May 2026 will see the release of Star Wars’ next movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, but that’s not the only Disney blockbuster that was set to hit theaters that month – at least, it originally wasn’t. The next chapter of The Mandalorian TV show’s story is heading to the big screen, making it the franchise’s first movie since 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Not long after it was announced, however, it was revealed that another Disney franchise would be sharing this release window.

Avengers: Doomsday, the first MCU movie to bring the Avengers together again since 2019’s Endgame, was announced at San Diego Comic Con 2024 – just 7 months after the announcement of The Mandalorian and Grogu movie – with a release date of May 1, 2026. With Star Wars’ next movie set to release on May 22nd of that same year, some fans, including myself, got nervous. The MCU is no small franchise, and Disney looks to be competing with itself. New rumors, however, have dispelled this worry for me.

The Mandalorian & Grogu May Not Have To Compete With Avengers: Doomsday

The Movie Could Reportedly Be Pushed Back

According to Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider, speaking on The H๏τ Mic podcast, Marvel may reportedly be preparing to push Avengers: Doomsday back at least a few months to their next slot, which is in November 2026. If this is true, then it likely has more to do with its own production process than anything else, but it makes me feel extremely relieved for The Mandalorian and Grogu – and, honestly, for Avengers: Doomsday, too. These movies deserve better than to compete with one another.

This Move Would Be Beneficial To Both Franchises (& To Pedro Pascal)

I Have No Idea How The Star Would Balance Both

If this is a move Marvel and thus Disney are still considering, then I think it’s worth urging them to indeed go through with pushing it back. It not only gives them more time to properly curate Avengers: Doomsday and to avoid rushing anywhere along the way, but it also avoids these two immensely popular and beloved franchises going head-to-head. The Mandalorian and Grogu and Avengers: Doomsday are too important to their respective franchises to end up canceling each other out somehow.

Hilariously enough, though also realistically, this move would also help the star of both these movies: Pedro Pascal. I can’t begin to imagine how difficult it would be for him to bounce between press for both these major Disney franchise movies at the same time, as he wouldn’t really be able to miss out on either. He’s the тιтular Mandalorian, Din Djarin, in The Mandalorian and Grogu, and Pascal’s Marvel hero, Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, is the nemesis of the тιтular villain of Avengers: Doomsday, Doctor Doom.

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All in all, then, it seems absolutely expeditious to give these movies some breathing room apart from one another. As a Star Wars fan whose favorite franchise media is The Mandalorian, I’m certainly biased in wanting The Mandalorian and Grogu to thrive in its own right and not be pushed further back, but it also makes the most sense. The Mandalorian and Grogu wrapped filming back in December, which means it will likely be prepared well in advance of its May 22, 2026 ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, whereas Avengers: Doomsday has yet to start filming.