At 2024's San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios confirmed it would be ditching Kang the Conqueror as the Multiverse Saga's big bad and renamed Avengers: The Kang Dynasty as Avengers: Doomsday.
With that, Robert Downey Jr. was unmasked as the MCU's Doctor Doom, a divisive casting decision given that he'd spent over a decade as Iron Man. Among the biggest concerns was that Victor Von Doom would become an "evil Tony Stark" Variant, robbing the iconic villain of his history and Latverian heritage.
While it remains to be seen whether there will be time to delve into Doom's past in the next Avengers movies, The Fantastic Four: First Steps' post-credits scene seemed to indicate that the villain might use Franklin Richards' immense mutant powers to heal his face.
That would be one way to get Downey into all the trailers, sans mask, but we have a positive update today from scooper @MyTimeToShineH.
Taking to X, they claimed, "Doctor Doom WILL have a scared face in Doomsday, at least at the start of it." It's worth noting that, in the comics, Doom's face remained scarred, even when he became God Emperor Doom on Battleworld.
The villain's face was only healed when Mister Fantastic restored the Multiverse, and if that's the plan in the MCU, it shouldn't happen until the end of Avengers: Secret Wars. Still, it's hard to believe Disney will want to market these movies without Downey somehow being front and centre.
Over the summer, The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman talked about Reed leading The Avengers (he was referring to the comics, but many took it as an indication of it being the plan for Avengers: Doomsday). Pedro Pascal later weighed in on that by saying, "It’s big news to me, that’s for one. I think Matt Shakman was doing an interview and when he was speaking about Reed."
"There is something that happens in the comics where he is sort of drawn in by the Avengers family and asked to be put into a leadership position. That is something that happens in the comics. It isn’t necessarily something that my character’s future entails," he continued. "I am being honest in that. I am not even trying to avoid spoilers. It’s a little bit of a mislead."
Despite that, we still anticipate Reed Richards' rivalry with Doctor Doom being a focal point of both Avengers movies.
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.