Daily News for Marvel Movie

Summary

• Kang the Conqueror will be replaced by Doctor Doom in the MCU, set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars.
• Robert Downey Jr will play Doctor Doom in the two upcoming Avengers films.
• Doctor Doom will likely reshape the multiverse and create Battleworld, setting the stage for a comic book-accurate Secret Wars.

Marvel's plans for Avengers: Secret Wars and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been confirmed, and that means the film's major villain theory is now finally coming true. The Multiverse Saga is going through some significant changes. Avengers: Secret Wars' story is unlikely to feature Kang the Conqueror and his variants in any shape or form. The character had been first established in Disney+'s Loki, which introduced Jonathan Majors as the Kang variant known as He Who Remains. Then, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania introduced Majors' Kang the Conqueror, the prime version of the villain.
Though it looked like Kang died at the end of the movie, it was expected that he would return for the then-announced Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars, with the multiversal Council of Kangs appearing in one of both movies. However, due to Kang actor Jonathan Majors' arrest on assault and harassment charges, Marvel decided to part ways with the star. The studio recently had a major panel at San Diego Comic-Con's Hall H, where Screen Rant was in attendance, and revealed which Marvel villain and actor would take over Kang's place in the MCU.
Related Every Upcoming Marvel Movie: Full MCU Phase 5 & 6 List (& Beyond) Between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment, here is every upcoming Marvel movie release date and what we know about the projects so far.
1 Marvel Confirmed Doctor Doom For Avengers: Secret Wars Robert Downey Jr. Returns To The MCU Close While Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige made no mention of Kang the Conqueror, his variants, or Majors, the Marvel panel announced that a new villain is coming to the MCU, with a familiar face playing the character. Robert Downey Jr. will play Doctor Doom. Downey walked onto the Hall H stage in full Doom costume, taking his place next to another returning set of important MCU players. The Russo Brothers, who directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier & Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame, will helm Marvel's upcoming two movies for Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will no longer be the name of the next movie of the MCU's most popular team. Instead, 2026 will see the release of Avengers: Doomsday, starring Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. While it was not outright said Doom would also be the main villain of Avengers: Secret Wars, the Russo Brothers commented on how they needed a movie to introduce one of the more entertaining characters in all of fiction — Doctor Doom — before getting to Secret Wars. As such, any role Kang and his variants were to have in the movie will now fall to Doom.
Related Robert Downey Jr's MCU Return Role Is Marvel's Best Kang Replacement Avengers 5 will reportedly leave Kang the Conqueror behind, and Robert Downey Jr."s rumored MCU twist return could lead to the best Kang replacement.
Doctor Doom Was Heavily Theorized To Be The Avengers 6 Villain Even When Kang The Conqueror Was Around Close The reveal that Doctor Doom is coming to the MCU ends several months of speculation on who would replace Kang the Conqueror. However, even before Majors' situation shifted, there were already many theories about how Doom could play a role in Avengers: Secret Wars. The reason for that is the major role Victor von Doom plays in the event in Marvel Comics, serving as its main villain. While Kang the Conqueror might have had that role in the MCU's version of Secret Wars initially, there were those who still believed Marvel was planning a surprise reveal.
The twist in question would be that Marvel's plan hinged on Kang being the main foe of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, as the film's name made it clear, and then Doctor Doom shockingly be revealed as the main threat of Avengers: Secret Wars. Among the theories were those that claimed Doom would appear and kill all Kangs, while others thought the Avengers would defeat Majors' Kang and the Council of Kangs in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, only for Doctor Doom to appear at the end of the movie and create Battleworld. Now, those replacement theories are right. Doom is here.
Related How Robert Downey Jr Can Return As Doctor Doom Marvel Studios has shockingly revealed that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU…as Doctor Doom! Here"s how it can work.
2 How Doctor Doom Can Fit Into Marvel's Secret Wars Movie The Comics Show The Path Forward Close Avengers: Secret Wars should follow the same guidelines established for the event in the comics. That is to say that the movie will be all about dealing with incursions and what the multiverse has to offer. The comic book event has enough story to be divided into two movies, and it would fit perfectly with 2026's Avengers: Doomsday ending on the creation of Battleworld. That world is made up of several different locations from destroyed universes patched together into one by Doctor Doom when he decides to reshape the multiverse to his image.
With Downey Jr. back in the MCU, Avengers: Doomsday is very likely to end with Doom winning. That would allow the next two Avengers movies to use the Russo Brothers' successful formula from Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Avengers: Doomsday could see the villain kill some important MCU heroes and reshape the multiverse, leading to the creation of Battleworld and a superior form for Doom in Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel Studios also confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con that the Fantastic Four will appear in both upcoming Avengers films, teasing a comic book-accurate story.
Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards and other MCU and multiverse heroes would have to find each other in Battleworld and defeat RDJ's Doom.
There is a perfect way for Doctor Doom to come into the MCU and for Marvel to still use Kang and his variants. Doom got his reality-shaping powers from the Beyonders in the comics. Kang and his variants could take their place in the MCU, with Doom stealing all their power and multiverse knowledge. Avengers: Secret Wars could present the fully realized God Emperor Doom, with Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom ruling over Battleworld with an iron fist. Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards and other MCU and multiverse heroes would have to find each other in Battleworld and defeat RDJ's Doom.
Related Marvel Just Confirmed A Key Secret Wars Element & I've Worked Out What It Means For Avengers 6 Marvel Studios seems to be introducing an organization to the MCU that I think will be crucial to the storyline of Phase 6"s Avengers: Secret Wars.
Why Marvel Is Bringing Back Robert Downey Jr. As Doctor Doom There Are A Few Key Reasons Close Robert Downey Jr.'s MCU return rumors had been growing stronger in the past few months, with the actor revealing that he was open to playing Iron Man again and whispers of Downey giving life to Doctor Doom taking form. Now that it has been announced, RDJ's return will impact the MCU's overall story and characters greatly. The Avengers and other heroes who knew Iron Man will have to go up against a villain who bears his face, which is sure to lead to some emotional moments for meetings between Doom and characters like Tom Holland's Spider-Man.
Related Marvel, Hasn't Tom Holland's Spider-Man Suffered Enough? It looks like Tom Holland"s Spider-Man will suffer even more than he has in two years, thanks to Marvel Studios" latest major announcement.
While Downey's return to the MCU as Doom is interesting, it is hard to ignore some of the real-life reasons that contributed to the MCU's decision to bring back RDJ. After Downey left in Avengers: Endgame, the MCU entered its most criticized era. Marvel is now trying to course-correct after some major failures, and bringing back the most popular actor in the whole franchise seems like the easiest possible choice to make the next two Avengers movies the successes they have to be. Either way, Downey's presence makes Avengers: Secret Wars even more exciting.
Avengers: Secret Wars Avengers: Secret Wars is the sixth Avengers film and takes place during phase six of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. The film will see several heroes from the prior phases return and battle against a cosmic threat to rival Thanos, and borrows elements of the Marvel Comics event of the same name.
Release Date May 7, 2027 Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe Upcoming Marvel Movies
Release Date
Captain America: Brave New World
February 14, 2025
Thunderbolts*
May 2, 2025
The Fantastic Four : First Steps
July 25, 2025
Blade
November 7, 2025
Avengers: Doomsday
May 1, 2026
Avengers: Secret Wars
May 7, 2027