In a sign that maybe both of these herculean-sized blockbusters will need more time to bake in the oven, Disney has delayed the release of both its upcoming ‘Avengers’ movies. Directed by the Russo Brothers “Avengers: Doomsday” has moved from May 5 to December 18, 2026, while “Avengers: Secret Wars” has pushed from May 5 to December 17, 2027.
Meanwhile, in a Thanos-like snap, three Marvel dates have vanished off the calendar completely. The place holder dates of February 13, 2026, November 6, 2026, and November 5, 2027, have all been removed from Disney’s calendar.
The November 2026 date was once thought to be where “Blade” would land, but that film’s been taken off the calendar indefinitely and put back into development.
The message seems clear, however, that Marvel Studios wants to focus on the upcoming “Avengers” films and not overcrowd your schedule.
But it will mean a scant 2026, only one Marvel/Disney film in “Doomsday” in December, and before that, Sony’s Marvel-produced “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” bon July 31.
Similarly, 2027 currently will only have two Marvel films, “Secret Wars” in December and an untitled, unrevealed film set for July 23, 2027.
Back to next year and the “Avengers” shifts, December 18 will be a crowded field as Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Messiah” is currently scheduled on the same day as is 20th Century Studios‘ “Ice Age 6.” The latter is owned by Disney, so expect that film to at least move off that date.
Disney also shared dates for upcoming 20th Century Studios films: Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic thriller “The Dog Stars,” starring Jacob Elordi will arrive March 27, 2026, and “The Devil Wears Prada 2” runs down the catwalk on May 1, 2026.
Additionally, there will be an IMAX/3D re-release of James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” on October 3, 2025, to get audiences pumped for “Avatar: Fire and Ash” on December 19, which easily could hit over $2 billion again.
So far, “Avengers: Doomsday” features Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Kelsey Grammer, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Joseph Quinn, David Harbour, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, and Robert Downey Jr. More actors are expected to join the film and or at least turn up in the sequel “Secret Wars.”
Aside from the COVID blip of 2020 and 2021, Marvel generally releases movies in May. A few outliers include “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” which came out in April of 2017, the two previous “Avengers” movies that came out a little early at the end of April, and last year’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” originally scheduled for May 2024, but eventually pushed back to July to make space for reshoots and editing.
But generally, the beginning of May is a big weekend frame for Marvel Studios and Disney. Nothing major has been slotted in those frames aside from the aforementioned “Devil Wears Prada 2,” but shifts like this are usually opportunities for other movie studios, so don’t be surprised if other rivals pounce and rethink their summer 2026 and summer 2027 schedules.
