Finally, finally, the Avengers are reunited!
The long-awaited reunion of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes can’t come soon enough. It’s been a difficult six years for movie theater owners since they last teamed up heroically in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.
To the excitement of exhibitors from Seattle to Key West, Disney released the first full-length trailer for “Avengers: Doomsday” at CinemaCon as part of the studio’s presentation to theater owners. So far, Marvel has only offered four short teasers, focusing on Steve Rogers (formerly Captain America), Thor, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, all answering the call to ultimate battle.
The trailer begins with Downey Jr.’s green-hooded, metal-faced Doctor Doom preparing to invade the multiverse. There’s a shot of Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) looking out the window of the X-Mansion, where a bright flash of light outside signals trouble. From there, it’s a flood of crossovers. The battle between Gambit (Channing Tatum) and Shang-Chi (Sim Liu). Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) transforms into Elena Belova, and the battle between Florence Pugh and Florence Pugh begins. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Doom confront each other, but Doom blocks Thor’s magical hammer Mjolnir with his bare hands.
The biggest moment comes when Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans, makes a triumphant return and is reunited with Thor. The Asgardians were shocked by the arrival of their Avengers teammates. Considering that Cap traveled back in time to grow older with his girlfriend Peggy Carter in Endgame (and took his place with Sam Wilson). It’s still unclear how Cap came back, but it’s clear he’s still worthy enough to pick up Thor’s hammer, just like he did during his fight with Thanos in Endgame.
Just as Infinity War and Endgame brought together the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Wakandans, and the Avengers, Doomsday brings together Earth’s Mightiest Heroes with the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Thunderbolts. After the Fantastic Four’s ship crosses into the MCU in the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts, we finally see Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and Thing meet up with the so-called New Avengers (consisting of Bucky Barnes, Elena Belova, Sentry, Ghost, Red Guardian, and U.S. Agent). In addition, after the two armies clashed in “Wakanda Forever,” a tense confrontation also unfolds between the Wakandan army led by Black Panther and the underwater Tarokan army led by Namor.
All the heroes (and a few former villains) must put aside their differences and work together to defeat Doctor Doom. Downey Jr. narrated part of the trailer in an Eastern European accent, joined Evans on stage and played the trailer twice to a packed house.
Joe and Anthony Russo are directing Doomsday and 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars, which concludes the MCU’s multiverse saga. The filmmakers have hinted at the idea of back-to-back tent poles being connected, similar to the two-part story of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.
Plot details for “Doomsday” are being kept under wraps, but it’s sure to be the superhero extravaganza of the year, or indeed every year. “Doomsday” features a kitchen sink cast of Avengers and X-Men, including Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Letitia Wright as Shuri, and Tom Hiddleston. Loki and many other heroes.
Marvel’s recent performance has been shaky, but the comics empire’s biggest post-pandemic hits have been big Avengers-style team-ups like 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.9 billion) and 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine ($1.33 billion). The last time Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe brought the whole gang together was in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which had the biggest opening weekend in history with $357 million domestically and $1.2 billion worldwide. “Endgame” triumphantly left theaters as the highest-grossing film of the year and the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, with an astonishing $2.8 billion worldwide.
“Avengers: Doomsday” is scheduled to be released on the same day as “Dune: Part III,” resulting in what could be one of the biggest weekends in box office history. Avengers: Secret Wars is scheduled to be released one year later, on December 17, 2027.
