Credit: Marvel StudiosThe first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday (2026) has arrived, following four earlier teasers that featured Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the Wakandans.
Avengers: Doomsday is the first full ensemble film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since Avengers: Endgame (2019) and the 39th film in the franchise. It sees the Avengers, Wakandans, New Avengers, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men converge from across the universe to face an existential threat posed by the Marvel supervillain Doctor Doom.
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Here’s the film’s official description from Marvel:
Avengers: Doomsday follows beloved heroes from three distinct universes as they’re set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.
Marvel has kept plot details close to the chest, although several rumors and reports have circulated since the film’s announcement. Most recently, the film’s entire synopsis allegedly leaked online. For something more official, check out the first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday:
Has the Full Cast of Doomsday Been Revealed?
The new trailer positions Thor as the lead protagonist, but there are a lot of heroes in this film.
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame), Doomsday features a massive ensemble cast with several returning MCU actors, including: Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Wyatt Russell (John Walker/U.S. Agent), Simu Liu (Xu Shang-Chi), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian), Letitia Wright (Shuri/Black Panther), and Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier).
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn reprise their roles as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Ben Grimm/The Thing, and Johnny Storm/Human Torch, respectively, from the 2025 film Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Related: Official: Marvel Retcons 14 Years of MCU Canon for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
Which X-Men Are in Doomsday?
Several actors from 20th Century Fox’s X-Men movies will also appear: Ian McKellen’s Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, Alan Cumming’s Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, Rebecca Romijn’s Raven Darkhölme/Mystique, James Marsden’s Scott Summers/Cyclops, Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier/Professor X (who also appeared in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), and Kelsey Grammer’s Hank McCoy/Beast (who had a cameo at the end of 2023’s The Marvels).
Channing Tatum also returns as Remy LeBeau/Gambit from Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Meanwhile, there are conflicting reports that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman will reprise their roles as Wade Wilson/Deadpool and Logan/Wolverine, as well as Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, following his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) alongside Andrew Garfield’s version of the character. However, it’s still unknown whether Tom Holland will appear in Doomsday — although he’s back in Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) on July 31.
Robert Downey Jr. as Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom
Perhaps the biggest name in this film is Robert Downey Jr., who doesn’t return as Tony Stark/Iron Man (he died in Avengers: Endgame), but plays the iconic Marvel villain Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom, a character who was teased at the end of Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The actor was announced as the supervillain during the Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024. “New mask, same task,” Downey said on stage in his Doom robes after removing his metal mask, adding, “What can I say? I like playing complicated characters.”
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: Will the Avengers actually recognize Doom’s face?
While the Multiverse has allowed for Marvel to often cast the same actor as multiple characters (think Chris Evans returning as Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine), many fans are wondering whether the Avengers will actually recognize Victor von Doom in Doomsday, assuming, of course, he removes his mask at some point during the film or its sequel Avengers: Secret Wars (which he probably will).
Is Victor von Doom Actually Tony Stark?
It’s worth noting that Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom and Tony Stark/Iron Man are two entirely separate characters. In Marvel Comics, Victor von Doom is a scientist, sorcerer, and the ruler of the fictional Eastern European nation of Latveria, and is the arch-nemesis of the Fantastic Four.
Fan theories, however, suggest that Doom is a variant of Stark in the film. There’s also the 2016 comic Infamous Iron Man, in which Doom takes up the mantle of Iron Man while Stark is in a coma. Although Joe and Anthony Russo have confirmed that they are two different characters.
In an interview with The Times last year, the directors teased some sort of connection between Stark’s death in Endgame and Doom, saying, “We can’t explain that as it’s part of the story.” And recently, they suggested to Soundsphere that Doom and Stark’s physical resemblance will be addressed, explaining that while they can’t “give away anything,” that it “will all make sense when you watch the movies [Doomsday and Secret Wars].”
Avengers: Doomsday will be released in the US on December 18, 2026. The sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, which will conclude Phase Six of the MCU, is scheduled to hit theaters on December 17, 2027.
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