While there are plenty of Avengers: Doomsday rumours out there, we still know relatively little about what the Russo Brothers are plotting. We've been able to piece together Doctor Doom's plan to "save" the Multiverse and an Avengers vs. X-Men battle, but beyond that, the movie is a mystery to us.
Now, we may finally have a rough idea of Avengers: Doomsday's plot, thanks to scooper @MyTimeToShineH. The trades have confirmed that Chris Evans will reprise his role as Steve Rogers/Captain America, and his importance to this movie's story looks set to be much bigger than expected.
According to the insider, "When Steve went back in time to go live with Peggy, he created the Incursions, so now Doom wants him dead."
This does add up. In Avengers: Endgame, Steve returned the Infinity Stones to their rightful place on the Sacred Timeline. However, he also created an alternate reality when he decided to spend decades with Peggy Carter, earning himself a happy ending in the process.
He later returned to the main Earth 616 timeline as an old man. However, the paradoxes he likely created are huge, especially if there were two versions of Steve in this reality at the same time (which seems more likely than a branching timeline that the TVA would have quickly pruned).
It's all a little headache-inducing, if we're being honest, but Earth's Mightiest Heroes assembling to protect Captain America sounds like a lot of fun. It should also be pretty interesting to see how Steve comes to terms with being the reason behind the Multiverse's imminent collapse.
This further seems to suggest that Marvel Studios is moving away from Kang the Conqueror being the Multiverse's biggest threat. We might get an explanation for his absence, but right now, we'd guess that the TVA managed to get his Variants under control thanks to Loki.
"I talk to [Robert Downey Jr. and the Russos] all the time," Evans said earlier this year. "It's where Pedro [Pascal] is right now. I mean, it's sad to be away. It's sad to not be back with the band, but I'm sure they're doing something incredible, and I'm sure it's going to be that much harder when it comes out and you feel like you weren't invited to the party."
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 the 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.
The Russo Brothers direct the movie from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Captain America and Avengers 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.