After months of speculation and a CinemaCon-exclusive preview in April, Marvel Studios has finally released the first full trailer for "Avengers: Doomsday", giving fans their clearest look yet at the fifth Avengers film and the franchise’s biggest crossover event since "Avengers: Endgame".
The trailer confirms the return of several fan-favourite heroes, introduces Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, and sets up a multiversal conflict that brings together the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men for the first time on screen.
Set to release on December 18, Doomsday is positioned as the culmination of the MCU’s multiverse storyline that has unfolded across the past seven years and three phases since Endgame became one of the highest-grossing films of all time.
Robert Downey Jr. returns, but not as Iron Man
One of the trailer’s biggest reveals is the extended first look at Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. Marvel has not officially explained how the actor returns to the MCU after Tony Stark’s death in Endgame, though the trailer strongly hints at a multiverse connection.
Doom is presented as the central threat behind a war that appears to span multiple realities, with Thor shown confronting him directly. The character was briefly teased in the post-credits scene of “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” where his face remained hidden.
Chris Evans makes a surprise comeback
The trailer also confirms the long-rumoured return of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. He appears after Thor tells the assembled heroes that they will need “a miracle,” and is once again shown wielding Mjolnir, recreating one of the MCU’s most iconic moments from Endgame.
Disney had already begun teasing Evans’ return through a series of preview clips tied to screenings of “Avatar: Fire and Ash”.
The X-Men officially enter the MCU
Perhaps the most significant development is the official crossover of Fox’s X-Men characters into the MCU. The trailer features Professor Xavier, Magneto, Cyclops and Mystique, while Channing Tatum’s Gambit, introduced in "Deadpool & Wolverine", also joins the ensemble.
Returning X-Men actors include Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn and Kelsey Grammer.
A massive cast spanning three Marvel universes
Alongside the X-Men, the trailer brings together heroes from across the MCU, including Thor, Sam Wilson’s Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Ant-Man, Black Panther, Shang-Chi, Namor, Loki and members of the Thunderbolts.
The Fantastic Four also return, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach reprising their roles.
Notably, Spider-Man and Wolverine do not appear in the trailer, though both characters are widely expected to feature in the film.
Marvel’s biggest crossover since ‘Endgame’
The footage suggests that the film will not simply unite the heroes against a common enemy. Several shots tease clashes and uneasy alliances between the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four as they attempt to deal with Doom’s multiversal assault.
The trailer’s scale has already drawn comparisons with the first “Avengers: Infinity War” teaser, which was built around the payoff of a decade of interconnected storytelling and a villain who had been teased since 2012. “Doomsday” aims for a similarly epic collision of characters, but it arrives with a different challenge: audiences are being introduced to Doctor Doom as a fully formed threat while the multiverse’s collapse is still largely unfolding on screen. The footage leans heavily on spectacle, nostalgia and the excitement of seeing the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four together, making the film feel less like a reunion and more like the opening act of a much larger multiversal war.
The trailer further confirms the return of Anthony and Joe Russo, who directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The screenplay was written by Stephen McFeely, a longtime collaborator of the Russo brothers.
With ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ scheduled to arrive a year later, Doomsday is shaping up to be the MCU’s first true Avengers-scale spectacle since Endgame and the most ambitious crossover event Marvel has attempted so far.
