Earlier today, promo art for Avengers: Doomsday revealed what appears to be our first look at Robert Downey Jr. suited up as the MCU's Doctor Doom. Now, the villain has been highlighted in a light show held at the Walt Disney Studios Marketing Expo in Shanghai.
In the 3+ minute video, we see the menacing Victor Von Doom sitting on his throne and later utilising his magical (Multiversal?) abilities.
What's particularly interesting about this video is that there's a lot of ring-like imagery, not dissimilar to what Marvel Studios was setting up with Kang the Conqueror. Kamala Kang's bangles, Shang-Chi's Ten Rings, his Time Chair, and even the Temporal Loom all had that in common, and while he's no longer the Multiverse Saga's big bad, it seems Kang's fascination with rings will remain.
This is clearly the same design featured in that promo art, and it's hard to find fault with the Russo Brothers' take on this iconic villain. The show ends with the logos for The Avengers, Black Panther, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, teeing up Avengers: Doomsday.
Earlier this year, the Russo Brothers confirmed that Downey was attached to play Doom before they agreed to return. "That was Kevin [Feige], and interesting enough about that was, that conversation was had a while ago," Joe confirmed. "And then Robert tried to talk us into doing it, and we said 'no,' weirdly because we said we wouldn't come back."
Admitting that they "were resistant for a while" due to not "[having] a way in," he added, "One day, Steve McFeely, one of our key collaborators, said: 'I have an idea.' He called us, and we went, 'That's the story, that story has to be told. It's a really powerful story.'"
It seems the biggest draw of that story is Doom himself, as the filmmaker went on to say, "We love villains who think they are the heroes of their own stories...that's when they become three-dimensional and when they become more interesting."
You can watch this Avengers: Doomsday light show in the X post below.
Avengers: Doomsday stars 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, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make their Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
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, and Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and Ryan Reynolds are also set to appear, according to recent reports from the trades.
The Russo Brothers direct the movie 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's Michael Waldron is also working on the script.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.