Key Takeaways
- Marvel Studios used D23 Expo 2026 to showcase a leaner, post–“superhero fatigue” slate built around the lead-up to Avengers: Doomsday
- The studio dropped a first deep dive into the trippy Disney+ series VisionQuest, which follows a more human Vision wrestling with multiple AIs in his head, premiering October 14, 2026.
- A new “special look” at Avengers: Doomsday centered Doctor Doom wrecking timelines and unleashing Sentinels, while the long-awaited X-Men film (out May 5, 2028) revealed its core cast, including Sadie Sink as Jean Grey and Adam Driver as Mister Sinister.
As Marvel heads into the release of Avengers: Doomsday, the anticipation is rising. Between the Spider-Man: Brand New Day box office and all of this impending Doom (heh), you’d think that “superhero fatigue” was a load of nonsense. It was very real, but Marvel Studios is clearly trying to make you forget it with the slate they are building, which is leaner than in years past, for a few reasons.
One is, frankly, no matter how dope those Disney+ series and movies were, excess is still excess. Giving these projects more time to breathe should also lend more weight to the MCU-shattering events Marvel is heading into. These feel like win-win scenarios, but that also requires Marvel sticking the landing.
So, what went down during Marvel’s portion of the D23 Expo this year? We got new looks at both VisionQuest and Avengers: Doomsday, plus the long-awaited reveal of Marvel’s X-Men cast. We’ve assembled it all in one place; here’s everything Marvel Studios announced at the 2026 D23 Expo.
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VisionQuest premieres October 14, 2026
It’s been a minute since we’ve caught up with the White Vision; after having the Mind Stone ripped from his skull by the Mad Titan Thanos, Vision was being experimented on in a S.W.O.R.D. facility, ultimately being turned into a tool—aka White Vision—to dispose of his ex, Wanda Maximoff—aka the Scarlet Witch. During WandaVision, White Vision battled the Vision Wanda created in Westview and eventually gained the Vision’s original memories. By the end of the Westview ordeal, White Vision had declared himself the only Vision, and proceeded to exit Westview.
The third of the trilogy that started with 2021’s WandaVision and continued with 2024’s Agatha All Along—which followed what happened to Wanda and Vision’s son Billy after the events of WandaVision—Marvel Television’s next miniseries VisionQuest finds Vision…mostly being human, while dealing with the multiple AIs from the MCU sitting in his head. That’s right, everyone from E.D.I.T.H. to Ultron (who is reprised by James Spader, in human form) are along for the ride.
The series feels…fun? Also looks to dive into the warped psyche that is whatever is going on in Vision’s head at this point. Look for VisionQuest to premiere on Disney+ on October 14.
A special look at Avengers: Doomsday
From the teasers from earlier this year through the trailer that dropped right before SDCC 2026 to the questions we still have post-Brand New Day, Marvel has truly been heating up the Doctor Doom discussion, and the two-plus minute “special look” at Avengers: Doomsday gave us more about Latveria’s own than we’ve seen before.
“Victor was always the smartest guy in every room,” Sue Storm narrated at the start of the trailer. “He used to be different. He used to be kind, he used to be caring. And then, everything he loved was taken from him. I knew he was lost, but I did not realize that he was broken.” She’s relaying this information to a room featuring an assortment of heroes, from Shang-Chi to the Black Panther.
We’re then shown a truly desecrated land, with Reed Richards directly confronting Doom, repeatedly asking him, “did you do this?” We’re also shown shots of the children around many of these heroes, as well as Professor X and Magneto. “All of you have lived stolen lives,” Doom narrates over an interesting collection of heroes, including Steve Rogers with his child, Shuri as the Black Panther, Cyclops, and the TVA’s Loki. “And now you must give them back.”
This is when Doom and Thor meet each other in an absolutely destroyed land, leading to the moment from the official trailer, with Thor looking to rain Odin’s fury down on Doom, who holds him back with a finger and forces him back into a statue. Doom, with a palm strike to the ground, awakens a group of Sentinels, which are known in the Marvel Comics universe to target mutants; you can even see a Sentinel battle in the recently released sizzle for the upcoming Wolverine game.
That’s pretty much all you get from this “special look.” With Endgame Encore hitting theaters on September 25, one has to imagine what Marvel will be adding more to whatever is going on here then?
One note out of D23 regarding Doomsday was that their section was the TVA, which keeps watch over the Multiverse; it appeared to be “damaged” by Doctor Doom, according to Erik Voss of New Rockstars.
What could that mean?
X-Men will be released on May 5, 2028
In the midst of seeing the older Fox X-Men appearing in Doomsday, Kevin Feige and co. also took the opportunity to reveal that Marvel’s Jake Schreier-directed X-Men film would be released on May 5, 2028. (Schreier helmed 2025’s Thunderbolts* for Marvel.) While anyone who’s seen Brand New Day knows that Stranger Things star Sadie Sink is the new Jean Grey, Marvel officially confirmed that she would be in X-Men, and announced a number of her castmates, who reportedly had met for the first time before this announcement.
Adam Driver, who was not there in the flesh, was confirmed to be portrayed Mister Sinister, a big bad that was being build in the background of the last Fox X-Men movies; at a certain point, he was already acquiring loads of mutant DNA. It’s cool to see that this storyline is likely paying off in some way in the MCU.
Joining Sink in the X-Men first is Christopher Abbott (Wolf Man, Poor Things, On the Count of Three) as Professor Charles Xavier, Heartstopper’s Kit Connor as Scott Summers / Cyclops, Samara Weaving (Scream 6, Ready or Not) as Emma Frost, Obsession breakout star Inde Navarrette (who did say she’d love to play Mystique) cast as Rogue, and Maya Boyd playing Ororo Monroe, aka the rain goddess Storm. Boyd comes from Broadway, having played Juliet Capulet in & Juliet.
That was all of the X-Men news we got, although Feige did mention that more news was to come. We have to imagine that, as we get closer to Endgame Encore, VisionQuest, and Doomsday, more will be revealed on the Marvel front.
