In this December's Avengers: Doomsday, Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom. The actor's history with Iron Man led to immediate speculation about there being a link between the two characters, but as of now, that doesn't seem to be the case.
Avengers: Endgame recently returned to theaters for its "Encore," adding a new ending and post-credits scenes to set up Avengers: Doomsday. We've already explained how those link up, but the connections may go even deeper than we realised.
In a recent interview with CBR, the Russo Brothers confirmed that the 2019 blockbuster holds additional clues about how they plan to wrap up the Multiverse Saga.
Avengers: Doomsday wasn't planned when Avengers: Endgame was released, but the filmmakers have found organic connections between the two movies (lines like "you mess with time, it tends to mess back" set Doom's mission up perfectly).
Asked whether Encore's post-credits scene mentioning that 3000 Incursions was a nod to Tony Stark's iconic "I love you 3000 line," Joe Russo replied, "I mean, could be? There are a lot of really experienced brains working on Doomsday, and we try to think through everything. We love Easter eggs, and we love connectivity."
"So, I will say that there are... You're definitely lighting on a concept, which is outside of the new footage," he teased. "There are other clues in Endgame that will lead you to Doomsday."
Despite movies and TV shows like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Loki, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness dealing with the Multiverse, Avengers: Doomsday is being billed as a direct sequel to Avengers: Endgame. Marvel Studios doesn't want audiences to feel like they have to do homework to enjoy the movie, so that might be a smart approach, even if it means sacrificing certain subplots and characters.
The Marvels, for example, will seemingly fall by the wayside, as will America Chavez, a character with the ability to travel between realities.
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.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18.