6 Reasons Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars Were Delayed
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars have been delayed from their original release dates, though several reasons explain why this was the case. Initially, Avengers: Doomsday"s release date was set for May 1, 2026. The story of Avengers: Secret Wars was then set to hit theaters around a year later on May 7, 2027.
In May 2025, it was reported that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars had been delayed, only around a month after the former began production. Now, Avengers: Doomsday is expected to be released worldwide on December 18, 2026, while Avengers: Secret Wars will come a year after that on December 17, 2027. For many reasons, these delays do not come as much of a shock. Several factors have likely contributed to Marvel Studios" decision, with the delays hopefully alleviating some problems that could have faced the gargantuan upcoming Marvel movies.
6 Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars Need More Time To Produce There Was Simply Not Enough Time To Meet The Original Release Dates Close The first, and perhaps most simple, reason as to why Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were delayed is to lengthen the production timeline. Movies of this scale often need a lot of time to film and then an equally large period to finalize post-production. Avengers: Infinity War, for example, began filming in January 2017, meaning the film had around 16 months to be finalized. Avengers: Endgame then started filming in August 2017, giving that film just under two years in full production.
Avengers: Doomsday, on the other hand, began filming in late April 2025, meaning the film would have had a few days more than a year to film and complete post-production. Given that the cast list for Avengers: Doomsday is much larger than that of Infinity War too, this timeline would simply not have been possible. In giving that film an extra seven months to prepare, Marvel Studios has ensured Avengers: Doomsday will have the appropriate amount of time dedicated to production. The extra year will then solidify the same for Avengers: Secret Wars.
5 Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars Delays Can Help Marvel Avoid CGI Issues Marvel Has Struggled With CGI In Recent Years![]()
Stemming from the last point, the delays to Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will help Marvel streamline the studio"s post-production process. As I alluded to, giving Avengers: Doomsday a year to shoot and finalize post-production would have been far too short, even if filming wraps in six months as the studio expects it to. This would give the VFX workers of the film only six months to completely finish what needs to be done and, given the issues Marvel Studios has faced since 2019 regarding CGI quality, this would not be feasible.
![]()
Related MCU Movies' Inconsistent VFX Quality Explained Marvel Cinematic Universe projects" inconsistent CGI quality is addressed in a new report that features insight from current and former VFX artists.
Posts With the new release dates, however, Avengers: Doomsday"s post-production process will surely benefit. If Avengers: Doomsday does wrap in six months as the Russos indicated to Collider, this would allow post-production to last from October 2025 to December 2026, rather than October 2025 to May 2026. While it remains to be seen if the previous issues of Marvel changing too much in post rather than planning things out efficiently have changed, the longer timeline should benefit Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars regardless.
4 December Is Traditionally A Release Month For Huge Releases December Has Held Some Big Box Office Hitters In The Past Close $2 billion movies at the box office are rare, with only seven in history achieving this feat. Of those that did, four of them released in December with Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Ne Zha 2 being the only outliers. Titanic, Avatar, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Avatar: The Way of Water were all released in December of their respective years and proved to be massive box office hits. The biggest post-Endgame MCU release is Spider-Man: No Way Home which fell just shy of $2 billion and was also released in December.
Between the Avengers and Avatar franchises, Disney has December locked down in 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2029, adding to the reason for the delays to Doomsday and Secret Wars.
For this reason, it makes sense for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars to try and capitalize on this. While there will be stiff competition for both movies, be it Dune 3 for the former or The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum for the latter, December has proven to be a strong month for big-budget franchise films. With that in mind, it is hard to argue with Marvel"s choice to pick December as the month to release its two upcoming Avengers projects.
3 Disney Can Space Out Its MCU Releases More The MCU's Quality Over Quantity Mandate Will Benefit Close In recent years, Bob Iger"s return as the Disney CEO has seen a mandate for quality over quantity pushed on Marvel after its messy Phase 4. According to Iger himself, as reported by THR, 2025"s Thunderbolts* was the first of many upcoming Marvel films that fit this format. In delaying Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, Marvel has further outlined its commitment to that.
![]()
Like Follow Followed Avengers: Secret Wars Not Yet Rated Superhero Action Adventure Release Date May 7, 2027 Director Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Cast See All ![]()
Pedro Pascal Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic ![]()
Vanessa Kirby Sue Storm / Invisible Woman ![]()
Joseph Quinn Johnny Storm / Human Torch ![]()
Ebon Moss-Bachrach Ben Grimm / The Thing
Powered by![]()
Expand Collapse Rather than have two MCU movies within two months of each other in 2026, given Spider-Man: Brand New Day"s release date of July 2026, the post-2025 release schedule looks much less quantity-focused for Marvel. Spider-Man 4 will be the only MCU movie of that year, allowing a year gap between that and 2025"s The Fantastic Four: First Steps on one side and a 15-month gap between that and Avengers: Doomsday on the other. With no other MCU movies confirmed for 2027 either, Avengers: Secret Wars remains the singular focus (for now).
2 Disney Avoids A Conflict Between Marvel & Star Wars Both Franchises Can Coexist Happily![]()
Image via Disney+ One of the factors that contributed specifically to Avengers: Doomsday"s delay is beneficial to Disney as a whole. If the movie was released on May 1, 2026, as was the initial plan, it would clash with another of Disney"s big franchise properties set to release on May 22 of that year: The Mandalorian and Grogu. The last time a Star Wars and MCU movie went head-to-head at the box office was in May 2018, with Solo: A Star Wars Story becoming an infamous flop when faced up against Avengers: Infinity War.
The Mandalorian & Grogu can be released happily in May 2026 knowing its sister franchise will not burden it at all...
When Marvel Studios announced Doomsday"s May 2026 release, many feared the worst for The Mandalorian and Grogu. Now, though, there is no issue. The Mandalorian & Grogu can be released happily in May 2026 knowing its sister franchise will not burden it at all. Seven months later, Avengers: Doomsday can do the same, resolving any potential conflict that would have arisen if the MCU movie had not been delayed.
1 The Avengers Delays Will Give Marvel More Time To Polish The Scripts Which May Or May Not Be Finished![]()
The final major reason that explains why Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were delayed links to the scripts of both films. When the former began shooting in April 2025, several reports claimed that the script for the film had not yet been finalized. This was supported by several actors cast in Avengers: Doomsday, such as those involved in Thunderbolts*, insisting they had not yet read a full script despite shooting beginning.
If this is the case for Avengers: Doomsday, which is currently filming, it must mean Avengers: Secret Wars" script is not even close to being finished. This could cause issues with those on set not having a clear, defined vision for the film"s story, as well as actors who need to prepare for their roles. That said, now that both films have been delayed, there is a much better chance of Marvel ironing out the kinks of both scripts and allowing Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars to have much more streamlined production processes.
![]()
Like Follow Followed Avengers: Doomsday Superhero Adventure Action Sci-Fi Release Date May 1, 2026 Director Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Writers Stephen McFeely, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee Cast See All ![]()
Chris Hemsworth Thor ![]()
Vanessa Kirby Sue Storm / Invisible Woman ![]()
Joseph Quinn Johnny Storm / Human Torch ![]()
Ebon Moss-Bachrach Ben Grimm / The Thing
Powered by![]()
Expand Collapse
In May 2025, it was reported that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars had been delayed, only around a month after the former began production. Now, Avengers: Doomsday is expected to be released worldwide on December 18, 2026, while Avengers: Secret Wars will come a year after that on December 17, 2027. For many reasons, these delays do not come as much of a shock. Several factors have likely contributed to Marvel Studios" decision, with the delays hopefully alleviating some problems that could have faced the gargantuan upcoming Marvel movies.
6 Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars Need More Time To Produce There Was Simply Not Enough Time To Meet The Original Release Dates Close The first, and perhaps most simple, reason as to why Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were delayed is to lengthen the production timeline. Movies of this scale often need a lot of time to film and then an equally large period to finalize post-production. Avengers: Infinity War, for example, began filming in January 2017, meaning the film had around 16 months to be finalized. Avengers: Endgame then started filming in August 2017, giving that film just under two years in full production.
Avengers: Doomsday, on the other hand, began filming in late April 2025, meaning the film would have had a few days more than a year to film and complete post-production. Given that the cast list for Avengers: Doomsday is much larger than that of Infinity War too, this timeline would simply not have been possible. In giving that film an extra seven months to prepare, Marvel Studios has ensured Avengers: Doomsday will have the appropriate amount of time dedicated to production. The extra year will then solidify the same for Avengers: Secret Wars.
5 Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars Delays Can Help Marvel Avoid CGI Issues Marvel Has Struggled With CGI In Recent Years
Stemming from the last point, the delays to Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will help Marvel streamline the studio"s post-production process. As I alluded to, giving Avengers: Doomsday a year to shoot and finalize post-production would have been far too short, even if filming wraps in six months as the studio expects it to. This would give the VFX workers of the film only six months to completely finish what needs to be done and, given the issues Marvel Studios has faced since 2019 regarding CGI quality, this would not be feasible.
Related MCU Movies' Inconsistent VFX Quality Explained Marvel Cinematic Universe projects" inconsistent CGI quality is addressed in a new report that features insight from current and former VFX artists.Posts With the new release dates, however, Avengers: Doomsday"s post-production process will surely benefit. If Avengers: Doomsday does wrap in six months as the Russos indicated to Collider, this would allow post-production to last from October 2025 to December 2026, rather than October 2025 to May 2026. While it remains to be seen if the previous issues of Marvel changing too much in post rather than planning things out efficiently have changed, the longer timeline should benefit Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars regardless.
4 December Is Traditionally A Release Month For Huge Releases December Has Held Some Big Box Office Hitters In The Past Close $2 billion movies at the box office are rare, with only seven in history achieving this feat. Of those that did, four of them released in December with Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Ne Zha 2 being the only outliers. Titanic, Avatar, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Avatar: The Way of Water were all released in December of their respective years and proved to be massive box office hits. The biggest post-Endgame MCU release is Spider-Man: No Way Home which fell just shy of $2 billion and was also released in December.
Between the Avengers and Avatar franchises, Disney has December locked down in 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2029, adding to the reason for the delays to Doomsday and Secret Wars.
For this reason, it makes sense for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars to try and capitalize on this. While there will be stiff competition for both movies, be it Dune 3 for the former or The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum for the latter, December has proven to be a strong month for big-budget franchise films. With that in mind, it is hard to argue with Marvel"s choice to pick December as the month to release its two upcoming Avengers projects.
3 Disney Can Space Out Its MCU Releases More The MCU's Quality Over Quantity Mandate Will Benefit Close In recent years, Bob Iger"s return as the Disney CEO has seen a mandate for quality over quantity pushed on Marvel after its messy Phase 4. According to Iger himself, as reported by THR, 2025"s Thunderbolts* was the first of many upcoming Marvel films that fit this format. In delaying Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, Marvel has further outlined its commitment to that.
Like Follow Followed Avengers: Secret Wars Not Yet Rated Superhero Action Adventure Release Date May 7, 2027 Director Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Cast See All 
Pedro Pascal Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic 
Vanessa Kirby Sue Storm / Invisible Woman 
Joseph Quinn Johnny Storm / Human Torch 
Ebon Moss-Bachrach Ben Grimm / The Thing Powered by
Expand Collapse Rather than have two MCU movies within two months of each other in 2026, given Spider-Man: Brand New Day"s release date of July 2026, the post-2025 release schedule looks much less quantity-focused for Marvel. Spider-Man 4 will be the only MCU movie of that year, allowing a year gap between that and 2025"s The Fantastic Four: First Steps on one side and a 15-month gap between that and Avengers: Doomsday on the other. With no other MCU movies confirmed for 2027 either, Avengers: Secret Wars remains the singular focus (for now).2 Disney Avoids A Conflict Between Marvel & Star Wars Both Franchises Can Coexist Happily
Image via Disney+ One of the factors that contributed specifically to Avengers: Doomsday"s delay is beneficial to Disney as a whole. If the movie was released on May 1, 2026, as was the initial plan, it would clash with another of Disney"s big franchise properties set to release on May 22 of that year: The Mandalorian and Grogu. The last time a Star Wars and MCU movie went head-to-head at the box office was in May 2018, with Solo: A Star Wars Story becoming an infamous flop when faced up against Avengers: Infinity War.The Mandalorian & Grogu can be released happily in May 2026 knowing its sister franchise will not burden it at all...
When Marvel Studios announced Doomsday"s May 2026 release, many feared the worst for The Mandalorian and Grogu. Now, though, there is no issue. The Mandalorian & Grogu can be released happily in May 2026 knowing its sister franchise will not burden it at all. Seven months later, Avengers: Doomsday can do the same, resolving any potential conflict that would have arisen if the MCU movie had not been delayed.
1 The Avengers Delays Will Give Marvel More Time To Polish The Scripts Which May Or May Not Be Finished
The final major reason that explains why Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were delayed links to the scripts of both films. When the former began shooting in April 2025, several reports claimed that the script for the film had not yet been finalized. This was supported by several actors cast in Avengers: Doomsday, such as those involved in Thunderbolts*, insisting they had not yet read a full script despite shooting beginning.If this is the case for Avengers: Doomsday, which is currently filming, it must mean Avengers: Secret Wars" script is not even close to being finished. This could cause issues with those on set not having a clear, defined vision for the film"s story, as well as actors who need to prepare for their roles. That said, now that both films have been delayed, there is a much better chance of Marvel ironing out the kinks of both scripts and allowing Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars to have much more streamlined production processes.
Like Follow Followed Avengers: Doomsday Superhero Adventure Action Sci-Fi Release Date May 1, 2026 Director Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Writers Stephen McFeely, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee Cast See All 
Chris Hemsworth Thor Vanessa Kirby Sue Storm / Invisible Woman Joseph Quinn Johnny Storm / Human Torch Ebon Moss-Bachrach Ben Grimm / The Thing Powered by
Expand Collapse
