Disney and Disney+ often choose to parcel out information and tidbits of story details for major upcoming film events through different product releases, expos and conventions. “Avengers: Doomsday” is no different as we’ve been given teases and leaks of information for months during the filming of the movie and now so even more that filming is allegedly wrapping soon. The massively anticipated film, hyped as ‘Endgame’ on steroids is inching closer to it’s December 18th, 2026 release date, which sadly used to be in May of next year.
The Disney 2026 Merchandise Expo was apparently the perfect place to release a synopsis for the blockbuster sequel. The synopsis was released in Chinese, so this translation may not be perfect but here it is: “Doctor Doom has officially arrived in the MCU. This villain, a master of cutting-edge science and powerful magic, will unleash a cascading crisis across the entire Multiverse.” This lets us know that the character will be more faithful to his comic book counterpart than previous live action iterations of the iconic bad guy.
Doctor Doom has officially arrived in the MCU. This villain, a master of cutting-edge science and powerful magic, will unleash a cascading crisis across the entire Multiverse.”
The combination of magic and tech brings Ironheart to mind. Although Dominique Thorne has teased a possible appearance in Doomsday, there have been no official announcements about her casting. The lack of official confirmation doesn’t mean she won’t appear but means it’s unlikely she’ll have a major role in ‘Doomsday’. It’s possible Ironheart is brought into the mix for a larger role in ‘Secret Wars’ and uses her power to help defeat Doom but anything beyond a cameo in Doomsday is not likely.
The term “cascading crisis” in the MCU amongst it’s greater multiverse tells us that we’re likely going to see Doom destroy multiple universes. Could they revisit any other former Marvel films? There have been rumors of Miles Teller’s Mister Fantastic appearing as a member in the council of Reeds, but beyond that it’s anyone’s guess. The X-Men universe will take up a lot of the story clearly as so many legacy X-Men stars have been cast in the film. It’s likely we get more cameos from other universes in ‘Secret Wars’, which may even end up featuring Cage’s Ghost Rider, who sadly couldn’t make it work for “Deadpool & Wolverine” due to logistics. We would also love to see a Lou Ferigno cameo as Old Man Hulk, but any appearance OR unused characters/teams like “The New Warriors” are welcome. If Squirrel Girl could defeat Thanos, she should be able to do some damage to Doom.
Rumor has it that Von Doom’s mission will be for him to hunt down whoever’s responsible for the multiversal incursions that are apparently endangering all of reality. Didn’t Loki have this handled? Loki may be one of the beings that Doom goes after and it’s rumored that the Latverian leader will also go after Steve Rogers for cheating the timeline to get his happy ending at the conclusion of ‘Endgame’.
Other promotional material from the expo highlighted Doom’s armor, which appeared to incorporate Shang-Chi’s ten rings, amongst other high powered Marvel objects. The promo material also teased a possible confrontation with Thanos. Seeing Doom completely destroy Thanos would end up going a long way towards showcasing how much of a threat the good doctor really is.
RDJ has been extremely hands on with Doom and according to Director Anthony Russo, the actor has written additional backstory and costume ideas for the character. Downey Jr. is getting a huge payday for his return to the MCU, it’s encouraging to see him take it seriously as this role and this movie can make or break the MCU. If not done right and the film bombs in the box office, the MCU will essentially be dead, even if ‘Secret Wars’ is still scheduled to be released. If an Avengers team-up picture can’t make big bank for Marvel, then Disney will likely start putting it’s resources elsewhere.
The issue with phase 4 and 5 are that they haven’t really led to any massive team-ups, like the original first three phases of the MCU did. They made sure every six movies or so to tie everything together with a team film while phase 4 and 5 have been scattered into the wind, with a lot more TV series required viewing versus TV shows that used to exist outside of the movie but still complimented the overall universe. Doom is definitely the wild card here and RDJ’s performance could end up carrying the movie, although it would be better if the actor didn’t need to carry it and the story along with the performances keep everyone interested throughout the entire film.
What do you think? What is Doom’s mission? Does he want to end the entire MCU? Or save one sacred timeline like Kang? Will the Fantastic 4 have a big part in stopping Dr. Doom or will they drown in the all-star ensemble cast of legacy characters? What surprise cameos will we get? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
