Things have changed quite a bit for Marvel Studios since Avengers: Endgame. At that time, it truly felt like the end of an era, and audiences treated it as such. They were seeing the epic finale to a story they had been following for over a decade. Now, Marvel no longer holds the dominance it once did, and the hope is that Avengers: Doomsday can swing the momentum back in its favor. And they are doing that by going old school; a big Marvel presentation at San Diego Comic-Con later this week, and a massive trailer that puts all of the cards on the table. If the fanboys can’t get excited about this, nothing is going to do it.
The centerpiece of the trailer is the fear held within the heart of Thor, who warns ominously that the team being assembled to face this new threat isn’t as strong as the heroes he fought with in the past. We also see the arrival of the Fantastic Four, the New Avengers, Black Panther and the Wakandans, the X-Men, and even Namor. What could possibly be so strong that it can defeat a team with this amount of power?
Obviously, we know the answer. Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. In one incredible moment, Doom goes face-to-face with Thor and shuts down the thunder god effortlessly. As Thor says, “We’re going to need a miracle.”
Avengers: Doomsday feels like an MCU throwback in another way. The Russo Brothers, directors of four Marvel films including Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, are back behind the camera, reunited with writer Stephen McFeely.
The ensemble is huge and pulls from every corner of the MCU: Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, Simi Liu as Shang-Chi, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy, Lewis Pullman as Bob, Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr, Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner, Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkhölme, James Marsden as Scott Summers, Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, and Robert Downey Jr. as Victor von Doom.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th.
