Avengers 5 is now called Avengers: Doomsday and introduces Doctor Doom to the MCU

Two years after the announcement Avengers 5 also known as The Kang Dynasty At the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige took the stage in Hall H at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con to announce a different take on the project. It is now called Avengers: Doomsday.

The revelation ends months of speculation that Marvel would not move forward with its original plans to bring back Kang, who previously appeared in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania And Loki Season 2, as the main villain of the next major Avengers installment. Last December, Marvel Studios parted ways with Kang actor Jonathan Majors after he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and harassment. While recasting the multiverse role and sticking with the original plans may have been on the table, Marvel ultimately decided to go in a different direction that would still move the ongoing mega-franchise forward next one Avengers movie, Secret Wars.

The Avengers announcements started with the Russo Brothers returning to direct the next two films. But that wasn’t the only familiar face for Marvel fans. Once the Endgame directors took the stage, they revealed that there would be another story to help Secret Wars and another character. With that teaser they announced the new title for Avengers 5 as Avengers: Doomsdayand the actor who plays Doctor Doom himself: Robert Downey Jr. The Iron Man actor, and still Marvel’s biggest star, returns to the MCU this time as a villain.

Despite having a spot on the release calendar for two years, Marvel never formally announced a director who would helm the film The Kang Dynasty. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton was in talks to direct, but ultimately stepped down to work on Marvel’s Wonderman. Quantum mania writer Jeff Loveness wrote the original version of the film, while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness And Loki Writer Michael Waldron is believed to have penned the most recent draft, but Marvel was unable to secure a name to helm the massive production at any point.

Avengers: Doomsday will be in theaters from May 1, 2026.

Here you’ll find all of Polygon’s SDCC 2024 coverage, including news, trailers, and more.