Back in August, Thunderbolts* star David Harbour seemingly dropped a major Avengers: Doomsday spoiler when Variety asked him to recite a line from the movie.
Adopting his Russian accent and pointing at the interviewer, the Red Guardian actor replied, "You... are Tony Stark." That's understandably led to a lot of speculation about whether Doctor Doom will be unmasked to reveal Iron Man's face, a potential connection between the two characters which is dividing opinions.
The prevailing belief is still that Robert Downey Jr. is simply playing a different character in the MCU (rather than Victor Von Doom being an evil Tony Stark).
However, we've already seen that different people can look the same across the Multiverse; Chris Evans, for example, has now played both Earth-616's Captain America and The Void's Human Torch from the 2005 Fantastic Four movie.
In a new interview with ScreenRant, Harbour went into apparent damage control mode. "Did I say that I said that? No, I think you guys make this stuff up," he said. "The guy asked me for a line from Avengers: Doomsday, and my line was, 'Five, four, three, two, [one].' That's my line that I gave him. I don't know about the Tony Stark thing."
"Wyatt Russell sent me an article like, 'David Harbour just ruined the movie.' And I was like, 'Okay.' So, I don't know. I don't think I said that. If I did, I'm sorry. I don't say that in the movie."
He added, "I do say 'Five, four, three, two, one,' though. That's a big spoiler. I count down from five at one point during the movie, and something very important happens."
It seems we'll have to wait and see whether Harbour was trolling or inadvertently spoiled one of Avengers: Doomsday's biggest moments.
It's previously been reported that Red Guardian's role in the movie will be relatively minor, with him remaining in Avengers Tower with Bob when the rest of the New Avengers venture into the Multiverse. Perhaps he'll say that line to another genius like Reed Richards if and when they cross paths?
You can hear more from Harbour in the player below.
In Avengers: Doomsday, beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Mabel Cadena, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, India Rose Hemsworth, and Wesley Holloway all make their Avengers franchise debuts.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, along with X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden, plus Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron has also been enlisted to refine the story, alongside Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18.