‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Shake-up Confirmed as Russo Brothers Start Over
The Avengers are almost back — but this is not the reunion Marvel originally planned.
More than seven years after Avengers: Endgame closed one of the MCU’s defining chapters, Marvel Studios is preparing to reunite Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Avengers: Doomsday will be the franchise’s first Avengers movie since 2019, with expectations resting on one of Marvel’s biggest crossovers yet.
The film will unite the Avengers, New Avengers, Wakandans, Fantastic Four, and Fox-era X-Men against Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. Plot details remain under wraps, but Doomsday is also expected to lay crucial groundwork for Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027.
The road to that December release has not been straightforward. Production began before the screenplay was complete, while Wyatt Russell, who returns as John Walker/U.S. Agent, previously said the story had “changed about a thousand times” during development.
More recently, Avengers: Doomsday completed reshoots and additional filming less than four months before its theatrical debut. Reports have suggested those sessions added further cameos, with Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff and Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton among the names rumored to be involved.
Now, Joe and Anthony Russo are making clear that the upheaval surrounding Doomsday is not necessarily separate from their vision for the film. In their eyes, Marvel’s next Avengers event is supposed to mark a significant reset.
The Russos Want ‘Doomsday’ to Reset the MCU
Speaking to AP News, the brothers discussed returning to Marvel for the first time since Avengers: Endgame. Anthony Russo described Avengers: Doomsday as a “back to zero” moment, while the filmmakers also characterized their approach as “starting from scratch” and “a profound shift” for the MCU.
That language is striking for a movie carrying decades of Marvel continuity. Doomsday will feature returning characters from multiple MCU eras alongside heroes inherited from Fox’s X-Men films, yet the Russos appear determined not to rely solely on nostalgia or the reputation of their previous Avengers movies.
Their return was instead driven by what Anthony called a “foundational narrative concept” from longtime collaborator and co-writer Stephen McFeely. The idea was compelling enough to persuade the directors to return to a franchise they had seemingly completed their work on with Endgame.
“We never want to coast on the capital that already exists,” Anthony explained. “We want the greatest value of the film to reside in the new thing it’s bringing to the table.”
That challenge is particularly significant after Marvel spent years building toward a very different fifth Avengers movie. Doomsday was originally announced as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, with Kang the Conqueror positioned as the central threat of the Multiverse Saga.
Marvel changed course after Jonathan Majors was fired following the verdict in his domestic violence trial. The studio subsequently shifted its Avengers plans toward Doctor Doom, bringing Downey back to the MCU in a new role and transforming the project that eventually became Avengers: Doomsday.
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Is Still Changing Close to Release
The film’s evolving history has inevitably raised questions about how much has changed during production. Starting principal photography without a completed screenplay only intensified that scrutiny, particularly once reports emerged of additional filming and late-stage additions ahead of the December release.
Joe Russo, however, has described that flexibility as part of the brothers’ normal process rather than evidence of a movie in trouble. He referred to the screenplay as a “living organism,” stressing that the Russos prefer to shape material around what develops once performers are involved.
“We’re improvisation-based, rehearsal-based directors,” he said. “We like to see what the actors bring to the characters, and sometimes you don’t get the actors until a few days or few weeks before you shoot them. And a lot of the time, that’s when the magic happens.”
Whether “starting from scratch” translates into a true creative reset, rather than another round of behind-the-scenes changes, will become clearer soon. Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to hit theaters on December 18, 2026, before Avengers: Secret Wars continues the story the following year.
Are you excited for Avengers: Doomsday?
