Everything We Know
In theaters December 18, 2026.
Our running guide to the next Avengers film — updated as news is confirmed. Everything here comes from official announcements or on-the-record reporting. Speculation is labeled as speculation.
Last updated: July 26, 2026
The essentials
| Release date | December 18, 2026 |
| Directors | The Russo Brothers |
| Studio | Marvel Studios |
| Trailer | Released July 20, 2026 |
| Follow-up | Avengers: Secret Wars (December 2027) |
The story so far
The trailer, released in July, centers on Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom and establishes the film’s premise: heroes drawn from three distinct universes — the MCU, the Fantastic Four’s dimension, and the X-Men’s world — facing an existential threat born of Incursions.
Marvel screened exclusive additional footage at San Diego Comic-Con focused on the rivalry between Doom and Reed Richards, narrated by Sue Storm. That footage has not been released publicly, and we’d treat any recording circulating from the room with skepticism.
Confirmed cast
Returning: Robert Downey Jr. (Doctor Doom) · Chris Evans (Steve Rogers) · Pedro Pascal · Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter) · Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm) · Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova) · Channing Tatum (Gambit) · James Marsden (Cyclops) · Anthony Mackie (Captain America) · Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
Marvel brought much of the cast onstage at its Hall H panel — the studio’s first Comic-Con presentation since 2024.
Everything Marvel announced at Hall H →
Peggy Carter is back
Hayley Atwell returns as Peggy Carter, appearing opposite Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers. Confirmed at Marvel’s Hall H panel.
Chris Evans took eight years to say yes
Evans revealed that Marvel pitched him a Steve Rogers as Nomad film over dinner right after Endgame wrapped in 2018 — and he turned it down, along with roughly a dozen further pitches across eight years.
What changed his mind was a rumor that Robert Downey Jr. was talking to Marvel: “All of a sudden, it felt right.”
The Latverian Witch mystery
Marvel displayed an official production costume at Comic-Con labeled the “Latverian Witch” — green robes, hooded cloak, silver mask — and said nothing about who wears it. No casting is attached and no character name has been given.
The leading fan theory points to Wanda Maximoff, based on Avengers: The Children’s Crusade (2010), in which a memory-wiped Wanda is found living in Latveria at Doom’s side. That remains speculation. Marvel’s Hall H panel came and went without an answer.
Our full breakdown, including our own photos of the display →
Deadpool showed up (an appearance, not a casting)
Ryan Reynolds made a surprise appearance at Hall H in a grey Deadpool suit while the Doomsday cast was onstage, asking why Thor was crying in Deadpool & Wolverine and joking about when the film starts shooting.
To be precise: Marvel presented an appearance, not a casting announcement. No Doomsday role for Deadpool has been confirmed.
What Doomsday means for the MCU
Kevin Feige has framed Doomsday and Secret Wars as leading into a “reset,” not a reboot — consolidating the MCU into a single streamlined timeline. In his words: “Endgame, literally, was about endings. Secret Wars is about beginnings.”
Also on display at SDCC
Marvel’s booth showed a comic-accurate Sentinel head — the first official look at the mutant-hunting design in the film — alongside costumes for Captain America, Thor, Gambit, Cyclops, Yelena, and Sue Storm. The display shifted across the convention: the Latverian Witch alone, then Doctor Doom in her place, then both together on the final day. We photographed each stage.
What we’re still waiting on
- The Latverian Witch’s identity
- Whether Deadpool actually appears in the film
- A second trailer
- Confirmation of which X-Men and Fantastic Four characters carry into Secret Wars
Every Doomsday story we’ve published
- Everything Marvel announced at SDCC 2026
- The Latverian Witch costume, explained
- Chris Evans on the Nomad movie that almost happened
- Feige: Secret Wars will “reset,” not reboot, the MCU
- New ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Leak Appears to Back Up Major Doctor Strange Rumor
Avengers: Doomsday opens December 18, 2026. This page is updated as news is confirmed — bookmark it, or get The Wire weekly.