thing the MCU has yet to explain. With reports and trailers suggesting that the movie will revolve around incursions and the collapse of the Multiverse, Marvel could decide to clear out Kang using the same premise. One thing is for sure: Jonathan Majors is nowhere to be seen.
Despite this exclusion, Doomsday boasts a huge cast, with actors from across the Marvel spectrum joining the fray. There are tenured stars like Chris Hemsworth returning as Thor, as well as more recent newcomers like Lewis Pullman’s Bob/Sentry and Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic. A big part of the cast will be actors from the 20th Century Studios X-Men movies, with Marvel incorporating characters like Scott Summers/Cyclops (James Marsden) and Charles Xavier/Professor X (Patrick Stewart) into the story.
The sheer scale of the cast, plus remarks from Kevin Feige about the post-Secret Wars landscape being a “reset” and returning to a “singular timeline,” have led many to believe that Doomsday and its sequel will be the final time many of these characters are featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After all, 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine already shut the door on a handful of 20th Century Studios’ legacy characters.
As the release date approaches, Avengers: Doomsday is becoming an increasingly prominent part of the social conversation. With a new Special Look debuting at D23 Expo earlier this month and ticket sales already selling at a fast pace, Doomsday is set to dominate the box office and may even surpass the historic run of Destin Daniel Cretton’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), which just crossed $2.2 billion globally and continues to climb.
Not only is the hype ramping up, but so too are the interviews and promotion of the upcoming Marvel movie. In a recent talk with CBR, Robert Downey Jr. and director Joe Russo–who is helming Doomsday and Secret Wars with his brother and collaborator Anthony Russo–confirmed a number of cast cuts from a previous Avengers movie.
When looking back at Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the pair explained that two actors were cut from parts of the movie despite having filmed scenes.
“We had a Happy Hogan cameo in this scene that we reshot, then we 86’d it,” Downey said, revealing that Jon Favreau had more of a part in Phase Three’s Avengers movies than many had assumed. He did appear in Avengers: Endgame (2019), and later in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), and Deadpool & Wolverine.
According to the interview, Joe Russo also had a cameo in the movie as a press reporter harassing Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) in Central Park.
Many have called the Infinity Saga the peak era of the MCU, with Avengers: Endgame going down in history as one of the most thrilling conclusions ever, according to fans. Over the years, attention to the MCU has waned, with projects being hit-or-miss both on the big screen and on streaming. That said, it seems with Brand New Day and the forthcoming Doomsday, interest has resurged, and Doomsday may, in fact, perform better at the box office than any of its predecessors.
As post-production continues on Doomsday, the Russos have confirmed that work on Secret Wars begins imminently. However, recent industry reports claim that filming is currently suspended for reasons unknown.
Avengers: Doomsday lands in movie theaters on December 18, 2026.
What are your thoughts on how Marvel Studios may conclude the Multiverse Saga with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Endgame? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
