Avengers: Secret Wars Release Date, Cast, Directors, Writer, And More Details

Since the end of the Infinity Saga, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been anxious to see whether Kevin Feige will manage to top the epic tale he and a litany of talented writers and directors told over the course of a decade. Through dozens of interconnected films, they created not only the most successful film franchise of all time but also a culture-defining movement that — for better or for worse — dramatically changed the landscape of contemporary filmmaking.

Now, halfway through its Multiverse Saga, another major finale is quickly creeping up on Marvel Studios. As Feige and co. prepare for the momentous "Fantastic Four" reboot and court writers for the impending onslaught of "X-Men" stories, two new "Avengers" films are on the horizon. With the climactic "Avengers: Secret Wars" poised to be even bigger than "Avengers: Endgame," we can only wait with bated breath as details continue to unfold.

"Avengers: Secret Wars" has had a bumpy road to the screen. When Kevin Feige first announced the film at the 2022's San Diego Comic-Con, the sixth "Avengers" film was slated to debut on November 7, 2025 — mere months after its direct predecessor (formerly titled "The Kang Dynasty," now called "Doomsday") would've hit theaters. Later that year, however, Marvel Studios announced it would be pushing "Secret Wars" out to May 1, 2026, giving a full year of space between the "Avengers" installments. 

Of course, that didn't pan out either, with a third and final delay being largely attributed to the Writers Guild of America strike. Of course, the WGA strike is all done now, so when will the "Avengers" action light up theaters? Well, "Avengers: Doomsday" will unleash its magic on May 1, 2026. The Multiverse Saga will then conclude with the epic climax of "Avengers: Secret Wars" on May 7, 2027. 

"Avengers: Secret Wars" is beginning to take shape, although it'll look a lot different than it was originally conceived. Kang — the character portrayed by Jonathan Majors — has seemingly been removed from the Multiverse Saga. The time-traveling conqueror was originally going to be the big bad of this new era of Marvel storytelling, but after Majors was found guilty of assault and harassment, Marvel Studios dropped the actor and has pivoted in a very different direction.

Now, the new villain of the Multiverse Saga will be none other than Doctor Doom, the Latverian scientist/sorcerer/dictator who's long plagued the heroes of Marvel Comics. And in a shocking twist, Doom will be portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man himself. Granted, this is definitely stunt casting, a shot in the arm to revive the lagging MCU. It's also pretty exciting, seeing the man who brought Tony Stark to life put on a new mask and bring that Oscar-winning gravitas to one of Marvel's biggest baddies in both "Doomsday" and "Secret Wars."

As for the rest of the cast, one actor may have accidentally revealed he's reprising his iconic role. In a June 2024 interview with Netflix, Benedict Cumberbatch was discussing some of his classic characters, including Doctor Strange. While talking about the Master of the Mystic Arts, Cumberbatch said, "I'm very much looking forward to 'Avengers' next year, which is cooking up a storm." So yeah, that's about as official as it gets without Marvel straight-up confirming it. The studio has confirmed, however, that the Fantastic Four will be key characters in both "Doomsday" and "Secret Wars," which means Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will reprise their parts as Marvel's first family.

Back in November 2023, Jeff Sneider of The InSneider reported that Kevin Feige was looking for one director to tackle both "Secret Wars" and the formerly titled "Kang Dynasty," now called "Doomsday." Fans and scoopers have wondered if maybe Ryan Coogler, Sam Raimi, or Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead might bring the Multiverse Saga in for a landing. For a moment there, Destin Daniel Cretton seemed like a possibility as he was attached to "Avengers 5" before walking from the project. So who will put a bow on the multiversal show?

Well, in July 2024, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Marvel was going back to the billion-dollar well and bringing back the two big names who helped make box office history. Yep, THR said that Joe and Anthony Russo will direct both the fifth and sixth "Avengers" movie, which Marvel officially confirmed at 2024's San Diego Comic-Con. These two previously helmed "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Avengers: Endgame," the second highest-grossing movie of all time. Since their stint with Marvel, they've struggled a bit with titles like "Cherry" and "The Gray Man," but the Russos seem to excel as a part of the Marvel machine, and here's hoping they can inject a little life into the struggling MCU.

In October 2022, it was reported that Michael Waldron would be penning the script for "Secret Wars." The film and television writer became a major player in the MCU during the post-Infinity Saga era, creating and executive producing the Disney+ series "Loki" and writing "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness."

However, it's since been reported that Waldron has left the project, so who will step into his very big shoes? Well, speaking on The Hot Mic podcast in July 2024, Hollywood scooper Jeff Sneider reported that a prominent MCU screenwriter would be penning the script — either Christopher Markus or Stephen McFeely. Then at 2024's San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel revealed that McFeely would be the would be writing both "Doomsday" and "Secret Wars."

Markus and McFeely are probably the most important screenwriters in Marvel history. They penned the first three "Captain America" movies, "Thor: The Dark World," and both "Infinity War" and "Endgame." And even though he's going solo, we're sure that McFeely will be able to crack the code of "Avengers 5" and "6."

Though there are two Marvel Comics storylines that bear the title "Secret Wars," the upcoming "Avengers" film will most likely take its primary inspiration from the more recent iteration, released from 2015 to 2016. The plot of this "Secret Wars," led by prolific Marvel Comics writer Jonathan Hickman, revolves around an Incursion — a super-apocalyptic multiversal phenomenon in which two universes collide with and destroy one another — between the mainstream Earth-616 universe and the waning Earth-1610 (home of Miles Morales).

It would be impossible to summarize the entire sprawling narrative of "Secret Wars" here, but what's most important to note for our purposes is that it serves as the finale of Hickman's run on "Fantastic Four," with Reed Richards and Doctor Doom arguably taking the roles of protagonist and antagonist. And since we know for a fact that both the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom will factor into the upcoming "Avengers" films, it definitely seems like "Doomsday" and "Secret Wars" are paying homage to Hickman's creation.

Of course, "Secret Wars" will take place within the MCU, bringing to a close both Phase Six and the larger Multiverse Saga as a whole (which began in 2021 with the Disney+ series "WandaVision"). So far, the cast is composed entirely of characters who debuted in previous MCU projects, some of whom may assemble for the last time with this crossover depending on the terms of actors' contracts and/or the natural progression of the characters' storylines. Given the saga-ending prestige that "Secret Wars" holds, there's even a chance that already-departed characters like Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) could appear.

There has also been some speculation that "Secret Wars" will end the MCU as fans know it, softly rebooting the franchise altogether to sustain its longevity. While promoting her book "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios," author Joanna Robinson claimed to have a quote from Kevin Feige implying that he will use the end of the Multiverse Saga to make major alterations to the MCU's continuity — some of which could hypothetically allow the return (and recasting) of key Marvel characters like Iron Man.

With "Secret Wars" aiming to be an "Endgame"-level event film, there will undoubtedly be some fans who will want to prepare by watching the entire MCU canon — at least, until they realize the time commitment required to do so. We're talking countless hours of both movies and Disney+ series that will be required to understand every little thing happening in the Multiverse Saga's big conclusion. But oddly enough, the one good thing about the arguably scattershot nature of Phases Four and Five is that there are already plenty of titles you can skip while pregaming for "Secret Wars." 

If you're just wanting the most important details to get what's going on, a must-watch list of films includes "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," and if any mutants show up, you'll need to check out "Deadpool & Wolverine." Of course, both "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" and "Avengers 5" will be crucial in the lead-up. Meanwhile, of all the many Disney+ Marvel series, "Loki" and "What If...?" seem most relevant to "Secret Wars."

If you want to be thorough, you could also revisit more isolated projects that feature prominent characters in the future MCU, including "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "Black Widow," "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," "Hawkeye," "Ms. Marvel," "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," "The Marvels," "Captain America: Brave New World," "Thunderbolts," and "Ironheart."

Fortunately, finding a platform on which to watch these films and TV shows is infinitely easier than finding the time to do so. Every title listed above can be found on Disney+ (at least for fans located in the United States — those residing abroad may have to look toward Hulu or various region-specific streamers). Yes, even "Deadpool 3" should be available on Disney+, since the first two films, along with all three non-MCU "Fantastic Four" films and half of the "X-Men" movies, were finally added to the streamer years after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox.

And while you previously had to go outside the virtual House of Mouse to watch Sony's Marvel films, a whole bunch of "Spider-Man" movies and "Venom" have come to Disney+ as well, including "Spider-Man: Homecoming." By the time "Secret Wars" hits theaters, it wouldn't be at all surprising if every MCU film — and perhaps every Marvel film period — were available on the streamer, but for now, fans can rest assured that barring some unforeseen studio shake-up, at least every film owned solely by Marvel Studios and Walt Disney will be on Disney+.