Avengers Secret Wars: Release date, theories, director rumors, & more

Secret Wars will be the sixth Avengers movie, and much of Phase Five and Phase Six will build toward this monumental crossover event.

There are many upcoming Marvel movies, including The Fantastic Four, Blade, and Avengers 5. But so much is riding on Avengers 6.

This is the biggy, and it’s rumored to be the collision point of the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic 4 teams.

Here’s what comic storylines might make it into the MCU movie, as well as which heroes and villains it might feature.

Avengers Secret Wars release date

The Avengers Secret Wars release date is May 7, 2027.

Marvel Comics

It was originally May 1, 2026, but this was pushed back by Disney in June 2023 amid major changes to its new movies.

It will be the second of two Avengers films in Phase 6, after Avengers 5.

What could the plot be?

No synopsis has been shared, but Secret Wars should adapt the comic book event of the same name. Loki and Doctor Strange 2 scribe Michael Waldron is writing it.

Marvel Comics

The MCU has five different comic book storylines they could lean on for this big-screen adaptation: the original crossover that ran between 1984 and 1985; the sequel, Secret Wars II; 2004’s Secret War, which isn’t connected to the first story whatsoever; there’s Beyond, a successor to the original series; and there’s also the 2015 Secret Wars event.

We’re not going to go into a lot of detail, but we’ll explain the original Secret Wars, as elements of that will likely make it into the movie adaptation.

Secret Wars comics explained

In Secret Wars, a cosmic entity known as the Beyonder transports Earth’s mightiest heroes and villains to Battleworld, a planet created for one purpose: to let them fight.

Marvel Comics

“I am from beyond! Slay your enemies and all that you desire shall be yours! Nothing you dream of is impossible for me to accomplish,” the Beyonder tells all those he kidnapped.

Spider-Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Iron Man, She-Hulk, Thor, the Wasp, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men all appear.

There’s a wide assortment of supervillains too, but two are the most notable: Kang the Conqueror and Doctor Doom.

Given Secret Wars follows on from The Kang Dynasty in the comics, it’s reasonable to suspect Avengers 5 will end on the cliffhanger of everyone being transported to Battleworld, as all hope seems lost. But this could all change if Marvel decides to scrap Kang altogether.

If Marvel goes the Doom route, the 2015 story is best suited for an adaptation. In that, after incursions bring the multiverse crashing in on itself (just like we saw beginning to happen in Doctor Strange 2), only one timeline remains and it’s ruled by Doom.

Led by Reed Richards, the surviving heroes from different dimensions come to their senses and destroy Doom’s kingdom. It’s an epic story that would allow MCU characters new and old to shine.

Is there a trailer?

No, there isn’t a trailer for Avengers Secret Wars yet.

As the movie has yet to enter production, we’ll be waiting a while for any footage.

Who could direct it?

According to Deadline, the Russos are in early talks to direct Avengers 5 and Secret Wars.

Some fans think Marvel are cowards if they bring back the Russo Brothers. But many feel the Russos’ reliability makes them the perfect candidates. They directed Infinity War and Endgame, two of the best MCU movies to date.

Is Robert Downey Jr. playing Doctor Doom?

Doctor Doom is the main big bad associated with Secret Wars, and on July 18, 2024, scooper Jeff Sneider claimed Robert Downey Jr. was in talks to play him. Take that with a pinch of salt.

He wrote, “Speaking of Doctor Doom, there’s still no word yet about his casting in Fantastic Four, as insiders denied my inquiry about Robert Downey Jr., who I was told might come back as an alternate-universe Tony Stark who becomes Doctor Doom instead of Iron Man.

It seems far-fetched, yes, but I figured that if there was any hope of Downey coming back, there’d have to be a new wrinkle for him to play. So, for now, we continue to wait.”

For more, check out who’s playing Lady Deadpool, Spider-Man 4, and the Deadpool 3 release date.