Marvel Delays Both ‘Avengers’ Sequels

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The Avengers are not returning to theaters as initially planned.

Earlier, Marvel had planned to release “Avengers: Doomsday” on May 1, 2026, followed by “Avengers: Secret Wars” on May 7, 2027. However, these release dates have now been changed. Instead, “Doomsday” will premiere in December 2026, specifically on the 18th, and “Secret Wars” is scheduled for December 2027, on the 17th.

The upcoming Marvel movie titled “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is set to premiere this summer on July 25, 2025. Apart from the two scheduled Avengers films, the only other confirmed MCU release at this time is “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” slated for July 31, 2026. Originally planned to be released between “Doomsday” and “Secret Wars,” “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” might now debut before either of the Avengers sequels, assuming Sony and Marvel do not postpone its release as well.

It might cause quite a problem for Brand New Day, as changes to the movie’s plot could be necessary if it follows directly after the events of Doomsday. Given this, it wouldn’t shock me at all if Brand New Day is delayed too, considering its potential connection to Avengers: Doomsday.

In this adjustment, future Avengers films will not debut in either early May or late April, which are the usual release windows for Marvel franchise installments. Typically, these movies come out during late winter, early summer, mid-July, or November. However, Sony (alongside Marvel) released Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17, 2021, and it earned a massive $1.91 billion worldwide. Hence, it seems that such a time could be ideal for a grand superhero crossover film.

In these upcoming films, “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Secret Wars”, Robert Downey Jr. makes his comeback to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portraying Doctor Doom this time around. The star-studded ensemble additionally features Anthony Mackie, Chris Hemsworth, Letitia Wright, Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Tom Hiddleston, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, and Channing Tatum, along with the cast of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and the latest “Thunderbolts”.

*Note: It seems there might be a typo or confusion in the original text regarding the title of the film or show that stars the recent Thunderbolts. The actual title is yet to be confirmed by Marvel Studios.

The Worst Movies With $200 Million Budgets

15. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Projected Budget: $271 million
The problem with creating a movie about such an iconic character like this, who has captured the hearts of millions for decades, is that you want to delve into his intriguing backstory, but instead end up explaining every superficial aspect of his personality, even his last name. It’s as if you’re focusing on the surface level details and ignoring the deeper reasons why audiences love him. The production of Solo, despite its initial promise with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, ultimately faced many challenges; they were replaced by Ron Howard during filming. Perhaps the root cause of the movie’s underperformance lies in the fact that no matter how much money is invested, Alden Ehrenreich simply cannot emulate the charm and charisma of a young Harrison Ford.

14. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Projected Budget: $209 million
Peter Jackson’s expansive interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, titled The Battle of the Five Armies, marked the conclusion of an unanticipated trilogy. Instead of a grand finale, it felt more like an extended epilogue, with the primary conflict coming to a halt rather than being fully resolved. Key characters clashed atop a mountain, after which everyone seemed to disperse. (One might imagine they were all exhausted and went home.) While there were several exciting moments, watching the movie was akin to ordering an oversized steak in a restaurant and being forced to finish it before leaving. The meal is well-prepared, but the repetitiveness left one craving some side dishes or vegetables. In essence, The Battle of the Five Armies is like an overcooked steak.

13. The Fate of the Furious (2017)

The initial hint that the “Fast & Furious” series was starting to lose steam appeared in its eighth part. Here, a feeble antagonist and an illogical plot twist were presented: Dom, played by Vin Diesel, mysteriously betrays his family, pursuing them globally throughout much of the film before eventually clarifying his sudden villainy and returning to being a heroic character. On the other hand, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), who was previously an adversary, transforms into a savior in this scenario. This double reversal implied that the series had depleted all of its initial concepts, an idea that would only become more evident in the subsequent two films. (I’ll delve into one of those shortly.)

The eighth installment of “Fast & Furious” hinted at the series losing momentum with a weak villain and illogical twist. Vin Diesel’s character, Dom, inexplicably betrays his family, only to return to being good later on. Meanwhile, Jason Statham’s character, Deckard Shaw, who was initially evil, becomes a hero. This double reversal suggested that the series had run out of original ideas, a notion further reinforced by the following two films.)

12. The Marvels (2023)

Marvels’ Estimated Budget: $307 million

Marvels isn’t the poorest offering within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it could be the most disorganized and overheated. Three exceptionally charming Marvel characters (Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau) are haphazardly combined to thwart a Kree warlord bent on causing mischief for unexplained reasons. The actors work well together, but the narrative, albeit brief, is utterly chaotic and filled with peculiar decisions that make little sense. Money can’t simply be thrown at these issues in the hope they will vanish.

11. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Projected Budget: Approximately $416 million
Not many films can match the budget or the level of disillusionment that The Rise of Skywalker generated among fans of all ages and persuasions. Following the successful reintroduction of Star Wars with The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams returned for the final chapter in the Skywalker saga and delivered a less-than-satisfying blend of action and fan service. Compared to the bolder ideas presented in The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker seemed like a step back towards safer, more generic storytelling.

10. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

In a 2018 update, the Jurassic Park/World series had slipped into a familiar pattern: Characters (often including children) visit an island teeming with dinosaurs, express awe for a brief moment, and then scramble for safety until the movie ends. Thus, it was refreshing to see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom attempt something new with its material.

The initial act follows the familiar formula, but later, the story shifts to a mansion setting, transforming the film into a ghost-like raptor haunted house tale. Unfortunately, this change didn’t quite resonate, and the characters remain as unintelligent as those in all other Jurassic Park sequels. However, it was at least commendable that they endeavored to mix things up.

9. Snow White (2025)

In essence, let’s ignore for now any debates about the actors in this upcoming Disney live-action production of “Snow White.” Regardless, the movie itself seems quite gloomy. The CGI-created Seven Dwarfs, likely a significant portion of the $269 million budget, come across as unnatural and peculiar, especially Dopey who resembles a character designed by an AI when asked to depict “Alfred E. Neuman as a modern man.” It’s puzzling why Dopey is called Dopey if he isn’t a fool, and the absurdity of this naming choice is only surpassed by the improbable way Snow White defeats the Queen – an event you wouldn’t believe even if I shared the details.

8. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)

$230 million

The plot in any Pirates of the Caribbean film serves more as a reason for action than an appealing feature; it primarily exists to drive Johnny Depp’s drunken escapades and exciting scenes. However, it would be easier to overlook the overall confusion of Dead Men Tell No Tales if it didn’t devote so much time to explaining its characters’ complex histories through tedious dialogue scenes. There’s a flashback that explains why Javier Bardem’s Captain Salazar harbors hatred for Jack Sparrow, but it skips over the part where he transforms into an unusual undead creature after being blown up and drowned within a minute. (This seems like a significant detail?) The same sequence does reveal, with much fanfare, how Jack Sparrow obtained his hat. (If you’ve ever wondered about this.) Dead Men Tell No Tales is the type of sequel that’s so poor it makes you reconsider why you enjoyed the original film so much in the first place.

The key changes are:
1. Simplified sentence structure for easier reading.
2. Removed some technical jargon like “retroactively” and “incoherence”.
3. Clarified that Captain Salazar turns into an undead creature, not just a strange one.
4. Explained that the flashback reveals how Jack Sparrow got his hat instead of stating it directly.
5. Used more straightforward language to convey the overall message.

7. Fast X (2023)

In a shift from its earlier installments, the latest Fast & Furious movie, Fast X, seems to have lost the charm that once made it intriguing for audiences who paid close attention. Instead of finding solace in the characters’ development, viewers are left puzzled by inconsistencies, such as Jakob Toretto’s sudden shift from a menacing villain to a jovial uncle. Jason Momoa’s comedic antics, which worked well in Aquaman and Minecraft, feel out of place in Fast X, detracting from the intended impact of his villainous character. The plot, filled with confusion and bland revenge themes, is challenging to follow due to its slow pace and lack of coherence.

Fast X underperformed financially and received negative reviews from critics. As we move forward several years later, there’s still no sign of the second part of this saga. Could this be the end of the Fast & Furious franchise?

6. Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

In Michael Bay’s final installment of the Transformers series, “The Last Knight” (2017), the franchise’s continuity was significantly altered in a way that mirrored our collective indifference to the series. A character portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins delivered an unusual soliloquy, suggesting that characters from previous films, such as Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky, were part of a secret society that had been assisting Transformers for centuries. This implies that these transforming robots have been concealed on Earth for hundreds of years and were even members of King Arthur’s Round Table knights. However, the movie did not elaborate further on this intriguing revelation, perhaps setting up future Transformers movies to delve into these hints. Bay parted ways with the series after “The Last Knight,” and subsequent films tended to disregard this background story, leaving viewers to ponder the potential role of the Transformers in the War of 1812.

5. Eternals (2021)

Title Estimate: $254 million

Before its release, I wouldn’t have expected a Marvel film directed by an Academy Award winner and inspired by some of Jack Kirby’s most daring comics to be the studio’s least indispensable offering. Regrettably, Eternals never quite coalesced into a unified whole. It remains fairly true to Kirby’s fundamental concepts, but with a few minor yet significantly aggravating alterations – such as transforming the malevolent Deviants into generic creatures without defined objectives or motivations.

The ensemble cast delivers some commendable supporting roles from Kumail Nanjiani and Brian Tyree Henry, but the principal characters – Gemma Chan portraying Sersi and Richard Madden embodying Ikaris – find it challenging to convincingly portray their purported passionate relationship. (Their romance spans 6,000 years; they exhibit the discomfort of first-time daters.) The script occasionally delves into intriguing ideas about the interconnections between superheroes, mythology, and religion, only to repeatedly forsake them for a string of predictable fight sequences featuring uninteresting alien creatures. It’s challenging to imagine a more monotonous film about immortal extraterrestrial robots striving to prevent cosmic annihilation than this one.

4. Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

Projected Budget: $265 million
The concept of blending the casts from Jurassic Park and World initially seemed exciting, particularly in a narrative where Jurassic Park’s dinosaurs were invading the human realm. When these two groups eventually interacted, there were some enjoyable scenes. (It’s quite challenging to create something entirely unappealing with such a large ensemble of charming film stars.) However, it’s puzzling as to why Dominion focused on crop-eating locusts rather than the dinosaurs dominating the planet. This was a significant missed opportunity for an intriguing premise – and even more disappointing, it transformed what could have been a distinctive Jurassic Park sequel into another repetition of the original’s concept, featuring scientists at a secluded dino sanctuary.
The franchise’s core message is that those who disregard the lessons of the past are destined to repeat them. But why should viewers be subjected to this repetition because the filmmakers refuse to take their own advice?

3. The Electric State (2025)

Projected Budget: $320 million
There’s been quite a buzz about the $320 million Netflix spent on this dystopian sci-fi film by the Russo brothers, with some questioning if it was worth it. In fact, even at half that budget, it seems like Netflix didn’t get the best deal. The Electric State lacks visual appeal; the character designs are uninspired and bland, and the visuals are dull and uninteresting. The story follows a young woman (Millie Bobby Brown) on a quest through a robot-ridden wasteland to find her brother. She encounters help from Chris Pratt, who relies on his tired action movie persona and an over-the-top haircut. The film’s central mythology (derived from a book I haven’t read) is incomprehensible, but one could forgive the narrative being so bizarre if the visuals were at least engaging. Unfortunately, they are not.

2. Justice League (2017)

In a turn of events that fell short of expectations, “Justice League,” initially meant to serve as the climax of an intricately connected narrative, unfortunately hit its lowest point instead. The departure of director Zack Snyder midway through production due to personal matters paved the way for Joss Whedon to step in, leading to a final product that seems disjointed from what either filmmaker would typically produce.

The editing appears hasty, the overall mood is inconsistent, and the primary antagonist, a lackluster CGI creation with no discernible character traits, aspires to rule the world – a goal that, unsurprisingly, seems to be his objective. Although Snyder’s original cut can now be found on Max, the initial release of “Justice League” will forever be remembered among the lesser superhero epics ever produced.

1. Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

Projected Budget: $210 million
Give Age Of Extinction its due: Out of all the Transformers films, it’s the longest and arguably the most tonally inconsistent, convoluted in narrative, and chaotic in editing. The movie starts with the human protagonist (Mark Wahlberg portraying a Texas-based scientist) discovering Optimus Prime inside a dilapidated and abandoned cinema. A character laments, “The movies these days! Sequels and remakes, just a pile of rubbish.” However, making fun of poor sequel quality doesn’t absolve the fact that four sequels were produced in succession.

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2025-05-23 04:55