New Delhi: Marvel has released a ‘special look’ for its much-awaited film, Avengers: Doomsday, promising an ominous new supervillain in Dr Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. The footage is packed with glimpses of superheroes from across the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The two-minute-long video, released Saturday, begins with Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) discussing Victor von Doom’s backstory.
“Victor was always the smartest guy in every room. He used to be different,” Sue tells the other heroes gathered around in a room, adding that Doom lost everything he loved. The heroes—including the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Avengers—appear bedraggled and injured, as if recovering from a lost initial fight.
“I knew he was lost, but I did not realise he was broken,” Sue says.
The video also shows a destroyed city and an emotional Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) asking Doom whether he did “this”. In the same setting, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) later attacks the villain with his Stormbreaker, promising to send him to hell. Doom stops the attack with ease and proceeds to raise sentinels from the ground. The mutant-hunting robots feature as a potent threat to the X-Men.
“Hell answers to me, for I am Doom,” the villain says.
Downey, who earlier played Iron Man in the MCU, was announced as Dr Doom at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2024, where he appeared in costume and unveiled his face to thundering applause.
The big bad boss for Phase 6
The promo video seeks to establish Dr Doom as a serious threat. Quick shots of heroes show them as scared or worried, the music is grim, and the visuals are all green—the villain’s colour. His dialogue is powerful.
“All of you have lived stolen lives. Now, you must give them back,” Doom says in the video.
The video packs in a massive lineup of superheroes. Chris Evans returns as Steve Rogers, as does Anthony Mackie’s Captain America. Heroes such as Ant-Man, Shang-Chi, Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, and Sentry are also featured.
The Fantastic Four also get a major presence, and Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) is shown cradling baby Franklin Richards. The older X-Men cast is also brought back, with Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, James Marsden as Cyclops, and Channing Tatum as Gambit. Cyclops is shown unleashing his optic blast as the X-Men face Doom’s army of Sentinels.
The crossover also expands beyond these three teams, with Shuri’s Black Panther, M’Baku and Namor appearing, while Loki and Peggy Carter add another multiversal connection.
Interestingly, despite the film’s huge ensemble, some of Marvel’s biggest names, including Spider-Man, Wolverine, Deadpool, Doctor Strange, Hulk, and Captain Marvel, are not featured in the trailer, leaving plenty of room for surprises when the film arrives.
Avengers: Doomsday, directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, is set to release on 18 December 2026.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
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