Yesterday, Marvel Studios revealed the first official concept art for Avengers: Doomsday. It's not unfair to say that it's nothing short of jaw-dropping to see the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Doctor Doom all on the same poster.
Despite that, fans on social media are expressing their disappointment that so many characters are missing. Marvel Studios isn't going to overplay its hand by revealing everyone this early, but between this and last March's chair reveal, it's apparent that the characters on the poster are Avengers: Doomsday's main cast members.
Phase 4 rapidly expanded the MCU, and throwing the likes of the Eternals, Hercules, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk into the mix was likely always too much to ask.
However, the issue seems to be that, for starters, there's no Hulk, Spider-Man, or Wolverine. The X-Men are also missing Storm and Jean Grey (among others), while Captain America's Avengers team is similarly lacking. Crucially, characters who looked set to be a major part of the Multiverse Saga—America Chavez, who can travel between realities, isn't expected to appear in any capacity—are also MIA.
Interestingly, this comes as Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige recently told fans in Shanghai that Avengers: Doomsday's character roster is about "putting these characters together that should never really be together."
He added, "That’s what Marvel's all about: assembling heroes that might not get along and forcing them to do what's best for the world. Seeing the X-Men and the Avengers and the New Avengers and the Fantastic Four together is a dream I never thought would come true."
"I can't wait for all of you to see 'Avengers: Doomsday,'" he added. "We have a movie after that called 'Avengers: Secret Wars', and after that, the mutants are coming, and the X-Men are coming, and that's been a dream of mine. I started with the X-Men many, many years ago, and to bring a new version into the MCU is going to be very exciting."
Ultimately, the biggest challenge for Marvel Studios might be selling moviegoers on this lineup. Steve Rogers (sans costume), Thor, and Robert Downey Jr.—as Doctor Doom rather than Iron Man—are bound to pique interest. However, nearly every other character on that poster has recently appeared in Multiverse Saga movies that fell short of expectations, either critically or commercially.
The X-Men fit the bill in terms of nostalgia, but of the seven characters featured here, two are villains, and two have only appeared in one X-Men/Deadpool movie each.
Here's a sampling of some of those social media grumblings about Avengers: Doomsday:
In Avengers: Doomsday, beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Evans, 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, Mabel Cadena, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, India Rose Hemsworth, and Wesley Holloway all make their Avengers franchise debuts.
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, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. The movie is produced by Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Jonathan Schwartz, with Callum McDougall serving as executive producer.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18.