Disney has pushed “Avengers: Doomsday” to December 18, 2026 from its original release date of May 1, 2026. That slot will now be filled by “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” “Avengers: Secret Wars” also received a similar shift, moving from May 7, 2027 to December 17, 2027.

Other calendar moves include scheduling an IMAX 3D re-release of “Avatar: The Way of Water” for October 3, 2025, two months before “Avatar: Fire & Ash” hits theaters. Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic epic “The Dog Stars” also received a release date of March 27, 2026.

Few movies on Disney’s upcoming slate are more anticipated than “Avengers: Doomsday,” which sees Joe and Anthony Russo stepping back into the director’s chair(s) and Robert Downey Jr. returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as beloved villain Dr. Doom. The film was retooled from the ashes of the planned “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” which had to be scrapped after Marvel parted ways with Jonathan Majors following the guilty verdict he received in his assault trial. When Marvel announced Downey’s casting at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024, it was seen as a massive PR win for a franchise that had been on the ropes since the triumphs of “Avengers: Endgame” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

The delay means that no Marvel movies will be released in 2026 until December and leaves a big gap between it and “Fantastic Four: First Steps” coming this July. But it also gives two of Disney’s biggest blockbusters room to breathe; Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” the first “Star Wars” movie to be released theatrically since “The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019, opens on May 22. Disney’s two biggest blockbuster franchises will no longer have to compete with one another, and “The Devil Wears Prada 2” could be viewed as counter programming for audiences with less interest in franchise blockbusters

“Avengers: Doomsday” is also now scheduled the same day as 20th Century’s “Ice Age 6,” which itself could plausibly move given that another family film, “Shrek 5” from Universal’s DreamWorks, opens a week later in December 2026.