Marvel Studios delivered some big surprises during its return to San Diego Comic-Con last night. A big chunk of the Hall H presentation was, understandably, devoted to Avengers: Doomsday, and the movie's directors and cast hyped it up in a series of post-panel interviews.
Talking to ExtraTV, the Russo Brothers were asked how they plan to top Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, with Joe admitting that, "I don't know if you can."
He continued, "I think what we're trying to do is continue the story in the best way possible, in a way that excites us and hopefully excites audiences."
When the subject of the three mysterious Latverian Witches was brought up, Anthony was careful not to give anything away. However, he did hint at the differently coloured masked characters being key to Doctor Doom's story. "We're just getting to know the world of Doom, which is an elemental part of everything he is."
You'll have surely seen rumours that Peggy Carter, or someone posing as her, at least, will be one of Doom's witches. Catching up with Discussing Film, Hayley Atwell said of her Avengers: Doomsday arc, "I always want Peggy to have something different to do [and] we have that in this. It’s such an existential epic of a movie. You see Peggy in a very different light responding to that."
The plot also thickened when, in a separate conversation with IGN, the actress hinted that the baby we saw Steve Rogers holding in Avengers: Doomsday's teaser might not have been real.
"Whether that is a reality, a dream, a fantasy, or a warning, who knows?" Atwell teased. "The image of that, the symbolism of that, shows that the beating heart of this story is relationships...it's essentially about people loving each other."
Over to Entertainment Weekly now, and Robert Downey Jr. opened up on the parallels between Iron Man and Doctor Doom. "There’s the science thing, and they’re considered pretty brilliant guys," he mused. "But Tony had the trauma that turned him into a hero and Doom’s got the exact opposite, to where it takes the prowess of all of these folks to go up against him, and it was a joy to behold."
"It was really weird to be on the other side of the bad-guy mask because it’s such an isolated vibe," the Oscar-winner added. "I’m seeing them all socialising and stuff — and I am the enemy!"
Below, we've included the full Entertainment Weekly interview. It includes comments from Chris Evans about turning down Marvel Studios' previous pitches for him to return as Steve Rogers and Downey assuring fans that, despite being connected, Doomsday and Secret Wars aren't just a repeat of Infinity War and Endgame.
The first wave of Avengers: Doomsday LEGO sets has also been officially revealed, offering a closer look at the Minifigure designs for characters like Doctor Doom, The Sentry, and Magneto.
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, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, with 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. The movie is produced by Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, and Jonathan Schwartz, with Callum McDougall serving as executive producer.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18.