UPDATE: Many MCU fans questioned the absence of the late Sir Patrick Stewart's Professor X from the covers below. Well, Empire has now revealed a special Avengers: Doomsday subscriber cover by Thomas Walker featuring Charles Xavier.
"We're not as alone as you think..."
Empire Magazine has revealed four covers for its upcoming 22-page special on Avengers: Doomsday, promising interviews with the movie's filmmakers and cast. As usual, we'd expect excerpts from those—and the first stills from the movie—to trickle online in the coming days.
The covers, which combine to form a massive banner, showcase Cyclops, Captain America, Magneto, Black Panther, Steve Rogers, Loki, Invisible Woman, Gambit, Shang-Chi, Thor, Mister Fantastic, Black Widow, and Bucky.
They'll assemble to battle Doctor Doom, with Robert Downey Jr.'s villain getting a cover to himself. We've seen plenty of all these characters, of course, but Loki's presence certainly seems to suggest his role in Avengers: Doomsday has been beefed up a little since those early plot leaks.
Based on past experience, we wouldn't expect more than the typical soundbites in the issue itself. However, it's also possible that Marvel Studios will use the magazine as an opportunity to build excitement with carefully selected new plot details. We'll keep you updated.
We're only 36 days away from Avengers: Doomsday, and another trailer is expected to be released later this month. Currently, it sounds like that might head our way next week, with this magazine coverage used to increase interest in what may be our final full sneak peek.
Check out Empire's Avengers: Doomsday covers in the Instagram posts below.
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, joined by X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden, plus Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars 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 writer Michael Waldron has also been enlisted to refine the story, alongside Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18.