Secret Wars will be the sixth Avengers movie, and much of Phase 5 and 6 will build toward this monumental crossover event.
There are many crucial upcoming Marvel movies, including Fantastic Four: First Steps, Blade, and Avengers: Doomsday. But so much is riding on Avengers 6.
This is the biggy, and it’s rumored to be the collision point of the Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic 4 teams.
Here’s what comic storylines might make it into the MCU movie, as well as which heroes and villains it might feature.
Avengers Secret Wars release date
The Avengers Secret Wars release date is December 17 2027.
It was originally May 1, 2026, but was pushed back by Disney in June 2023 amid major changes to its new movies. Then, a second delay came in May 2025, pushing the film back further to the tail end of 2027.
It will be the second of two Avengers films in Marvel’s Phase 6.
Cast list
The Full Secret Wars cast hasn’t been announced, but Marvel confirmed Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn will feature during the SDCC 2024 Marvel panel.
During a sit-down with Variety in January 2025, Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch confirmed his character will feature “in a lot” of Secret Wars.
Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic
Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing
Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange
We bet Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom will survive Avengers 5 to be the big bad of Secret Wars. As for other characters, expect to see a massive lineup featuring new and old heroes. X-Men are expected to show up too.
What could the plot be?
No synopsis has been shared, but Secret Wars should adapt the comic book event of the same name. Loki and Doctor Strange 2 scribe Michael Waldron is writing it.
The MCU has five different comic book storylines they could lean on for this big-screen adaptation: the original crossover that ran between 1984 and 1985; the sequel, Secret Wars II; 2004’s Secret War, which isn’t connected to the first story whatsoever; there’s Beyond, a successor to the original series; and there’s also the 2015 Secret Wars event.
We’re not going to go into a lot of detail, but we’ll explain the original Secret Wars, as elements of that will likely make it into the movie adaptation.
Secret Wars comics explained
In Secret Wars, a cosmic entity known as the Beyonder transports Earth’s mightiest heroes and villains to Battleworld, a planet created for one purpose: to let them fight.
“I am from beyond! Slay your enemies and all that you desire shall be yours! Nothing you dream of is impossible for me to accomplish,” the Beyonder tells all those he kidnapped.
Spider-Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Iron Man, She-Hulk, Thor, the Wasp, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men all appear.
There’s a wide assortment of supervillains too, but two are the most notable: Kang the Conqueror and Doctor Doom.
Given Secret Wars follows on from The Kang Dynasty in the comics, it’s reasonable to suspect Avengers 5 will end on the cliffhanger of everyone being transported to Battleworld, as all hope seems lost. But this could all change if Marvel decides to scrap Kang altogether.
If Marvel goes the Doom route, the 2015 story is best suited for an adaptation. In that, after incursions bring the multiverse crashing in on itself (just like we saw beginning to happen in Doctor Strange 2), only one timeline remains and it’s ruled by Doom.
Led by Reed Richards, the surviving heroes from different dimensions come to their senses and destroy Doom’s kingdom. It’s an epic story that would allow MCU characters new and old to shine.
Is there a Secret Wars trailer?
There isn’t a trailer for Avengers Secret Wars yet.
As the movie has yet to enter production, we’ll wait a while for any footage.
Disney/Marvel Comics
