‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ Production Start Reportedly Slips Again, Putting Marvel’s December Release Date Under Pressure

Marvel’s Multiverse Saga is built around one big promise: a two-part finale that lands exactly one year apart. ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is set to arrive on December 18, 2026, with Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars‘ is dated for December 17, 2027. Joe and Anthony Russo are directing both, and the studio has been careful to protect that tidy schedule.

That schedule has already been rearranged several times. ‘Secret Wars’ was originally set for May 1, 2026, then moved to May 7, 2027 and finally to its current December 2027 slot, while Marvel also chose to avoid scheduling any other films between the two Avengers movies. Doomsday itself wrapped a long shoot at Pinewood Studios in England from April to September 2025, with location work in England and Bahrain.

Now the follow-up’s production timeline is shifting again. ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ is reportedly now eyeing a February 2027 production start, even though the film is still listed for release in December 2027.

‘AVENGERS: SECRET WARS’ is reportedly now eyeing a February 2027 production start date. It releases in theaters in December, 2027. (Via: @DanielRPK) https://t.co/HemE5Uprqd

— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) October 20, 2026

The February target would be the latest in a series of slips. According to reports, filming was once expected to begin in mid-2026, then August, then late September, October and November, before industry scoopers pointed to January 2027 earlier this month. That version of the story had the shoot running through late April or May.

The Russo brothers have acknowledged the pressure. In July, Anthony Russo told Collider that filming would start soon, close enough that it made them sweat a bit, while the team was still finishing ‘Doomsday.’ They later said they would likely be working on that film until around November while also being in pre-production on ‘Secret Wars.’

A later start leaves a tight window for what is expected to be the most effects-heavy film the studio has attempted. A January start would have left less than a year to shoot, edit and finish the movie, and a February start would shrink that even further. Several outlets have argued that the December 2027 date will be hard to hold under those conditions.

Still, Marvel has not announced a delay, and its official page continues to list December 17, 2027. Reports have noted that the studio still insists on keeping the date, and talk of a 2028 move remains speculation. ‘Secret Wars’ is also the only Marvel film currently scheduled for 2027.

There are other moving parts. Anthony Mackie is reportedly set to star in a Broadway production of ‘Macbeth’ from spring 2027, with rehearsals in February and a run lasting through July. He has said he plans to finish his remaining ‘Secret Wars’ work after the run, though Marvel hasn’t announced any schedule change related to that.

There is also the question of what ‘Doomsday’ needs to accomplish. Some outlets have suggested the studio may be waiting to see how the first film lands before locking in its plans for the second. The film is expected to follow the comic book story in which a cosmic being called the Beyonder creates a world called Battleworld, though the movie’s exact plot has not been confirmed.

The first film has a lot riding on it. ‘Doomsday’ passed $50 million in presales three months before release, and it opens the same day as ‘Dune: Part Three,’ a clash fans have nicknamed ‘Dunesday.’ Strong results would give Marvel plenty of leverage as it decides how much time its finale needs.

For now, Marvel fans are left with more questions than answers. Until the studio confirms a start date, every report about the ‘Secret Wars’ calendar should be treated as unconfirmed. If you’re counting down to the end of the Multiverse Saga, the safest assumption is that the next update will come with the ‘Doomsday’ release.

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