2026 hasn’t been without its ups and downs for Marvel Studios, which is on top of the world right now at the box office thanks to its latest collaboration with Sony for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The fourth solo Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland recently swung past $2 billion at the global box office, and after becoming one of the five highest-grossing movies in history, it’s showing no signs of slowing down. Marvel looks to continue this box office success with its next release, Avengers: Doomsday, which is launching in theaters around the world later this year on December 18. Early ticket pre-sales for Doomsday have the film tracking to earn even more than Spider-Man: Brand New Day — it certainly helps that it’s the first Avengers movie since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
Around one year after the debut of Avengers: Doomsday will come its direct follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars. Marvel has already confirmed that there will be no movies between Doomsday and Secret Wars as the studio continues to strive towards a more quality-driven approach. Plot details about both Doomsday and Secret Wars are being kept under wraps for now, but news broke of the first new casting for the Doomsday follow-up this afternoon. It’s being reported that Noah Jupe, best known for his role as a young Marcus Abbott in the Quiet Place movies, has joined the cast of Avengers: Secret Wars in an undisclosed role. Jupe is only three years younger than Sadie Sink, who has been cast to play Jean Grey in Secret Wars and the MCU’s X-Men reboot film, so it’s possible that Jupe could be secretly in Marvel’s X-Men lineup. A more grown up Franklin Richards is also possible.
‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ Is Going Head-to-Head With the Lord of the Rings
Unless it’s subject to any further delays, Avengers: Secret Wars will hit theaters on December 17, 2027. At the time of writing, this is the same release date as The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, the first live-action Lord of the Rings movie since the final Hobbit film. Even Avengers: Doomsday later this year is going up against Dune: Part Three on December 18, so both films will have some serious competition at the box office. Marvel is in a league of its own when it comes to box office numbers, though, so it likely won’t struggle despite added competition.
via Collider