The first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday (we have seen several character-focused vignettes) debuted during CinemaCon this week, and while the footage was not released, detailed breakdowns have been doing the rounds online.
As expected, Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom was the main focus. In addition to showcasing the villain's comic-accurate costume in live-action, attendees got to see Doom easily block an attack from Thor, and hear him speak for the first time (RDJ was said to have used an Eastern European accent).
Doom is never shown without his mask, however, and rumor has it that he will not reveal his face to Earth's Mightiest Heroes at all in this movie.
Although the majority of fans now seem to be on board, the initial announcement that Downey Jr. would be returning to the MCU as an entirely different character after playing Tony Stark for so many years was met with a mixed response. While speaking with EW at CinemaCon, Kevin Feige explained how the idea originated.
"He is ingrained in the fabric of the MCU for obvious reasons, and we would talk about when and how and if there could be a return. At the time, [Downey] was on his way to winning the Academy Award for Oppenheimer and there was every story about 'the greatest actor in the world,' and we thought, 'This could be it. Let's do it.' It's our universe. It's a multiverse. We can do whatever the heck we want. He played the most iconic hero. Let's have him play the most iconic villain."
Downey Jr. is believed to be playing the Victor Von Doom and not an evil Iron Man variant, but we may still get some kind of explanation as to why he so closely resembles Stark in Secret Wars.
As for Doom's insane power levels, co-director Anthony Russo reveals that the ruler of Latveria may have deep-seated vulnerabilities that can be exploited.
"Certainly with Doom, it's the problem in the extreme in that his power is so immense and so beyond. But that really liberates us all on a creative level, artistic level, to figure out where the complexities and the vulnerabilities are in the character," said the filmmaker. "They may have seemingly unlimited physical power, but there is something inside them where they are vulnerable, where they are exposed, where [there are] places that they need to protect even more intently than their physical selves. So I think the real fun of the storytelling is in that zone there."
If you've been keeping up with the rumors, you may have some idea what Russo is referring to here (it's the reason he targets Steve Rogers in the first place).
Aside from the title screen, nothing from the CinemaCon teaser has leaked, but there are a few fake screenshots doing the rounds that have fooled some people on social media. Honestly, they didn't even try with these!
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were hit with significant delays last year, with Doomsday now set to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026, and Secret Wars positioned for December 17, 2027.
Both movies will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Doomsday will star:
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Lewis Pullman as Sentry, Florence Pugh as Yelena, Danny Ramirez as Falcon, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, James Marsden as Cyclops, Channing Tatum as Gambit, and Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent
Along with Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Letitia Wright as Black Panther, Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, and, of course, Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.