D23 2026 just detonated across the internet, and Marvel and Lucasfilm made sure everyone left with something to talk about. From a Doctor Doom heavy Avengers: Doomsday trailer to the long awaited X-Men cast reveal and a first real look at Star Wars: Starfighter, this was one of the biggest news weeks fandom has had all year. Add in Spider-Man: Brand New Day still breaking box office records and DC's Lanterns finally hitting HBO Max, and there is a lot to unpack. Here is everything worth knowing from the week.
Avengers: Doomsday Drops a New Trailer and Poster at D23 2026
Marvel pulled out all the stops at D23 2026, unveiling a fresh Avengers: Doomsday trailer with Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom front and center. The two minute look shows Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm warning the assembled heroes about Doom's threat, while a new poster puts Victor von Doom in front of a shrine to his family. Joe and Anthony Russo are directing this one, and it is clearly building toward Avengers: Secret Wars in December 2027. Fans in the room reportedly lost it when the hooded Doom suit from Fantastic Four: First Steps showed up on screen. Doomsday hits theaters December 18, and the wait just got a lot harder.
Marvel Reveals Its New X-Men Cast at D23 2026
Kevin Feige finally pulled back the curtain on the MCU's X-Men, confirming Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Christopher Abbott as Professor X, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, and Maya Boyd as Storm. Adam Driver also popped up to reveal he is playing Mister Sinister, which nobody saw coming. Sink already got a taste of the mutant world in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, so this reveal felt like a direct handoff. Jake Schreier, fresh off Thunderbolts, directs the film for a May 5, 2028 release. Feige teased there is more casting still to come, so this is only the opening chapter.
Star Wars: Starfighter Reveals Ryan Gosling's Kade Ahead of the Franchise's 50th Anniversary
Lucasfilm used D23 2026 to give Star Wars: Starfighter its big moment, with Ryan Gosling introducing his character Kade, a rogue from the wrong side of the galaxy tangled up with the fastest starfighter ever built. Director Shawn Levy promised a story set in a stretch of the timeline fans have never seen, packed with the humor and spectacle the franchise built its name on. Gosling is joined by Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Amy Adams, and Aaron Pierre, which is about as stacked as a Star Wars cast gets. The release date is no accident either, May 28, 2027 lines up with the 50th anniversary of the original 1977 film. That is a lot of pressure riding on one starfighter.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Keeps Smashing Box Office Records
Tom Holland's Spider-Man: Brand New Day is not slowing down, becoming the fastest movie ever to cross 500 million dollars domestically and now pushing past 700 million in record time. The film already broke the all time domestic opening weekend record with 360 million dollars, edging out Avengers: Endgame, and it crossed a billion dollars worldwide in just twelve days. Director Destin Daniel Cretton's story finds Peter fighting crime in a world that has forgotten who he is, which apparently has not stopped audiences from remembering to show up. The film expanded across IMAX screens in North America on August 6 to keep the momentum going. At this pace, records are not going to stop falling anytime soon.
DC's Lanterns Premieres on HBO Max With Hal Jordan and John Stewart
DC Studios' Lanterns lands on HBO Max on August 16, with Kyle Chandler as a weathered Hal Jordan training Aaron Pierre's John Stewart to wield the ring. The show is being pitched as a grounded, True Detective style procedural, a real tonal swing after Supergirl struggled at the box office this summer. Nathan Fillion shows up as Guy Gardner and Kelly Macdonald plays a small town sheriff pulled into a conspiracy that goes way past one murder. James Gunn's DCU needs a win right now, and a lot of people are hoping this gritty take on the Green Lanterns is it. Early buzz suggests it might be exactly the reset the DCU needed.
Merch Watch
With Avengers: Doomsday trailers everywhere and the new X-Men cast locked in, expect a wave of fresh Marvel Legends figures for Doctor Doom, the Fantastic Four, and the mutants over the next few months. Keep an eye out for Star Wars figures tied to Starfighter too once that trailer makes the rounds. Or commission a custom piece inspired by your favorite character.
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