Marvel Studios Begins Avengers: Doomsday Countdown With Weekly Special Starting This Month

Published Aug 20, 2026, 9:20 PM EDT Adam has been writing in the entertainment news space for over a decade. Beginning his career of covering film and TV at CinemaBlend, he has also appeared on The Flash Podcast and done several radio spots. Marvel Studios is further hyping Avengers: Doomsday’s release with a new weekly special launching at the end of the month. The beginning of the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Multiverse Saga kicks off this December with Avengers: Doomsday. The 39th MCU movie will fully introduce Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom following his cameo in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and his machinations will see the Avengers, New Avengers, Fantastic Four, “original” X-Men, and more collidng. Now, a new podcast has been unveiled to help fans get even more excited about Doomsday. Marvel announced today that Kamala Khan actor Iman Vellani and Frank Alvarez are teaming up for the Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday Official Podcast. Beginning Thursday, August 27, the two hosts will revisit “some of the MCU's most iconic moments” on this weekly series leading up to the upcoming Marvel movie. Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday will be available to watch on Disney+ and the Marvel YouTube channel, as well as listen to on select audio platforms. Vellani debuted as Kamala in the 2022 Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, then reprised the role a year later for the movie The Marvels, which co-starred Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris. Additionally, the actor voiced an alternate version of Kamala in the animated series Marvel Zombies, which came out in 2025. Vellani has also contributed to the wider Marvel landscape by co-writing the limited series Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant and a handful of other stories based on the main comics version of her character. Alvarez is known for hosting the comedy podcast The Basement Yard. Originally, Avengers: Doomsday was called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, with Jonathan Majors starring as numerous variants of Kang the Conqueror following his appearances in Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. However, there was consideration given into dropping Kang as the next Avengers antagonist even before Quantumania’s release. This was solidified when Marvel Studios fired Majors in December 2023 after he was found guilty on two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault. The following summer, Downey was announced at San Diego Comic-Con to be playing Doctor Doom, marking his return to the MCU since Tony Stark was killed off in 2019's Avengers: Endgame. MCU fans finally got their first taste of Downey as Doom in the Avengers: Doomsday trailer released last month, though the specifics of Doom’s plot remain a closely-guarded secret. The character has previously been played in live action by Julian McMahon and Toby Kebbell. Vellani isn’t expected to reprise Kamala in Avengers: Doomsday, nor has it been announced when her version of Ms. Marvel will resurface, if at all. Nevertheless, co-hosting the Countdown to Avengers: Doomsday Official Podcast lets her keep a foothold in the franchise and revisit some of the MCU’s biggest moments over the last 18 years. The actor’s non-Marvel work includes performing in the upcoming movies Shiver and Mouse, as well as writing the Image comics limited series Chachu. Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18, and Avengers: Secret Wars will follow on December 17, 2027. Marvel has also put together a watchlist of 15 titles to revisit before Doomsday’s release. Release Date December 18, 2026 Runtime 165 Minutes Director Anthony Russo, Joe Russo Cast Vanessa Kirby Sue Storm / Invisible Woman Johnny Storm / Human Torch Ebon Moss-Bachrach Ben Grimm / The Thing Writers Stephen McFeely, Michael Waldron, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee Producers Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Kevin Feige Prequel(s) Spider-Man: Brand New Day Sequel(s) Avengers: Secret Wars Franchise(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers, Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Thor, X-Men Movies Avengers: Doomsday Marvel Cinematic Universe