Various bits of information from Avengers: Doomsday continue to leak online, and the main focus in recent days has been on the apparent connection between Steve Rogers and the Fantastic Four.
A few different online scoopers have indicated that Steve will be on the team's rocket, last seen blasting to Earth-616 at the end of Thunderbolts*, with Marvel's First Family and Doctor Doom also on board.
Now, we have some apparent clarification from insider @MyTimeToShineH. Much of this is familiar, but some new pieces of intel link various claims together and begin making sense of what should be a key plot point in Avengers: Doomsday.
"Sometime after Avengers: Endgame and before the end of Loki Season 2, Loki goes to see Steve, who is living with Peggy and has a son. Loki tells Steve that the TVA is going to prune this timeline because Steve is not supposed to be there and is not supposed to have a child. Loki offers Steve a way out: he will move Steve and his family to a universe where they never existed, allowing them to live peacefully. That universe turns out to be the Fantastic Four’s universe."
"They live there for years, until the events of Avengers: Doomsday, when Doom arrives to warn the Fantastic Four about the Incursions and tells them they must travel to the MCU to stop them. Reed and Doom come up with a plan, track down Steve, explain everything to him and ask for his help. Steve agrees to return to the MCU with them so he can convince the heroes there to help."
This makes sense to a certain point, but some noteworthy gaps require explanation. For starters, when exactly did Loki have the opportunity to visit Earth-616's Steve Rogers and move him to a different timeline? And how do the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom know that Captain America is from the world that they need to travel to?
Those are questions the Russo Brothers can answer, even if it means retconning part of the Loki TV series. When it comes to Doom knowing that Steve hails from Earth-616, it does rather seem like the villain will be introduced as someone who knows an awful lot about the Multiverse.
We'll see, but it's looking increasingly likely that Avengers: Doomsday will be a more direct sequel to Avengers: Endgame than expected.
Avengers: Doomsday officially 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, and India Rose Hemsworth 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 trades have pointed to Ryan Reynolds and Hayley Atwell also appearing in Avengers: Doomsday.
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. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron has also been enlisted to help.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.