By Published May 6, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT Zoë Miskelly is an editor and second in command for Screen Rant's Movies team, having covered the entertainment industry for almost 10 years now. Zoë's love of superheroes and all things Marvel & DC started out in childhood, and has blossomed into a career getting to talk about some of the biggest and best movies and shows of all time, having previously focused on comics while working at WhatCulture. follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
The movie that has already solved how can handle one of its biggest challenges turns a decade old today, showing that the franchise has some years-old precedents for Doomsday to build on when navigating the trickiest parts of its plot. had, for decades, hinged upon Avengers movies tying the franchise together, making the break from the series after Avengers: Endgame all the more notable.
By the time of Avengers: Doomsday, it will have been over 7 years since the last Avengers movie released, since Endgame debuted in April 2019. Unsurprisingly, this puts the pressure on the to unify the franchise's trajectory and releases since then, as we've had a wide assortment of movies and shows debut in these years, and issues around a lack of unifying flagship series have become evident.
With much to do in the space of its runtime, Avengers: Doomsday pulling off the return of the Avengers and demonstrating how this new setup for the updated team roster will work is sure to be no small feat. That said, it's also something the MCU has done to great effect before, which bodes well for the franchise's future, particularly given the immense success of one movie that delved into very similar territory exactly 10 years ago.
The MCU Redefined The Avengers 10 Years Ago With Captain America: Civil War
While the MCU's current challenge in terms of bringing the Avengers back with Avengers: Doomsday after a near decade-long hiatus is certainly a complex one, it's by no means the first time the franchise has redefined what the Avengers mean and how they operate as a team.
The most pressing prior example of this comes in Captain America: Civil War - which released on May 6, 2016 - wherein a rift forms in the Avengers that can still be felt by the time of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame years later, causing the team to split into two factions, and ensuring the group no longer served as quite the same unifying force for the MCU that they'd been up until this point.
Given reestablishing the Avengers and fleshing out what this new era for the iconic superhero team looks like for the MCU is arguably the franchise's most pressing concern with Doomsday, it stands to reason Civil War's example is all the more important now. This is especially true since the film was and remains a decidedly well-received installment in the series, proving that this type of storyline can resonate strongly with audiences.
Following Captain America: Civil War's Approach To The Avengers Would Pave The MCU's Best Road Forward
As it stands, Avengers: Doomsday's story with its titular team does already show signs of mirroring Captain America: Civil War more closely than it initially seemed it might. The highlighted that Doomsday is also set to have conflict between two different Avengers factions, with the "New Avengers" and the Sam Wilson-led Avengers confirmed to already be in a legal battle over the title.
Mercifully, Captain America: Civil War has provided a perfect template for the 2026 MCU movie to follow in terms of how to approach this kind of narrative.
The fact there's still arguments about who was right between "Team Iron Man" and "Team Cap" shows how effectively this side of the movie's plot was pulled off, and following suit in Doomsday to add inter-hero conflict wherein there isn't a simple hero and villain would no doubt add dimension to its story. Better yet, this would provide opportunities for the same kind of long-term growth the original Avengers roster had when they went from reluctant teammates to die-hard allies.
Given the concerns and skepticism that's been present around whether Avengers: Doomsday can reignite what made the Avengers work previously and pave a new path for the MCU forward, taking a leaf out of Civil War's book appears to be one of the most straightforward ways for the franchise to do so. Indeed, it seems this is ultimately a move that could best help kick off another era for the MCU, by allowing the next roster of the Avengers to once again grow through their skirmishes with one another.
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