Avengers: Doomsday 2026 film leaks: Is Marvel running out of ideas or finally ready to save the battered MCU?

Marvel hit its cinematic peak with Avengers: Endgame. Since then, most of its offerings, from Thor: Love and Thunder and Eternals to a slew of TV shows (barring WandaVision), have largely faded into the background. The thread of complaint is the same: It’s all starting to feel like more of the same. Superhero fatigue is real, and fans are saying: enough already.

So, when news broke that Robert Downey Jr. was returning to the MCU ,  not as Iron Man, but as Doctor Doom, what should have been an exciting announcement instead sparked backlash. The overwhelming sentiment: Why can’t Marvel just let things be? Why not allow fans the space to actually miss something?

But rant over. Marvel clearly isn’t interested in stepping off the stage, and Avengers: Doomsday is grabbing all the headlines for now.

According to insider James Mack, quoted by News 18, the film kicks off with an epic face-off: Avengers,  Fantastic Four, X-Men and  Doctor Doom. That alone is enough to fuel fan theories for the next year, but wait — there’s more. “Shuri is the one who discovers the Incursions,” Mack says. “While detecting anomalies in the fabric of reality and investigating the multiverse, she realises that different universes are colliding with each other. Using a hologram (like in the Shang-Chi post-credits scene), she shares her findings with Sam, Wong, Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers, warning them about the imminent threat.”

Enter Doom mode. Apparently, the Fantastic Four’s grand arrival on Earth-616 happens while the Thunderbolts (now rebranded as the New Avengers?) are trying to figure out what is going on. Reed Richards drops a bomb: Doctor Doom has kidnapped his son, Franklin, and— Galactus tried to grab the kid too. Casual. “Bucky, unsure how to handle the situation with Doom, goes to seek advice from Sam,” Mack adds.

Real or unreal, truth or rumours, it doesn't matter, fans imaginations are on fire right now.

Later, Shuri calls a super-meeting in Wakanda. Picture this: Sam, Wong, Bruce Banner, Carol Danvers, Thor, Bucky, Yelena, M’Baku, Namor and the Fantastic Four in the same room. That’s not a war council — that’s a Comic-Con dream panel. Shuri reveals another universe is closing in on Earth-616, and someone’s stuck there. That someone? Monica Rambeau. Cue Carol Danvers flipping into rescue mode.

Meanwhile, Reed uses Wakandan tech to locate his son and confirms Doom has him. The team rallies to save both Monica and Franklin, but they need a portal into the mystery dimension. Enter: America Chavez. Wong summons her (then peace-outs from the mission, classic Wong). The team jumps across realities, only to find out Doctor Doom is teaming up with Loki and the TVA. We're officially in wild territory now.

And then there's the BTS photo. One leaked image has fans losing their minds — Falcon (Danny Ramirez), US Agent (Wyatt Russell), and The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) chatting it up in what looks like a spaceship-lab hybrid. Cue collective MCU meltdown.

Confirmed cast: Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Letitia Wright, Simu Liu, Paul Rudd, Florence Pugh, Tom Hiddleston, Pedro Pascal, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Robert Downey Jr. and about a dozen more you forgot were in the MCU. Directed by the Russo Brothers, Avengers: Doomsday is set to drop on December 18, 2026.