Marvel Studios still has plenty of work to do before Doomsday arrives.
Avengers: Doomsday is carrying unusually high expectations even by Marvel standards. The December blockbuster reunites directors Joe and Anthony Russo with a sprawling ensemble drawn from the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and New Avengers corners of the MCU.
Robert Downey Jr. is also back, this time playing Victor von Doom instead of Tony Stark. His casting has divided fans since Marvel revealed the move, particularly after Avengers: Endgame (2019) gave Iron Man one of the MCU's most definitive endings.
Marvel has nevertheless pushed ahead with Downey at the center of its next crossover. Chris Evans (Steve Rogers) is also returning, alongside Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova/Black Widow), Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier/Professor X), Ian McKellen (Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto), and dozens of other Marvel veterans.
Now, with fewer than four months remaining before its theatrical release, Doomsday is reportedly still undergoing substantial changes.
Marvel Is Still Reshooting ‘Avengers: Doomsday'
According to a new report, additional photography remains underway on Avengers: Doomsday, continuing a lengthy production process that has already generated plenty of speculation about what Marvel is changing behind the scenes.
Insider Daniel Richtman reported that the film is still conducting reshoots while Marvel prepares to begin principal photography on Avengers: Secret Wars toward the end of September. Marvel has not publicly confirmed the scope of the latest Doomsday reshoots.
Reshoots alone are nothing unusual for a Marvel movie. The bigger question is how much of Doomsday may ultimately disappear before audiences see the finished product.
The film's original assembly cut reportedly ran approximately three hours and 30 minutes. Marvel is now said to be aiming for something closer to two hours and 50 minutes, meaning roughly 40 minutes could be removed during post-production.
If those figures prove accurate, Marvel would be cutting approximately 19% of the movie's original reported runtime.
That does not necessarily mean 40 minutes of completed sequences will simply vanish. Assembly cuts routinely contain alternate takes, extended scenes, temporary material, and sequences filmmakers always expect to shorten as editing continues.
Still, the scale is notable considering just how many characters Doomsday needs to accommodate.
Marvel's confirmed cast spans multiple generations of the MCU, along with actors from Fox's previous X-Men movies and the recently introduced Fantastic Four. Disney describes the film as bringing heroes from three separate universes onto a collision course.
Reports of Editing Problems Follow a Complicated Production
The latest runtime claims also arrive after earlier reports suggested Marvel had encountered difficulties while assembling the movie.
In July, reports claimed the filmmakers were struggling to settle on the movie during post-production, with concerns reportedly emerging as footage was assembled. However, conflicting sources disputed the severity of those problems, and Marvel has never suggested publicly that Doomsday is in trouble.
Blockbusters of this size frequently change significantly between principal photography and release, particularly Marvel productions built around extensive visual effects, additional photography, and large ensembles.
Even so, Doomsday has faced scrutiny throughout its development.
Marvel originally announced its fifth Avengers movie as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty before dramatically changing direction. The studio subsequently brought back the Russos and Downey, effectively rebuilding its next two Avengers films around Doctor Doom and several characters associated with the MCU's most successful era.
For some fans, that has made Doomsday an exciting reunion. For others, the return of Downey, Evans, and numerous legacy X-Men actors has fueled criticism that Marvel is leaning heavily on familiar faces after spending years introducing a new generation of heroes.
Avengers: Doomsday remains scheduled to open exclusively in theaters on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars following in December 2027.
Are you excited for Avengers: Doomsday?
