LOS ANGELES, May 22 (Reuters) - Walt Disney's ( DIS )

movie studio has postponed the release of the next two

installments in Marvel's blockbuster "Avengers" series, the

company said on Thursday.

"Avengers: Doomsday" now will come out on December 18, 2026,

about seven months later than its previous date of May 1.

"Doomsday" will bring Robert Downey Jr. back to the franchise as

the villain, Doctor Doom.

Disney ( DIS ) also moved "Avengers: Secret Wars" to December 17,

2027 from May 2, 2027.

The new schedule was chosen to give the filmmakers more time

to complete the superhero movies, which are among the biggest

Disney ( DIS ) has ever made, a source familiar with the matter said.

"Doomsday" is already in production.

"Avengers: Endgame," released in 2019, is the second-highest

grossing movie of all time with $2.8 billion in global ticket

sales, behind "Avatar" with $2.9 billion.