It was recently reported that Avengers: Doomsday will wrap shooting this week, and that's seemingly been confirmed by a crew member who worked on the Marvel Studios movie.
Those of you hoping for anything particularly revealing will likely be disappointed, as it instead features a piece of iconic artwork by the late, great Jack Kirby. If our recent first look at the MCU's Doom is any indication, then we can expect Avengers: Doomsday to take at least some inspiration from the artist's portrayal of the Fantastic Four villain.
Robert Downey Jr. will swap Iron Man's armour for Victor Von Doom's in the first half of this two-part Multiverse Saga finale, but he isn't playing a Tony Stark Variant (at least not as far as we're aware).
The prevailing theory is that Doom hails from Earth 828, the world the Fantastic Four calls home. Why he sets out to save (destroy?) the Multiverse, what became of Kang the Conqueror, and what brings him to Earth 616 remain to be seen.
However, it was recently reported that Captain America's actions in Avengers: Endgame may be the cause of the Incursions that are tearing reality asunder.
Earlier this year, the Russo Brothers confirmed that Downey was attached to play Doom before they agreed to return. "That was Kevin [Feige], and interesting enough about that was, that conversation was had a while ago," Joe confirmed. "And then Robert tried to talk us into doing it, and we said 'no,' weirdly because we said we wouldn't come back."
Admitting that they "were resistant for a while" due to not "[having] a way in," he added, "One day, Steve McFeely, one of our key collaborators, said: 'I have an idea.' He called us, and we went, 'That's the story, that story has to be told. It's a really powerful story.'"
It seems the biggest draw of that story is Doom himself, as the filmmaker went on to suggest that they'll approach Victor in a similar way to how Avengers: Infinity War treated Thanos. "We love villains who think they are the heroes of their own stories...that's when they become three-dimensional and when they become more interesting."
You can take a closer look at this Avengers: Doomsday crew gift below.
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make their Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, and Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and Ryan Reynolds are also set to appear, according to recent reports from the trades.
The Russo Brothers direct the movie from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron is also working on the script.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.