Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel Studios is reportedly looking to cut 19% of Avengers: Doomsday (2026).
We’re less than four months away from Avengers: Doomsday hitting theaters, and yet it appears the film is far from done. The film – which serves as Marvel’s first big Avengers team-up since the mega-success that was Avengers: Endgame (2019) – is allegedly in the midst of reshoots and extra filming right now, with rumors suggesting that the Russo brothers want to incorporate more cameos.
Now, the studio allegedly wants to axe at least 40 minutes of the finished film from the final cut.
The Troubled Road to ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
Doomsday has already undergone a huge creative overhaul, evolving from The Kang Dynasty after changes in writers, directors, and antagonist. Once cameras rolled, Wyatt Russell (John Walker) said the story had “changed about a thousand times” in May 2025 (via GamesRadar) while Rebecca Romijn (Mystique) later said in July 2025 that they “haven’t finished writing” the script (via The Hollywood Reporter).
That is concerning for a film facing an almost impossible benchmark. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Endgame grossed $2.05 billion and nearly $2.8 billion worldwide, respectively, and remain two of Marvel’s defining successes. Doomsday needs to make an Avengers movie feel like an event again.
One of the biggest concerns is scale. Marvel’s official cast now lists 30 names, spanning the Avengers, New Avengers, Fantastic Four, Wakandans, and Fox-era X-Men. Infinity War proved a gigantic ensemble can work, but fans have questioned whether Doomsday can give that many returning heroes meaningful screen time.
Then there is the nostalgia problem. Robert Downey Jr. is back – this time as Doctor Doom, not Tony Stark/Iron Man – Chris Evans is back as Steve Rogers, and Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and other Fox-era X-Men are returning. For some fans and critics, that feels more like calculated fan service and nostalgia bait than a satisfying conclusion of the Multiverse Saga.
Why is Marvel Allegedly Cutting 19% of the Film?
Recent reports suggest that Marvel is having trouble producing a final cut of Avengers: Doomsday.
According to scooper James Mack, the current cut of Avengers: Doomsday is over 3 hours and 30 minutes long. “A lot will reportedly be cut from the film so that it doesn’t go over 2 hours and 50 minutes,” he explains.
The current longest film in the MCU is Avengers: Endgame, which ran for 3 hours and 1 minute. An extended version of the film, set to hit theaters in September, will run for 3 hours and 5 minutes. Known as Avengers Endgame: Encore, this is set to include new footage (plus, according to some rumors, reshot scenes for some characters) to serve as a narrative “bridge” to Avengers: Doomsday. Joe Russo has described Encore as “required viewing” before Doomsday hits theaters.
It helps that its re-release could also help it reclaim its briefly held title of the highest-grossing film of all time. Endgame was previously overtaken by Avatar (2009) after the film’s rerelease in China in March 2021.
For now, Avengers: Doomsday‘s runtime is unconfirmed, as are Marvel’s plans to cut its runtime. However, considering what seems to be an unorthodox production process for the project – and its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) – we wouldn’t be shocked if there’s some validity to the reports.
Are you excited for Avengers: Doomsday?
