Avengers: Doomsday's New Release Date Breaks A 13-Year MCU Trend

Avengers: Doomsday has a new release date, and with it comes a break in a 13-year-old MCU trend. Originally slated for a May 2026 release, Avengers: Doomsday is one of two climactic movies to round out the Multiverse Saga, which began just four years ago with 2021’s WandaVision on Disney+. When it presumably concludes with Avengers: Secret Wars, it will have been shorter in its total time span than its predecessor, the Infinity Saga, which began in 2008 with Iron Man and concluded in 2019 with Spider-Man: Far From Home.

It will also boast fewer Avengers movies. Until Thunderbolts* was revealed to be The New Avengers, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were the only two announced Avengers movies of the Multiverse Saga. This has sparked a certain level of ire from franchise fans, who pin general criticisms about the Multiverse Saga on the general lack of Avengers movies that help to tie it together. This could also go some way to explaining why Marvel Studios has opted to significantly delay both tentpoles.

Marvel Delayed Avengers: Doomsday From May 2026 To December 2026

Avengers: Secret Wars Has Also Been Delayed

The original release date for Avengers: Doomsday was May 1, 2026, but has now been delayed to December 18, 2027. Likewise, Avengers: Secret Wars has been delayed from May 7, 2027, to December 17, 2027. This is a rather hefty delay of over seven months, and will now see Spider-Man: Brand New Day precede the release of Avengers: Doomsday while also being the first movie to follow The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Marvel also quietly removed three unnamed MCU projects from its release schedule on February 13, 2026, November 6, 2026, and November 5, 2027.

The two unnamed Marvel projects for November 2026 and 2027 have been changed to “Unтιтled Disney” projects.

The reason for the delay of Avengers: Doomsday remains unclear at this point. Nevertheless, the extended time period in which to develop Avengers: Doomsday means that the studio can spend more time polishing important aspects of the movie, from the script to the CGI. It additionally falls in line with Disney’s new “quality over quanтιтy” ethos for the MCU, as 2026 will now be populated by just two MCU movies, with an entire year separating the last MCU movie of 2025 and the first of 2026.

Avengers: Doomsday Will Be The First Avengers Movie To Not Release In May

Even The New Avengers Stuck To This Trend

Whatever the precise reasons behind the Avengers: Doomsday delay, it will make it distinct from every other Avengers movie that came before. Ever since 2012 with The Avengers, every Avengers movie has been released in May, a largely coveted slot for summer blockbusters that typically kick off the summer season. This even continued with this year’s Thunderbolts*, which was revealed to be an origin movie for the New Avengers and released on May 1, 2025.

Incidentally, the performance of Thunderbolts* may be another reason that spurred Marvel Studios’ change in tactics. Despite the swift change of name in marketing materials from Thunderbolts* to The New Avengers, the movie looks like it will struggle to break $400million worldwide and may ultimately track behind Captain America: Brave New World, which grossed $413 million but has been far less well-received than the critically acclaimed Thunderbolts*. Evidently, Marvel Studios wants to ensure Avengers: Doomsday has the best chance possible at being a success, and moving its release to December may be a particularly shrewd move.

Why December Could Be A Great Time To Release Avengers: Doomsday

Some Of The Highest-Grossing Movies Of All Time Were Released In December

Although the Avengers movies remain the MCU’s most successful franchise, with the $2.8 billion earned by Avengers: Endgame providing an almost impossible bar for other MCU installments to clear, December is still an appealing month to release movies. The MCU’s third-highest-grossing movie, Spider-Man: No Way Home, was released on December 15, 2021, and banked nearly $2 billion for the franchise. In fact, Spider-Man: No Way Home is the only MCU movie to be released in December, making Avengers: Doomsday even more unique among MCU productions.

Whether the atypical move pays off for Marvel Studios remains to be seen, though a little extra time to develop both it and Avengers: Secret Wars is a positive sign.

Furthermore, the current highest-grossing movie of all time, Avatar, was released in December, as was its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, which is currently the third-highest-grossing movie of all time. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is another $2 billion movie that was released in December. This all shows that a family-friendly movie like Avengers: Doomsday can benefit mᴀssively from the holiday period. Whether the atypical move pays off for Marvel Studios remains to be seen, though a little extra time to develop both it and Avengers: Secret Wars is a positive sign.