It has been announced that the latest "Avengers" movie, "Avengers: Doomsday," produced by Marvel Studios, will be released simultaneously in Japan and the United States on December 18, 2026. Seven years after the previous film, "Avengers: Endgame," released in 2019, the movie depicts a "new beginning."
The directors are Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, aka the Russo Brothers, who directed "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018) and "Endgame." Stephen McFeely will once again be in charge of the screenplay. The Russo Brothers initially declined to return to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), but they resonated with McFeely's idea and decided to participate, saying, "This is the story we need to tell!"
It has been revealed that Robert Downey Jr., who retired from his role as Iron Man/Tony Stark in "Endgame," will return to the MCU as the scientist villain Doctor Doom. In March of this year, a total of 27 cast members scheduled to appear in "Doomsday" were announced in a live broadcast on Marvel Studios' social media. The five-and-a-half-hour broadcast began with a shot of only the director's chair, and recorded 275 million digital views. It became a global topic as the largest announcement event in MCU history.
Marvel's new film, "The Fantastic Four: The First Step," which opened on the 25th of this month, depicts the struggles of the first team of superheroes that laid the foundation for Marvel Comics, and it has been revealed that those characters will also make full appearances.
◇ Cast list (Titles omitted. Other than Doctor Doom, the names of the characters in the film have not yet been announced. The information in parentheses is about past and future appearances.)
Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Love and Thunder)
Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman in "Fantastic Four: The First Step")
Anthony Mackie (Captain America: Brave New World, Sam Wilson/Captain America)
Sebastian Stan (Bucky/Winter Soldier in "Thunderbolts")
Letitia Wright (Shuri, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever")
Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania")
Wyatt Russell (John Walker/US Agent in "Thunderbolts")
Tenoch Huerta Mejia (Namor in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever")
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing in "Fantastic Four: The First Step")
Simu Liu (role of Shang-Chi in "Shang-Chi / Legend of the Ten Rings")
Florence Pugh (Thunderbolts*, Elena)
Kelsey Grammer (Beast from Marvels)
Lewis Pullman (Bob/Sentry, "Thunderbolts")
Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres/Falcon in Captain America: Brave New World)
Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch in "Fantastic Four: The First Step")
David Harbour (Thunderbolts*) as Alexei/Red Guardian
Winston Duke (M'Baku in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever")
Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost in "Thunderbolts")
Tom Hiddleston (Loki in the "Loki" series)
Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier/Professor X in "X-Men")
Ian McKellan (Magneto in "X-Men")
Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler in "X-Men 2")
Rebecca Romijn (Mystique from "X-Men")
James Marsden (Cyclops from "X-Men")
Channing Tatum (Gambit from "Deadpool & Wolverine")
Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in "Fantastic Four: The First Step")
Robert Downey Jr. (Dr. Doom in "Avengers: Doomsday")
