The first announced Marvel’s Avengers: Secret Wars, based on a script penned by Michael Waldron, was canceled after Kang the Conqueror‘s storyline was completely scrapped. In the original ending of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Beyonder and Kang had created Battleworld by merging multiple timelines and realities. He ruled this new realm, Chronopolis, as its supreme leader.
The surviving heroes and Avengers, including Tobey Maguire‘s Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield‘s Spider-Man, Nicolas Cage‘s Ghost Rider, Deadpool, Wolverine, the Fantastic Four family, Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man, and Ms. Marvel, are imprisoned by Beyonder and Kang, who reveals that each of them has a “prime variant“—the greatest version of themselves in the entire Multiverse—with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man being the Prime Spider-Man destined to defeat Kang. Meanwhile, He Who Remains, a heroic Kang variant, and Doctor Strange rally the heroes in Battleworld to fight the Beyonder and reclaim the Nega-Bands and Ten Rings.
Robert Downey Jr. returns as Superior Iron Man from Earth-818, who conspires to steal the Beyonder’s powers for himself. Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson also reprise their roles as variants of Captain America and Black Widow in Battleworld.
Several pre-MCU actors would have returned, including Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Patrick Stewart, Nicolas Cage, Ian McKellen, and Miles Teller. Additionally, Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen from the Spider-Verse were also being considered.
Superior Iron Man ends up helping stop and kill Beyonder and Kang, absorbing their powers. Now possessing the powers of the Beyonder, Superior Iron Man betrays the Avengers and heroes. This sets up a climactic battle between the Chosen One (the strongest anchor being in the Multiverse), Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and Superior Iron Man.
Spider-Man and the heroes win, but the Multiverse is still collapsing. So, He Who Remains and the TVA merge all the dying universes into one, including the MCU, the X-Men universe, and the Fantastic Four universes.
The result is a soft reboot that establishes a new continuity where mutants have always existed, the Fantastic Four are the first family of heroes, and some MCU heroes are rebooted/recast.
The story culminates with He Who Remains policing the new Multiverse.
Marvel President Kevin Feige and Waldron initially wanted to split it into two films due to how sprawling the story is.
Following the termination of Jonathan Majors, who played Kang, his replacement caused the entire script to change. At the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios announced that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has been changed to Avengers: Doomsday, with Robert Downey Jr. playing the role of Doctor Doom and the Russo Brothers returning to direct the film from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely and Waldron.
Here’s the plot synopsis for Avengers: Doomsday, revealed by Disney China:
“Doctor Doom has officially arrived on the Marvel Cinematic Universe stage. This villain, a master of cutting-edge science and powerful magic, will unleash a cascading crisis across the multiverse. Marvel’s most iconic actor, Robert Downey Jr., also returns as Doctor Doom!”
Announced Cast for Avengers: Doomsday
- Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom
- Paul Rudd as Ant-Man
- Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
- Tom Hiddleston as Loki
- Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
- Danny Ramirez as Falcon
- Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes
- Winston Duke as M’Baku
- Chris Hemsworth as Thor
- Letitia Wright as Black Panther
- Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor
- Anthony Mackie as Captain America
- David Harbour as Red Guardian
- Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent
- Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost
- Lewis Pullman as Sentry
X-Men cast:
- Ian McKellen as Magneto
- Patrick Stewart as Professor X
- Rebecca Romijn as Mystique
- James Marsden as Cyclops
- Kelsey Grammer as Beast
- Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler
- Channing Tatum as Gambit
Fantastic Four cast:
- Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic)
- Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (Invisible Woman)
- Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (Human Torch)
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (The Thing)
Produced by Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, and Russo Brothers will produce through their AGBO banner.
Avengers: Doomsday will be released in theaters and IMAX across the United States on December 18, 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars is scheduled for release on December 17, 2027.
