Disney just dropped the Avengers: Doomsday trailer, garnering tens of millions of views in a matter of hours. Needless to say, the anticipation for this next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is massive as it brings back some old favorites like Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Professor X (Patrick Stewart) while showcasing newer characters like the Fantastic 4.
Then there's Robert Downey Jr.'s return. Not as Iron Man, the character who arguably launched the comic book cinema boom 18 years ago, but Doctor Doom, who is likely as menacing as his name suggests.
The Avengers: Doomsday has everything a Marvel fan could ask for: mystery, lots of characters they've grown to love, and one of the main characters speaking a chilling monologue that explains how dangerous the new threat will be.
The internet is now abuzz with theories based on the 2:25 trailer. What characters were seen? What does it mean?
What the 'Avengers: Doomsday' Trailer Is Trying to Tell Us
While the trailer is loaded with action, most of what it does is build intrigue and make us ask questions. A good trailer shows little, tells little, and leaves the viewer wanting more. Rather than showing major action set pieces, the trailer spends much of its 2+ minutes establishing dread while assuming that most viewers will already know the heroes.
That dread is shown via Thor, who explains how the Avengers have stopped some of the most unstoppable villains with a team better than the one he's talking to, and then shares that they died (maybe he needs to take a LinkedIn Learning class on improving management skills). And if that wasn't frightening enough, Thor adds that this one scares him more than the others did.
The trailer not only establishes that something far worse than Thanos (Josh Brolin) or Ultron (James Spader) is here but is designed to ask, "How can these heroes possibly stop this?"
While there is plenty of spectacle, what really drives the trailer is uncertainty.
The Filmmakers Return
Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors behind Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Captain America: Civil War and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, return after 7 years away from the franchise.
It's more than just competent filmmakers tackling a big project; it's a trust builder. Their Marvel films have been top-notch, bringing in billions of dollars and the level of quality that elevated complicated storytelling. Having the Russo Brothers back should make any fan feel better about the film's potential because they've already demonstrated they can balance dozens of character arcs without losing emotional clarity.
Along with their return is screenwriter Stephen McFeely, who marks Avengers: Doomsday as his 7th Marvel film. Just like the Russo Brothers, he knows his way around the franchise and has proven he can build complex worlds and tell deeply emotional and action-filled stories with a lot of characters. Infinity War and Endgame worked because every character felt like the star of their own story, despite so many important characters. His ability to juggle characters and plot in an understandable way should make the viewer trust in the story.
Finally, there's screenwriter Michael Waldron, who's no stranger to the MCU. With his hands in everything from Loki to Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as well as being a long-time collaborator with the Russo Brothers, Waldron's storytelling abilities, especially when it comes to the multiverse, got the script moving forward before the Russos and McFeely jumped on board. Waldron, by his own admission in an interview with ScreenRant, played a supportive role helping the others create a script for Doomsday.
The Franchise Returns?
It's no secret that the latest phase in the MCU hadn't been as successful as other phases. Was it superhero fatigue? Are the stories too cross-connected with TV series and other films? Or was something else not clicking?
The multiverse stories did seem to lack a central villain looming over the narrative. Thanos was always in the background during the Infinity Saga, and everything was leading up to the showdown between this elusive villain and the Avengers. But the multiverse films had Kang (Jonathon Majors) for a while, the incursions of worlds, and the Time Variance Authority, to name a few. Regardless of the critical and commercial appeal of these films, the magic of the Infinity Saga wasn't spreading.
Avengers: Doomsday takes it back to the central villain, the antagonist that the Avengers must team up to defeat. Great stories are often remembered as much for their villains as their heroes. Just look at Darth Vader, The Joker, Thanos, The Terminator or Dr. Evil.
Doctor Doom has the opportunity to join these memorable villains. The Avengers: Doomsday trailer is setting up a villain who appears to be highly intelligent, ambitious, and both physically and emotionally menacing.
Conclusion
The biggest takeaway from the Avengers: Doomsday trailer isn't simply that Marvel has another massive spectacle hitting theaters around Christmas, but that the filmmakers understand what audiences expect when it comes to the story of their favorite superheroes.
The Avengers: Doomsday trailer focuses on what's at stake by introducing a compelling antagonist and leaving viewers with one essential dramatic question: How will these heroes possibly win? Or will they? Remember, the conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War involved wiping out half the population of the universe, and Avengers: Endgame ended with (spoiler alert) the death of Iron Man.
For screenwriters, the trailer shows that spectacle alone only takes a story so far. Building mystery, creating strong heroes and villains are more effective than showing everything up front.
It's been a year since the last Marvel release (The Fantastic Four), and Spider-Man: Brand New Day is poised to reignite interest around superhero movies this year. Audiences are clamoring for a superhero movie, one that isn't just a trip to the theater, but an event that has built excitement and intrigue. Avengers: Doomsday looks to be the experience everyone wants.