Anthony Mackie Reveals How Soon ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Picks Up After ‘Captain America: Brave New World’
Marvel fans have been trying to piece together the ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ timeline for months, and one of the film’s stars has now offered a useful clue. Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson, has said where audiences will find Captain America when the next team-up begins. The answer suggests that Sam barely gets a breather.
The wait is nearly over. The film, directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, arrives in theaters on December 18, 2026, after several delays that pushed it back from its original May 2026 slot. It also marks the Russos’ return to the Avengers franchise following ‘Avengers: Endgame.’
Mackie dropped his timeline hint in an exclusive chat with SYFY Wire, where he was promoting the Andy Weir-produced audio production ‘Exoplanet.’ He explained that ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ takes place just a few months after ‘Captain America: Brave New World,’ with Sam coming “literally months after” that film as he works to get the Avengers back together.
That short gap says a lot about where Sam’s head is. In ‘Brave New World,’ Thaddeus Ross asks him to restart the Avengers, though the movie ends with Ross imprisoned on the Raft. It left some fans wondering whether the plan would survive.
Mackie’s comments suggest it did. Sam is described as invested in assembling the team to face what he called a mortal doom, and he is already deep into the work of recruiting. In other words, the new Captain America is not easing into the job. He is leading an Avengers rebuild almost immediately.
Mackie has been teasing the film’s tone for a while. In an earlier interview with Screen Rant, he joked about the ongoing tension between Sam and Bucky, summing it up as “All we do is fight.” That could be a sign that the heroes’ infighting remains a big part of the story, even as the stakes rise.
He also told SYFY Wire he had always wanted to fight Robert Downey Jr. Downey returns as Doctor Doom, the villain at the center of the film, so Mackie may finally get his wish. The idea of Sam Wilson squaring off against Doom is a major draw for a character who has spent years stepping out of Steve Rogers’ shadow.
The film is stacked. Mackie’s Cap is expected to lead a team that reportedly includes Thor, Ant-Man, Shang-Chi, Falcon and, in a surprising twist, Loki. Sebastian Stan returns as Bucky Barnes, and the wider cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Florence Pugh and Tom Hiddleston.
Other new Avengers-adjacent names include David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost and Lewis Pullman as Sentry. The film also brings together several teams from across the multiverse, including the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. Patrick Stewart is also set to appear posthumously as Professor Charles Xavier.
He used to be different. Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters everywhere December 18. Get your tickets now: https://t.co/J5PUbxvAkc https://t.co/OUutSMZneq
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) August 15, 2026
The first trailer arrived on July 20, 2026, and showed Thor assembling heroes and even former villains from across the multiverse. The film is reportedly 2 hours and 45 minutes long, shorter than the roughly 3-hour runtime of ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ It will open on the same day as ‘Dune: Part Three.’
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is also the first of two big team-ups. ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ follows on December 17, 2027, which means the stakes of this movie are heavily tied to what comes next.
A tight gap between films is a rare thing for the MCU, which has often skipped years between stories. If ‘Doomsday’ really begins just months after ‘Brave New World,’ Sam’s emotional arc has less room for off-screen growth. Mackie has said before that by the time audiences reach the Avengers movie, Sam will be at his finest, having saved the world from Red Hulk.
That makes the new film feel more like a direct continuation than a reset. It also leaves open how the film will handle the rest of the MCU’s calendar, since other projects have jumped ahead more significantly. For now, the main takeaway is that Sam’s Avengers are still very much a work in progress, and the clock is ticking.
Is Sam Wilson ready to lead the Avengers in 'Avengers: Doomsday'?
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