Kevin Feige Teases The X-Men & Avengers Finally Teaming Up In The MCU For Doomsday

Published Nov 15, 2026, 5:43 PM EST An avid comic book fan since she first read "Stan Lee's Soapbox," Allison Hambrick is your friendly neighborhood generalist writer. Journalism, editing, media production, copywriting—she does it all. From her very first blog post about Smallville as a primary schooler, Allison developed a passion for superheroes and the entertainment industry at large. Majoring in writing and film at SCAD, Allison put her skills to work writing, editing, podcasting, and more. Currently, she moonlights as an editor at the ASHRAE Journal by day and Screen Rant by night. Allison also previously worked for Warner Bros. Entertainment and for Disney. Through her writing, she hopes to inspire, to entertain, and to empower others to be the best versions of themselves, and her mission in life is to make Stan proud. In her free time, she enjoys reading, video game design, traveling, and spending time outside with her dogs, Loki and Elphaba. Allison is fluent in movie quotes, and her favorite film is Superman II. For Kevin Feige, Avengers: Doomsday is the payoff for over two decades of superhero cinema. Avengers: Doomsday unites the titular superhero team with the X-Men against the threat of Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom. Its sprawling ensemble cast includes Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Simu Liu, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, Paul Rudd, and Tom Hiddleston. From the X-Men film series, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellan, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Kelsey Grammer, and Alan Cumming will reprise their roles. Recently, Marvel also revealed that fan-favorite Elizabeth Olsen will return as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. With such a stacked cast, audience hype for Doomsday's release this December is reaching a fever pitch. Feige received his first producer credit way back on 2000's X-Men, making the inclusion of that film's iteration of the heroes a full-circle moment. Speaking with Empire, the Marvel Studios boss discussed why Doomsday was the ideal time for this crossover. "You see interviews of Hugh Jackman 15, 20 years ago saying, ‘People say it’s impossible, but maybe someday the X-Men and the Avengers can all get together,'" he said. To him, bringing those heroes to the MCU now "just felt right." Feige then added, "It just felt like the fun way to culminate a quarter-century of storytelling.” Doomsday Promises Ambitious Avengers & X-Men Crossover With such an extensive roster of heroes and villains, Doomsday is sure to be a spectacle. Interestingly, the title villain is the character audiences know the least about going in, despite being played by an incredibly familiar face. Downey has been part of the MCU from the start, but he previously played Tony Stark/Iron Man for 11 years, and Doomsday will be his first full movie as Doctor Doom. Over the last couple of years, small teases for Doom have been spread throughout projects such as The Fantastic Four: First Steps and the Avengers: Endgame re-release. Earlier this year, Feige addressed the concern that the buildup for Doom was lesser than that for Thanos, stating: The 'Thanos buildup' has built up in people’s heads over the years. He sat on a chair at the end of [Guardians of the Galaxy]; he put on a gauntlet and said, 'I’ll do it myself,' and he yelled at Ronan [the Accuser] on a video screen briefly. That was kind of it. I remember the memes making fun of Thanos for just sitting in a chair…when we got to Infinity War, we really said this is the introduction of Thanos to people. That’s how that movie was built. That’s what we’re doing with Doom: Doomsday is an introduction and story of Doom. You peel the onion and learn about him as you go. It is meant for audiences who know and love him from the comics and audiences who have no clue who it is. Marvel's approach of introducing a major villain in the midst of so many returning heroes places a huge bet on what audiences want to see. If it pays off, then Feige's choice to bring back the X-Men to fight Doom will be a worthy celebration of the last 25 years of superhero films. Avengers: Doomsday releases on December 18, 2026. Avengers: Doomsday Release Date December 18, 2026 Runtime 165 Minutes Director Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Writers Stephen McFeely, Michael Waldron, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers Cast Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic Vanessa Kirby Sue Storm / Invisible Woman