The X-Men reboot cast was only one of the big Marvel Cinematic Universe showcases at tonight’s D23 presentation. We also got a new look at Avengers: Doomsday, which spends more time on Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom than anything we’ve seen thus far.
In the trailer, we see the Fantastic Four giving the rest of the MCU heroes the lowdown on Doom, who has suffered some great loss that apparently turned him into a multiversal menace. Though this seems to take the First Family by surprise, as even Mr. Fantastic, who is typically Doom’s arch-nemesis in most interpretations of the character, seems surprised at the lengths the villain has gone in the film.
It does make me wonder if the move is just going to keep the mask on the entire time, and the Downey Jr. casting after he retired from the Iron Man role is ultimately meaningless because no one will even see his face. That would be the funniest possible outcome after Doomsday‘s clear attempts at nostalgia baiting have been the extent of most of its marketing. It’s still unclear if the movie will ever acknowledge that Doom and Tony Stark are played by the same guy, or if it’s just a sort of nod to the fans who have watched the movies for nearly 20 years or fell off sometime after Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
Avengers: Doomsday is coming to theaters on December 18, and will lead into the events of Avengers: Secret Wars, set to premiere a year later on December 17, 2027.