The first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, released on 20 July, gives the first proper look at Robert Downey Jr. back in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this time as Doctor Doom rather than Tony Stark. The casting itself is not news: Downey unmasked as Doom on stage at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024. What the footage adds is how the Russo brothers intend to use him.
The trailer is the first real look at how the reunion is being staged, with the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men crossing paths on screen for the first time. Chris Evans's Steve Rogers and Chris Hemsworth's Thor are back, and Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards leads the Fantastic Four side into the fight.
Michael Waldron and Stephen McFeely wrote the script, and the film opens in theaters on Friday 18 December as the 39th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first Avengers film since Endgame. It brings the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and other corners of the multiverse into direct conflict with Doom.
It is worth being measured about what a two-minute trailer can prove, but assembling this many heroes under one villain, and bringing Downey back in a completely different role, signals how large a swing Marvel is taking with this one.
