With Avengers: Doomsday's first trailer expected to be released next month, more details about Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom are starting to find their way online.
Yesterday evening, we learned that the movie could feature multiple Doctor Doom Variants (we've since heard that they may, in fact, be Doombots, rather than Multiversal doppelgangers). As for Victor Von Doom's supposed revenge mission, we have a couple of additional details about that, too.
According to scooper @MyTimeToShineH, Downey's Doom did indeed have a wife and son who died. @variablelace, who has been sharing various costume leaks on social media lately, added to that by suggesting their deaths are why Victor is now targeting Steve Rogers.
If Doom lost his family due to an Incursion created by the former Captain America, then it explains why he's out for vengeance.
After helping to save the universe in Avengers: Endgame, Steve returned the Infinity Stones and Mjolnir to their rightful place in the timeline. He then used the Avengers' time-travel platform to find Peggy Carter after World War II, getting his happy ending.
Later, we found Steve in the present day as an old man. He'd somehow reforged his shield and presented it to Sam Wilson, requesting that The Falcon become the new Captain America. He refused to reveal where he'd been for the past several decades, and we haven't seen Steve since (though multiple projects have indicated that he's died).
It was a good way to end Cap's story, but it appears the plan now is to retcon that and reveal the full story behind what became of Steve. Honestly, it's pretty confusing, and it's down to Marvel Studios to make sense of this.
"I talk to them all the time," Chris Evans said of his MCU co-stars earlier this year. "[Avengers: Doomsday is] where Pedro [Pascal] is right now. I mean, it's sad to be away."
He added, "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 officially 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, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and Ryan Reynolds are also set to appear, according to reports from the trades (if we listed the rumoured cast members here, we'd run out of space).
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.