Avengers: Secret Wars – release date, cast speculation and plot theories

Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has been pushed back to 2026, while Avengers: Secret Wars has had its release moved to 2027. The two movies will cap off Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The cast and crew have previously teased that Secret Wars will have the biggest impact on the franchise’s overarching story since Avengers: Endgame, with ties to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

And now that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is out, we have a better idea of how it leads to the upcoming Avengers movies.

So, read on for everything we know so far on Avengers: Secret Wars, including when you can expect it to land in cinemas.

Avengers: Secret Wars release date

Avengers: Secret Wars will be released in cinemas on 7th May, 2027.

The movie was previously set to come out on 1st May, 2026, but has been delayed.

Who could be in the cast for Avengers: Secret Wars?

Marvel Studios has not yet announced a single cast member for Avengers: Secret Wars or its preceding film The Kang Dynasty, but some characters seem like fairly safe bets.

For instance, it's quite likely that Jonathan Majors will star as time travelling villain Kang The Conqueror across both films, assuming he isn't defeated at the end of the first part.

Meanwhile, we'd expect to see all of the major Avengers characters show up in some capacity, such as Captain America (Anthony Mackie), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth).

It's also possible that these movies will bring Marvel's recently launched Disney Plus characters to the big screen for the first time, such as Oscar Isaac's Moon Knight and Tatiana Maslany's She-Hulk.

Finally, given that this film will cap off what is being called The Multiverse Saga, we can't rule out the possibility of more cameos from earlier Marvel franchises, such as Fox's X-Men and Sony's Spider-Man.

What could happen in Avengers: Secret Wars?

There have been two major Secret Wars storylines in the comic books, which are both very different despite sharing the same title.

Starting in 1984, the first Secret Wars saw the most famous heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe transported to Battleworld by a cosmic entity known as the Beyonder, and forced to duke it out for his entertainment.

While commercially successful, the comic event was panned by critics at the time for its shallow story that seemed designed to sell toys, although it remains a favourite among many fans who were growing up at the time.

In 2015, a modern take on Secret Wars unfolded to a much warmer critical reception, which saw Earth-616 (the main Marvel Universe) collide with the Ultimate Marvel Universe (birthplace of Miles Morales) in a cataclysmic incursion.

In an attempt to prevent complete annihilation, Doctor Doom harnesses the power of the Beyonders to create a new Battleworld, which is an amalgamation of every alternate reality in the Marvel Universe. Naturally, he also installs himself as Emperor.

The heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe have no memory of their life before Doom's new order, which is why most don't question the strange new reality they find themselves in.

Expect Avengers: Secret Wars to borrow elements from both stories as well as throwing in its own original flourishes.

How does Ant-Man 3 set up Avengers: Secret Wars?

Despite Kang the Conqueror seemingly dying at the end of Ant-Man 3, the post-credits scenes shows us there are countless other versions of him out there.

As Quantumania makes clear, these variants of Kang will stop at nothing to get their revenge against the Avengers – a battle likely to unfold in Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.

Talking about Kang’s future role in the franchise, Quantumania director Peyton Reed has teased that the character "changes everything" in the MCU.

"It was sort of determined midway through [production] that we were going to be the beginning of Phase Five," he explained during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com. "And I always ask [Kevin] Feige, like, what does the phase actually mean?

"But I think for us, it really meant... it was Kang, right? The thing that sets him apart as an antagonist is there is Kang the Conqueror, who is featured in Quantumania. But he's a Nexus Being – there are variants of Kang.

"And what happens if you introduce a villain who's fighting our heroes, but he is separately at war with all the different versions of himself? And what does that mean for the ongoing Marvel Universe?

"Well, it changes everything that's happening," he added. "And at the same time, the Avengers, you know, in Doctor Strange and Spider-Man and certainly in Loki, they're becoming aware of the existence of the multiverse.

"And there might be these sort of incursions into the multiverse, and what does that mean for the Kangs? So it's setting up a lot of that stuff."

Is there an Avengers: Secret Wars trailer?

Not yet! Marvel have so far only released a logo for the film, with a trailer likely to be far off given its late 2025 release date.

Avengers: Secret Wars is coming to cinemas on Tuesday, 5th May 2026. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

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