UPDATE: Following today's trailer disappointment, we have a post from Deadline that confirms one of the theories about the Russo Brothers' Instagram posts was correct. The only noteworthy one we've seen posits that the trailer will be released on July 18 because the green colour used has the HEX code "71826." So, stay tuned...
The Russo Brothers didn't "surprise" fans with a new Avengers: Doomsday trailer today, but Joe and Anthony have shared some exciting new details about the movie at SXSW in London.
Marvel Studios started marketing the upcoming blockbuster last December with four teasers that spotlighted characters like Steve Rogers, Thor, the X-Men, and Black Panther. Aside from some promo art leaks, we haven't seen anything since, and the expectation is that we'll finally get a full sneak peek at Comic-Con next month.
The return of the Russos was also announced in Hall H (back in 2024), as was Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr.'s return not as Tony Stark, but the villainous Doctor Doom.
After admitting that they were "exhausted" after their first MCU run—culminating with 2019's Avengers: Endgame—Anthony said that it was writer Stephen McFeely who "reignited" their desire to come back to the franchise.
"He came up with this creative idea that reignited [the project], and I can’t talk about that creative idea, because it’s the basis for Doomsday," he explained, "but that [idea] all of a sudden broke the skies open for us, and we saw all new kinds of possibilities with that idea."
Teasing that Downey's Doctor Doom costume is the favourite design they've brought to the screen, Anthony said, "It's representative of the character in a way that the costume and the character really, really fit."
Joe added, "Part of our challenge has always been that there’s something that we love from the comics, and there’s something that you know other fans of the comics love; sometimes those things are the same thing, sometimes they’re different things."
"A lot of times, what our expression in the movie ends up being is what we love most about the comics, but then what is original to our storytelling, what is brand new — because we always look at it as our job to not tell you a story that you’ve heard before, we’re never translating directly from the comics, we’re always adding a new experience that hasn’t been written yet, in terms of who these characters can be."
"But I would say Doom hits that sweet spot between being very specific and unique to the original story that happens within this film, but also delivering on what the most awesome things are about Doom in the comics," he concluded, prompting Anthony to point out, "We’re back to phase zero, we’re starting over from scratch. We’re not leaning on anything from the past. It’s a completely new direction."
Promising fans that they will "see some shifting and changing in the Avengers," Joe wanted to assuage concerns about Doomsday's huge cast by assuring fans, "We understand how to tell stories with multiple characters."
"A lot of that has to do with very subtle POV shifts throughout the story. If Thor, when he lands, if that accidentally cuts [Sebastian] Stan’s head off. That’s how close those points of view are to each other, and that’s all very calibrated, from a protocol standpoint."
Other noteworthy updates included the Russos saying that, for now, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will be their final MCU movies. As for where things stand with them, the latter is currently in pre-production.
Doomsday, in contrast, is a movie they'll be working on until "[Marvel Studios] rip it out of our hands in November."
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 is set to be released on December 18.