We've already heard that Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) will have at least one powerful ally in Avengers: Doomsday, and just in case it wasn't already obvious which character the rumor pointed to, we have some more details from Daniel Richtman.
Possible spoilers follow.
According to the scooper, "Doom’s right-hand man is "a wizard who can use a sling ring. He wears a mask similar to Doom’s, but with a slot for a third eye on his forehead."
It's gotta be Doctor Strange... right? We can't think of anyone else this wizard could be, but interestingly, Benedict Cumberbatch's (former) Sorcerer Supreme being aligned with Doom is not mentioned in the recent plot leak. Some online scoopers believe the breakdown is only partially correct, however, which could explain the omission.
Strange does join forces with Doom in the 2015 Secret Wars comic run, but it remains to be seen how and why he sides with the villain in the MCU. A villainous turn may have been foreshadowed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness when that third eye opened on his forehead in the post-credits scene, but Strange did seem to be at least partially in control of his dark new abilities when he left to investigate the incursions with Clea (Charlize Theron).
Richtman also reports that Avengers: Secret Wars is scheduled to begin shooting in August.
In addition, MTTSH has shared the following. This was outlined in the recent leak, but just in case you didn't read through it, this is a massive SPOILER!
"Everyone who dies in Doomsday will be back in Secret Wars because Doom will resurrect everyone."
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were hit with significant delays last year, with Doomsday now set to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026, and Secret Wars positioned for December 17, 2027.
Both movies will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Doomsday will star:
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Lewis Pullman as Sentry, Florence Pugh as Yelena, Danny Ramirez as Falcon, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, James Marsden as Cyclops, Channing Tatum as Gambit, and Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent
Along with Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Letitia Wright as Black Panther, Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, and, of course, Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.