Summary
- Avengers: Doomsday may not be another Infinity War or Endgame, but rather akin to The Avengers in 2012.
- MCU lacks an essential team setup for the upcoming saga, potentially affecting the impact of Doomsday and Secret Wars.
- Secret Wars hinges on the presence of an Avengers team to create impactful crossovers and character interactions.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next big climactic event is closer than ever with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, but something’s off about the build-up to it. Looking back at the post-Endgame MCU era, the upcoming projects don’t seem like a franchise-wrapping finale but rather the beginning of one, much like what happened in 2012.
Right from the announcement of both films – back when Doomsday was still The Kang Dynasty – it was clear that Marvel Studios was trying to replicate the iconic two-part Avengers event of Infinity War and Endgame. The parallels were obvious, especially with Anthony and Joe Russo being hired to direct these films, just as they had done in Phase 3. To top it off, Robert Downey Jr.'s return as Doctor Doom has only added to the pressure and expectations from fans. But as things stand, perhaps fans are better off lowering their expectations, at least in terms of what these films could mean for the MCU's long run.
Avengers: Doomsday Is At Risk Of Becoming Oversaturated
Avengers: Doomsday could end up being oversaturated as an increasing number of characters are rumored to appear.
Is The MCU Rushing Towards Doomsday?
An Essential Team Setup Is Still Missing
Scheduled for release on May 1, 2026, Avengers: Doomsday is just three films away in the MCU, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. While it’s true that these three movies – Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four – will focus heavily on introducing new characters, teams, and storylines, they simply cannot build enough foundation for an Infinity War or Endgame-level event. It’s not set in stone that Doomsday and Secret Wars have to create the same level of impact as the previous two-part event, but it could influence how the movies (and the franchise as a whole) are perceived by audiences.
The MCU’s Multiverse Saga has seen more misses than hits. Even the films that worked, like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine, have relied too heavily on cameos and the crossover aspect of the multiverse rather than organic storytelling. Others, like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals, made their way into the franchise but were left completely ignored afterward. All the heroes and characters introduced have been memorable; there’s no question about that. But the pressing issue here is the lack of proper connections or interactions between them, and more importantly, no hint of a team dynamic.
Doomsday Isn’t Endgame, It’s The 2012 Avengers
Perhaps that’s why both the studio and the fans need to change their perception of Avengers: Doomsday and what to expect from it. It’s less likely to be another Infinity War or Endgame and more in line with Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. The whole cinematic universe aspect truly came into play only after the 2012 film, changing the game not just for Marvel but for all entertainment. While expecting that same level of impact would be unfair, it’s still reasonable to hope Doomsday borrows the team-building dynamic from that film.
The simple reason for this is that Phases 4 and 5 have not established a new Avengers team for this saga. It’s akin to skipping essential events like Age of Ultron or Civil War and jumping straight to Endgame. There’s still room for a new Avengers team to be introduced in the remaining films, like Thunderbolts* or Brave New World. And of course, Doctor Doom will make his debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, much like how Thanos was built up as the franchise’s ultimate villain.
Secret Wars Won’t Work Without An Avengers Team
After Doomsday and Spider-Man 4, Secret Wars is expected to take things even further by introducing X-Men heroes and more variants of existing MCU characters. But for it to truly work, we need a main Avengers team to go through it all: winning together, losing together, and growing as a team. That’s why it was so impactful when the Avengers met the Guardians of the Galaxy in Infinity War. Audiences spent enough time with both groups to actually care about their interactions.
Without this factor, Secret Wars wouldn’t be able to have the impact that Marvel Studios expects from its crossovers. At the same time, the Thunderbolts* movie is potentially the closest thing to the 2012 Avengers, in the sense that six characters will unite to face off against a villain. It’s also likely that the asterisk in the Thunderbolts* title means the group’s name could change to something like the Young Avengers or New Avengers, setting them up for Doomsday and Secret Wars.
MCU's New Heroes Feel Too Disconnected
It’s not just the fans or the studio. The Russo Brothers themselves have drawn a comparison between the upcoming Avengers films and their former magnum opus projects from 2018-19. Speaking to Collider at 2024’s New York Comic Con, the duo explained how their two endeavors are similar and what motivated them to return to the franchise:
The ambition is similar to Infinity War and Endgame. These are gonna be very, very big movies with a lot of characters in them and a lot of storylines coalescing, but we're very excited about the stories. That's why we came back because we felt like we had a really strong idea for what these movies should be, and we're really happy with how they're coming together right now.
The bottom line is that Marvel has a group of scattered new heroes who’ve barely interacted with each other. While it’s not compulsory to repeat the old templates that worked in the past, it’s still a cause for concern. The executives handled the Jonathan Majors and Kang situation cleverly by bringing back familiar names that helped build the franchise. But the risk of a scenario where the original six Avengers from the 2012 movie getting pitted straight away against someone like Thanos still looms large in Avengers: Doomsday.
Avengers: Doomsday
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- December 18, 2026
- Director
- Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- Writers
- Stephen McFeely, Michael Waldron, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee
- Cast
- Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Pedro Pascal, Hayley Atwell, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Mackie, Wyatt Russell, Tom Holland, Sebastian Stan, Kelsey Grammer, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Tenoch Huerta, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Channing Tatum
- Main Genre
- Superhero
