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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is gearing up for its next big era of its franchise as its Phase Six will officially begin this summer with the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.
Following the release of The Fantastic Four in July, the next scheduled film on the MCU’s slate is Avengers: Doomsday, which is ramping up production in England ahead of its May 1, 2026 release date.
Speaking ahead of the premiere of their new Netflix film The Electric State (which, despite having its premiere on Monday night and releasing in a few weeks, did not lift its review embargo — never a promising sign), Joe and Anthony Russo — brought back into the MCU fold after helming Captain America 2 & 3, Infinity War, and Endgame — teased that the film is “very radical” and will challenge audience.
Obviously, the headline of Doomsday is that Robert Downey Jr., whose performance as Tony Stark/Iron Man served as the foundation of the MCU, has been cast as Doctor Doom in a move that many fans saw as desperation.
“I think these movies are gonna be a surprise to people. We found a way into the story that’s very exciting to us, but, we think, very radical, and I think it’s gonna challenge audiences,” the pair told The Hollywood Reporter the premiere of The Electric State.
Avengers: Doomsday is basically make or break for Marvel Studios: if it fails to cross a billion dollars, the franchise is well and truly over, and that will represent the culmination of its backslide since the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
Originally titled Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, the film was originally set to be directed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton and be a culmination of the multiverse saga anchored by Jonathan Majors’ villainous Kang the Conqueror. Major’s legal troubles resulted in his being fired by Marvel Studios, however, leading to the studio pivoting to Doctor Doom as its next big bad.