Marvel Studios brought Avengers: Doomsday to CinemaCon in Las Vegas yesterday evening, showing a new trailer to those in the building not once, but twice.
It's worth remembering that this event is for exhibitors and press, not fans. So, the odds of anyone there leaking the teaser are slim. Still, we'd expect an online release either next week or closer to The Mandalorian and Grogu's debut in theaters on May 22.
Fandango briefly caught up with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Avengers: Doomsday co-director Joe Russo, and asked about the returns of Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr.
The former reprises his role as Steve Rogers, despite getting a happy ending in the closing moments of 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Downey, meanwhile, trades in Iron Man's armour for a new mask, becoming the MCU's deadliest villain: Doctor Doom.
"Obviously, there is nobody we’re closer with than Robert," Feige said. "So ever since Endgame, we would see each other quite a lot, and it was unspoken for a long time: what could we do and how could we do it? Years went by, and we started thinking of this way to do it."
"I want to say early 2023 that we started saying, 'Maybe we actually think this could really work,'" he added. "Then I went to his abode and pitched him the idea."
When it came to Evans playing Captain America again, Russo explained, "Listen, that was a character that we spent a lot of time with over the years. We’re very close with Chris. We’re obviously very close with Marvel. It just felt to us like the correct way for us to come back would be to continue the story of that character."
"To work with Robert again and move the story forward. And that was really the thing," the filmmaker confirmed. "I think what excited all of us was we found a path forward that really was integral. It really required both Chris and Robert for the story to be told."
Evans and Downey were the only actors Marvel Studios brought to CinemaCon. Like 2016's Captain America: Civil War, it seems the idea is to build Avengers: Doomsday's marketing campaign around these two and the rivalry between Steve and Victor.
On stage, Evans addressed his return as Steve and reiterated that there's a good reason his character is back in the MCU. "You know, I said I would only come back if there was a real reason," he told attendees in Las Vegas. "And in Doomsday, there is a very real reason that these heroes need Steve Rogers."
"Now, it was 15 years ago that Downey and I began sparring as these characters," the actor continued. "We fought together, we fought against each other, sometimes on the same team. But this guy, [Doctor Doom], I love you Downey, but this guy...I don't like him."
Evans and Downey proceeded to square up to each other, which you can see in the videos below.
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's Michael Waldron has also been enlisted to help.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.