How Long Is Avengers: Doomsday? Every Avengers Movie From Shortest To Longest
Avengers: Doomsday (2028) is right around the corner now, and one of the most prominent conversations surrounding it is whether it can juggle all of its moving parts. There are three different worlds of Marvel and Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) characters coming together in one movie. Plus, so many of those characters haven’t been seen or heard of in years—a decade, even. Not to mention, there’s a new villain who is only tangentially involved in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025). So, beyond the conflict of worlds possibly ending, a lot is happening. A lot of character work and exposition need to occur so that Avengers: Doomsday makes sense.
Moreover, all of those elements need to work together to inspire emotional investment in this story. This movie is in a unique spot in that its reported runtime is on the longer side for an Avengers movie, but it still may not be long enough. For reference, the Avengers movies from shortest to longest are: The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Doomsday, and Avengers: Endgame (2019). The Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) runtime is less certain, but it’s expected to be on the longer side, like Avengers: Endgame. That possibility bodes better for it than Avengers: Doomsday’s runtime does for its success.
Avengers Movies Were Shorter Because of the MCU’s Foundation
The reason The Avengers could be a reasonable 143 minutes is the work that came before it. It culminated the first phase of the MCU, which includes five origin-story movies. Tony Stark even has the benefit of two movies, with Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010). In those five movies, the MCU gradually introduces Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). It still impresses me how early the MCU teases these characters before they ever team up in 2012.
By Avengers: Age of Ultron, the MCU has three more solo movies that define Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Tony, and Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Their relationships and worlds have that extra time to breathe. Our relationship with them as an audience strengthens by seeing at least one of them every year until the next Avengers movie. The second Avengers movie recognizes the stories before it to believably create Ultron (James Spader). Likewise, Avengers: Age of Ultron can use some of its 141 minutes to focus more on Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who doesn’t have a solo movie in advance. All the while, it can introduce new characters like my favorites, Vision (Paul Bettany) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).
The pattern continues with the excellent, well-paced Captain America: Civil War (2016), which I still consider an Avengers movie disguised as a Captain America one. It can introduce T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland), while pulling Scott Lang/Ant-Man further into the mix after Ant-Man (2015) closes out Phase Two. It can do so because this movie, which spans 147 well-used minutes, exists on the preexisting history and relationships within the MCU. Ultimately, these movies have a stronger foundation for crossover stories. They have fewer characters, context, history, relationships, and stakes to create, and, in turn, their runtimes have less to establish and more to utilize.
The ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Runtime Could Work Against It
Things get more complicated with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which are the closest comparisons for Avengers: Doomsday and, subsequently, Avengers: Secret Wars. All four of them work as two-part endings to a significant era of the MCU. Avengers: Infinity War pushes established characters—Thanos (Josh Brolin) included—to extreme highs and lows. It’s honestly wild to reflect on how well it accomplishes so much in 149 minutes. I still think it's one of the best movies in the entire franchise because of its big risks and (mostly) great payoff.
Then, Avengers: Endgame is about the heroes winning after a devastating loss and wrapping up the Infinity Saga. Understandably, its runtime is longer. There are so many characters and so many stories to at least try to put a bow on. Characters die, others come back to life, and some disappear to places yet to be explained. (Yes, Steve, I’m looking at you.) Still, at 181 minutes, it’s a long watch. Surprisingly, it’s going to get even longer with its upcoming rerelease. But it’s something that fans, myself included, were eager to see after 11 years of this interconnected, long-form storytelling. It felt like and was a chance for closure, as well as a theatrical event.
Avengers: Doomsday’s issues originate where the Avengers movies usually succeed. There’s a shot in the trailer where nearly a dozen people are in frame, and barely any of them have been present with any real frequency or interacted since Avengers: Endgame. This movie desperately needs as much time as it can get just to establish characters, dynamics, and powers. Let’s not forget that it needs to properly introduce Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) before positioning him as a real threat. I wonder if Avengers: Doomsday can create emotional investment and believable stakes with a similar runtime to Avengers: Infinity War but without its same foundation. As an MCU fan and for the sake of Avengers: Secret Wars, I hope it does.
