Avengers: Doomsday is the newest installment in a cinematic universe created by the creative team at Marvel Studios that has spanned nearly two decades. The films are inspired by Marvel Comics’ set of iconic heroes, first debuting in 1939 with Marvel Comics #1. The comic debuted two characters, The Human Torch and Namor, who are now at the forefront of the newest installment in their cinematic universe. The Avengers universe, however, began in 2008 with Iron Man, starring Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man. Downey is returning once again to the Marvel Universe as the central antagonist of Avengers: Doomsday in the form of Dr. Doom. He is the central villain and perpetual enemy of the Fantastic Four: a family of four that gained supernatural powers after coming into contact with cosmic radiation. The Fantastic Four recently made their debut in the Marvel Universe in their standalone film Fantastic Four: First Steps, which revealed Dr. Doom as the main antagonist of this newest installment. The new film is scheduled to release in December 2026, and the newest Marvel blockbuster, it is sure to entertain.
Now that Avengers: Doomsday has wrapped up filming, speculation and theories have begun to build as to how the evil genius Dr. Doom will be defeated by the end of the film. However, Marvel Studios is no stranger to cliffhanger endings as their previous blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War ended with the heroes failing to prevent the main villain from wiping out half of all life in the universe. This trend, compiled with the leak of a sequel by the name of Avengers: Secret Wars, has driven fan speculation through the roof.
Many point to the comics for answers, particularly in the highly successful limited 12 issue comic run by the name of Secret Wars. This comic follows Marvel‘s most iconic heroes as they are pitted against each other by a greater celestial deity who goes by the name of The Beyonder. During this comic run some of Marvel‘s most iconic storylines were revealed, including the death of two members of the Fantastic Four. Doctor Doom, as a vital part of this increasingly interconnected universe, plays a pivotal role in the comics, defeating The Beyonder and eventually taking his place as a near omnipotent threat to Marvel‘s greatest heroes. Doctor Doom as the primary villain of Avengers: Doomsday could follow a very similar route, especially when addressing the photos that have been leaked of the film.
Within the MCU there are many moving plots and actors that have been developing across the nearly 40 movies and 14 TV shows all featured on Disney +. However, a recent complaint raised by many fans is the sudden shift in focus for the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to the personal lives of actors. After the release of Ant Man: Quantamania, in which Jonathan Majors played the main antagonist, there were many teases suggesting he would reprise his role as Kang the Conqueror for the following movies.
According to Screen Rant, the main reason why the MCU seems to have scrapped this attempt at recreating one of their most iconic comics, that being Kang the Conqueror‘s 2021 issue run, is due to Jonathan Major being convicted of assault in December of 2023. The creative team behind the MCU has had to scramble to reconstruct a cohesive storyline after his departure, allowing Robert Downey, Jr. to take the role of Dr. Doom in an attempt to rescue fan interest. This is all in response to the consistent decline in returns seen by the superhero movie industry, after the release of The Marvels. This has been described as, “The worst opening weekend box office of any movie in the 15-year history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” as reported by Slate. As the popularity of the superhero industry continues to trend downwards, Avengers: Doomsday could very well be the last project of Marvel to break the billion dollar box-office mark, similar to their two previous blockbusters: Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame respectively.
There is a lot of pressure regarding this film for the Marvel creative team, and with the release scheduled for December of next year, and filming completed, their work is almost ready for the public. Many are unwilling to wait for the full movie to be released. They instead resort to scouring the web for set-leaks and building speculation. Approaching the release of their previous blockbuster, Avengers: Infinity War, the executives at Marvel encountered a similar problem, with nearly the entire third act of the film being leaked, as reported by CNBC, a week before release. The legal team at Disney has already begun taking action to prevent this from happening again. They are ready to pursue litigation against cast-members and individuals who release the movie to the general populace ahead of its release date. Now, as the film release date grows ever closer, and the success of Marvel is on the line, the excitement for the MCU as a whole is reaching a point similar to how it was prior to the release of their two multi-billion dollar grossing films. Movie-goers will have to decide for themselves December 18th, 2026.
