With the Russo Brothers teasing that #DoomsdayIsComing earlier today, excitement surrounding Avengers: Doomsday is at an all-time high.
We still know very little about what to expect from the movie, but earlier this year, several pieces of concept art leaked online. While that was thought to be for Avengers: Doomsday at the time, various rumours, set photos, and even comments from the Russos have led us to believe they were exploratory ideas for Avengers: Secret Wars.
What's shown in concept art doesn't necessarily make its way to screen, but we thought now would be a good time to revisit that leaked artwork and remind you of everything it potentially tells us about these movies. That will mean diving into spoilers.
For a reminder of these Avengers: Doomsday/Secret Wars leaks, click the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
5. The Young Avengers...And Doop?!
There's been chatter for some time about the Young Avengers—or Champions—assembling in the next Avengers movies, and that was confirmed in this concept art.
Star-Lord and Wong were shown alongside the team in what appears to be a bar of some sort. Making up the team are Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, Cassie Lang, Wiccan, and Speed, seemingly revealing that Billy Maximoff will indeed track his brother down in the upcoming Vision TV series.
Perhaps the biggest talking point is the presence of Doop. A member of X-Statix, he's an incredibly powerful and mysterious "mutant" creature who, in the comics, speaks his own unique language. We'd guess he hails from Earth 10005 or elsewhere in the Multiverse.
4. A Hulk Village
At first glance, it looked like Bruce Banner and She-Hulk might be in Latveria alongside Skaar. However, upon closer inspection, we could see that the artwork is full of Hulks, including a little girl who appears to be mid-tantrum and mid-transformation.
The implication seemed to be that this is Battleworld's Greenland, a peaceful land until A.I.M. rained down Gamma Bombs on the kingdom, creating a wasteland of gamma-irradiated creatures and Hulks. Since then, it's been ruled over by a Red Hulk Variant dubbed the Red King.
Another sketch shows a mysterious character chained up with water pouring over them. Based on the steam rising from them, we'd bet on that being Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch (who is likely Doctor Doom's captive, along with the rest of the team...).
3. Star-Lord's New Roommate
Part of the fun with these Avengers movies is seeing unexpected characters share the screen, and that looks set to be the case with the Legendary Star-Lord and White Vision.
Somehow, it seems they've become roommates. That's surely another development set to be tackled in Vision when the android presumably regains his emotions. With Peter Quill now on Earth and Vision still figuring out who he is, they may have struck up an unlikely friendship.
Either way, between this and the Young Avengers artwork mentioned above, Marvel Studios looks set to make good on its promise to put the spotlight back on Star-Lord after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
2. Doctor Doom (And Some Familiar Faces)
So, we finally have a first look at Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, and he's mighty formidable. He's also not in anything even remotely similar to an Iron Man suit, so that's a huge win for comic book fans.
Marvel Studios appears to have embraced the villain's Latverian heritage, and we could see Doom in what may be his white "Emperor Doom" costume from Secret Wars. Before him is a captive Reed Richards, confirming that Victor imprisons at least some of this team.
That guard on the is Yelena Belova, while Doctor Strange also appears to be part of Doom's court. Could the woman and child on the right be Sue Storm and Franklin Richards? We believe so, and just like in Secret Wars, these Battleworld Variants are almost certainly loyal to him.
1. The MCU's New Black Panther
Much has been said about Marvel Studios recasting T'Challa after Chadwick Boseman's tragic death. Now, it finally seems to be happening, though scoopers remain divided on whether it's going to be a Multiversal Variant or an adult Toussaint/T'Challa II.
There are several costume designs here, so we'll have to wait and see which of them the MCU's new Black Panther will don in Avengers: Doomsday next year. However, we're far more interested in who appears to be playing him.
That's F1: The Movie star Damson Idris. Marvel Studios rarely uses an actor's likeness if they're not at least close to being cast, so yes, he's very likely the MCU's new Black Panther, something he's since hinted at at least a couple of times on the junket circuit.
While much of this concept art was taken down with copyright strikes, some pieces are still live. You can view a handful of those discussed here in the X post below.