May 2026 was going to kick-off the next phase of the Marvel cinematic universe with the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. Not anymore. Avengers: Doomsday has been delayed along with Secret Wars. Grand Theft Auto 6 will now have the month (mostly) to itself, assuming it doesn’t get delayed again as well.
Marvel pushed both of its upcoming blockbusters back by seven months. Avengers: Doomsday will now arrive on December 18, 2026, followed the next year by Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027. Anonymous sources told Deadline the reason for the delay came down to both movies’ massive scope and ambition. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still arriving in July of next year.
Both Avengers movies are directed by the Russo Brothers, with Doomsday featuring cameos from the cast of the 2000s X-Men movies. At the same time, rewrites and reshoots have definitely hamstrung some movies in the MCU. I’m sure the Captain America: Brave New World team would love a mulligan, though there’s no evidence that’s the case here.
We still have no real idea what this next phase of the MCU will revolve around, other than Disney seemingly going back to the well and trying to resurrect the franchise’s earlier magic. Are fans burnt out or just waiting for the right alchemy to reignite interest in the Avengers?
One thing Doomsday won’t have to contend with now is the launch of GTA 6, scheduled for May 26, 2026 which is being heralded by Take-Two’s CEO as the biggest entertainment launch ever. The Mandalorian & Grogu will still be facing the full brunt of that a week after its May 22 debut. One thing the Star Wars spin-off can rest assured of is that no other major video games will be releasing around it that month.
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