Marvel Boss Kevin Feige Hints the MCU Is Far From Done After ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is heading toward one of its biggest moments in years. ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ arrives in theaters on Dec. 18, 2026, with Robert Downey Jr. leading an ensemble cast as Doctor Doom. Kevin Feige’s latest comments suggest the MCU has plenty of road left after it.
The film marks the Russo brothers’ return to the franchise. It was originally dated for May 2026 before being pushed back to December, and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ is set to follow on Dec. 17, 2027. Both are part of Phase Six of the MCU.
Feige’s remarks came at a celebration of his career. He was honored as Pioneer of the Year by the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation at the Beverly Hilton on Wednesday, with Chris Pratt, Jon Favreau and Disney’s Alan Bergman on hand. Feige is now 25 years into his Marvel journey, and the timing fell as the studio is fresh off the success of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’.
Speaking at the dinner, Feige told the crowd, as The Hollywood Reporter reported, “‘Doomsday’ is only our 39th movie — we’ve still got a lot of stories to tell, a lot of movies to make.” He also described the Marvel mythology as ripe for storytelling and called it the longest-running fictional narrative in history.
The 39th-movie framing is the part fans have latched onto. A film with this much hype, a cast of more than two dozen and the weight of a multi-year saga behind it is, by Feige’s math, still early in the franchise’s story. He added that the team loves making these movies.
Feige also acknowledged the grind behind the scenes. He said it is easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day details of production, but that stepping back and remembering who the films are for makes it worthwhile. He also pushed back on the idea that moviegoing is fading, saying the studio has to make films that bring people back to theaters.
The slate beyond ‘Secret Wars’ is already taking shape. ‘Secret Wars’ is the final film of Phase Six, and three theatrical films are currently dated for Phase Seven. They include an untitled X-Men film, ‘Ghost Rider’ starring Ryan Gosling, and ‘Black Panther 3’ with David Jonsson as the new Black Panther. Other projects in development include a Shang-Chi sequel, ‘Nova’ and ‘Armor Wars’.
Meanwhile, ‘Doomsday’ itself is shaping up to be a huge event. The trailer showed Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers returning for the first time since ‘Avengers: Endgame’, while the cast also includes Patrick Stewart, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden and Kelsey Grammer from the Fox X-Men movies. The Russos have also said the film runs around 2 and a half hours.
The road to release was not smooth. Feige has since acknowledged that the delay happened because the movie could not be finished in time. With the film now complete and awaiting release, the focus has shifted to whether it can deliver on the hype.
Feige’s comments land at an interesting time for Marvel. Between ‘Doomsday’ and ‘Secret Wars’, the MCU is expected to enter a relative pause, with a handful of Disney+ series and specials filling the gap until Doom returns. His message at the dinner is that this is not a finish line.
Feige gave a special shoutout to the Rialto, his hometown theater in New Jersey, and called cinemas vital to culture and humanity. That fits a studio head who is betting on the big screen even as the industry debates the future of moviegoing.
Kevin Feige says Marvel still has “a lot of stories to tell.” What do you think comes next?
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