Avengers: Doomsday release date marks the end of a 13-year MCU tradition

Avengers: Doomsday is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who mark their return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) after 2019's Endgame. The 39th MCU film is slated to be released on December 18, 2026. The Russos have also produced it with Kevin Feige, while Stephen McFeely and Michael Waldron are the writers.

The film was originally scheduled to be released in May 2026, and its new release date was announced recently. Besides that, Secret Wars release date has also been pushed. This will end a tradition in the MCU that was going on for 13 years. Let's find out.

Avengers: Doomsday ends an MCU tradition

Avengers: Doomsday was supposed to drop on May 1, 2026, but it's now been pushed to December 18, 2026. Several other projects of the MCU have also been pushed to different dates. This will make Doomsday the first Marvel film in 13 years to not release in May. This tradition started in 2012 with The Avengers, which came out in May, and every other project has been following the same release month. Even the recent title of Thunderbolts* came out in May. Spider-Man: No Way Home has so far been the only film in the MCU to have a December release.

While Marvel Studios has not revealed the reason behind this delay, it is expected to work in their favor. This is because the studio will get more time to refine the script and the visual effects, among other things. The MCU has gone through a rough patch commercially as well as critically with its projects post-Endgame. So the Studio is aware of the cost of rushing through a film.

Avengers: Doomsday will follow different superhero groups joining hands to fight Doctor Doom. The role is played by Robert Downey Jr, and it was revealed at the 2024 Comic-Con. He previously played Tony Stark/Iron Man who died after stopping Thanos. Fans are reportedly excited to see how the makers will justify the same actor reappearing as the antagonist. The film features several actors reprising their superhero roles, including,

Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson aka Captain America
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes
Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm or Invisible Woman
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man/Scott Lang
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Robert Downey Jr. as Victor von Doom aka Iron Man
Channing Tatum as Gambit
Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto
Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier aka Professor X

Joe Russo, in one of his interviews, stated that it was Kevin Feige's idea to bring RDJ as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. He said,

“Interestingly enough about that, that conversation was had a while ago. Robert [Downey Jr] tried to talk us into doing it and we said, ‘No.’ We just didn't have a story. We didn't have a way in, right? We were resistant for a while and then one day [Endgame writer] Steve McFeely, who's one of our key collaborators, said, ‘I have an idea.’ And we went, ‘That’s the story. That story has to be told. It's a really powerful story.’”