Avengers: Doomsday official trailer breakdown live — all of our analysis and theories on the new Marvel movie's latest teaser

We're in the endgame now

Alright, I think that'll do it for today. I might be back with more stuff to break down tomorrow — so, if you spotted something that I didn't, and/or have any theories on what the latest round of footage shows, let me know in the comments.

For now, though, it's goodbye from me!

Failure is an option

Like Avengers: Infinity War, there's already a sense that our heroes will fail in their mission to avert the Incursion crisis in Avengers: Doomsday. Heck, the fact that the latter is getting a sequel — Avengers: Secret Wars — in December 2027, which is expected to instigate a soft reboot of the MCU as we know it, is proof of that.

Doomsday's official trailer also drops a key hint that we'll see the destruction of at least one of the three main universes I mentioned earlier. That'll likely be the case, anyway, if the above screenshot, which appears to show a similarly yellow-hued explosion to the one that Professor X sees at the start of the trailer, taking place behind Johnny and Sue Storm.

If these events are one and the same, it's plausible that the Incursion depicted in the above image shows The Fantastic Four's reality being eradicated. Just imagine how devastating that would be for Marvel's iconic quartet and their desire to continue aiding our other heroes as the latter continue to try and save their own worlds from crumbling. If nothing else, it would create more melodrama and potentially further sow the divisions between them.

Avengers, assemble!

"Put aside your petty squabbles," Thor implores his fellow heroes in this teaser. That'll be a reference to which of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes' teams should be known as The Avengers, with both sides laying claim to the name after the events of Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts/The New Avengers.

It seems that Thor collectively gets through to them, too, because we see different individuals team up to embark on multiple quests to try and stop the Incursions from happening. Indeed, we see Sue Storm and The Thing, plus Ghost, Bucky, and Falcon, visit the Wakandans to seek their help. Moments later, we see Yelena Belova, Reed Richards, The Fantastic Four's robot helper H.E.R.B.I.E, and Sam Wilson in the X-Mansion.

Shang-Chi is also part of this contingent, with the Ten Rings-wielding hero fighting Gambit before we see Belova battle herself — or, rather, Mystique masquerading as Natasha Romanoff's sister. Prepare yourself for some unusual and unexpected alliances in Doomsday, then.

Three worlds, one problem

Doom might be this movie's central antagonist, but Avengers: Doomsday's latest trailer isn't shying away from the threat posed by those pesky Incursions that I keep referring to.

Per Marvel Studios' official story synopsis, "beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered."

We already knew that individuals from three different realities would come into contact in this flick — those being, the MCU (Earth-616 or Earth-199999, depending on who you listen to), The Fantastic Four's dimension (Earth-828), and the FoX-Men's realm (Earth-10005). This, then, isn't a new plot development.

Even so, we get another nod to the potentially multiverse-ending issue when Thor addresses the different hero factions at New Avengers Tower. Look behind The Fantastic Four, and you'll see what looks like a simple molecular structure on the screen. To my eye, though, this is a visual representation of the aforementioned universes being on a collision course with each other. Regardless, it's a fun nod to The Fantastic Four's scientific expertise to depict it as a molecule.

Speak up

I'm back with coffee in hand and ready to attack another hour or so of this trailer breakdown, so what shall we look at now? How about listening to Downey Jr's Doom speak for the first time?

"Hang on... what?", you might be saying to yourself. Rewind to the start of the trailer and listen carefully to its first voiceover. That's definitely Downey Jr saying "Something's coming... Something we may not be able to deter. Before this day is done, we shall be faced with an unthinkable decision...".

Not convinced? Nobody else on the Doomsday cast roster sounds like that and there's only one new character we're being introduced to in this film — that being, its chief antagonist. So, it has to Downey Jr we're hearing at the beginning of the movie's latest round of footage.

Now, the question is: who is he saying this to? Is it Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier/Professor X, who's forced to shield his eyes from a blinding light outside of one of the X-Mansion's windows? Possibly, although I think this is just a bit of editing trickery that highlights the threat posed by the Incursions. Maybe Xavier is watching one play out in real time...

But I digress. Doom's words could be ringing in someone else's ears. The Fantastic Four's Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, who has a complicated history with Doom, perhaps? Or is Doom telling another member of that team in Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman? We know Doom visits her, and and Reed's son Franklin, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' mid-credits scene. Maybe Doom is appealing to Sue first, with the hope that she'll convince Reed to work with Doom in his quest to achieve a multiversal form of travel before Doom inevitably betrays his archnemesis.

Caffeine, where art thou?

Alright, I'm going to take a quick coffee break as I've been at this for 90 minutes straight.

Talk among yourselves for the next five minutes — or, even better, vote in the below poll to let me know how excited you are for Avengers: Doomsday. Back shortly!

Loki flex

For those who need me to spell it out: yes, I'm talking about Loki.

The last time we saw the former God of Mischief, he was holding every one of the multiverse's timelines together after the Time Variance Authority's (TVA) Time Loom exploded in Loki, aka his self-titled Disney+ show. If he's not allowed to leave his current position of literally keeping the multiverse intact, then, how is he able to visit Steve Rogers in whatever universe the latter now resides?

The easy answer to that question that Loki visits Cap before he assumes his new role as the multiverse's protector-in-chief. If that's the case, Loki will still be a boots-on-the-ground TVA agent who likely seeks out Cap to tell him that, due to his presence in a universe that he wasn't born in, the TVA will soon prune this timeline.

Alright, but how do I know that Loki is visiting Cap? I don't, but the curtain netting in the above screenshot is similar to that of the netting we see in the Evans-starring Doomsday teaser, so it's not such an outrageous claim to make.

Anyway, this is where I think Loki's TVA card, which you can see above, comes into play.

We don't get to see who's holding the card, but I'd be stunned if those aren't Cap's hands. Not only that, I believe Loki will give it to him, so Cap can contact Loki when he and his family are ready to leave this realm for another one where they'd be allowed to live in peace and without fear of causing an Incursion due to Steve' presence.

What universe could they be taken to? The MCU is a non-starter because a version of Peggy Carter, aka Steve's wife, already existed there. Moving her to the MCU, then, would cause an Incursion in itself. Could they go to The Fantastic Four's if that's not the dimension that Steve settled down in? What about the FoX-Men's universe (more on them in a minute)? Or will they relocate to another timeline we don't know about? The plot thickens...

On your left

Thor isn't the only big-name actor who'll be back as his universally adored Marvel hero, because Chris Evans is also returning to play Steve Rogers.

Admittedly, we've known about Evans' involvement in Avengers: Doomsday since rumors first emerged in December 2024. Confirmation that Evans would be back as Rogers came last December in Doomsday's first teaser, too, so only those fans who didn't see or read about his appearance will be shocked to see the first Captain America in this movie.

There are questions about his role in the story, mind you — chief among them being what universe did he end up in at the end of Avengers: Endgame. If it's the dimension that The Fantastic Four (and, by proxy, Doom) hail from, is Rogers' decision to stay in this universe the root cause of Doom's family dying?

Moreover, how and why does Rogers return to the proverbial trenches to battle Doom? Sure, he'll always do the right thing and protect those he cares for — which, based on the aforementioned Rogers-starring teaser, now includes his baby son.

Nevertheless, how does he learn about whatever nefarious plan Doom has cooked up? Does he travel back to the MCU's primary universe at The Fantastic Four's behest? If so, how and when do they find out that he's secretly living life in a dimension that he's not supposed to be a part of?

I actually think there's a very specific individual who can help to answer those questions — and you might now know him as the God of Time and/or Stories...

A godly presence

I'll come back to Doom later, so let's focus on some of the other returning — not to mention popular — heroes we'll see in Avengers 5, starting with the God of Thunder himself.

Indeed, it's a curious move on Marvel's part to put Thor front and center of this latest trailer. After all, Thor received his own mini Doomsday teaser last December, so you might've thought that MCU heroes who weren't spotlighted in said teasers, such as The Fantastic Four, would've featured more heavily here. Clearly, that's not the case.

Why is Thor, then, seemingly being positioned as Doomsday's co-lead? Well, Chris Hemsworth is not only still one of Marvel's most bankable stars, but one of the few who remains from the very start of Marvel's cinematic juggernaut. Placing an instantly recognizable face at the heart of this film, then, is a way to get more butts on seats.

Of course, there's more to it than that. Thor appears to be taking on more of a leadership role in Doomsday than past Avengers films, which is evident by the fact he plays the brutally honest negotiator-in-chief in trying to get the MCU's various factions to work together to combat this incredibly powerful new threat in Downey Jr's Doom. Add in the fact that his brother Loki is sure to have an integral role in proceedings (more on this shortly), Thor's clear concern that Doom is someone that Earth's Mightiest Heroes should fear even more so than Thanos, and his desire to protect adopted daughter Love, and Thor's position as a prominent figure in Doomsday isn't as outlandish as it first appears.

Down(ey) for a new MCU role

Alright, let's start with what's obviously the biggest reveal of the entire trailer: Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Victor von Doom.

The Multiverse Saga's new primary villain, the grand unveiling of Downey Jr's second MCU character — the first, of course, being his iconic portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man — has been a long time coming.

Based on the brief glimpses we get of him in this latest round of footage, though, it was worth the wait because, hoo boy, does he look not only look very menacing, but also incredibly powerful. Hey, you don't stop an attack from Thor, aka the so-called strongest Avenger, and Stormbreaker with two fingers if you aren't!

So, what's his deal? Based on what we can read into the teaser poster in this blog's previous post, the prevailing theory is that Doom seeks revenge on something — or someone — that led to his loved ones' deaths. And, given that Marvel's latest saga has centered on the multiverse, it's possible that their demise was the result of some universe-hopping or time-traveling shenanigans.

Are the events of Avengers: Endgame, and/or other MCU multiverse projects, such as Loki, Doctor Strange 2, and Deadpool and Wolverine, to blame? We'll have to wait until Avengers: Doomsday is released in theaters worldwide on December 18 to find out. Regardless, expect Doom's crusade to be based around the loss of his family — and, if other rumors are to be believed, him taking advantage of the multiverse's potential collapse due to Incursions and potentially bringing said family back from the dead.

Doom and gloom

Anybody else got a spring in their step from Doomsday's first proper trailer? The new work week has literally just gotten underway for many of us, so its arrival has certainly lifted the gloom.

Anyway, as I prepare to scour the teaser for everything of note, check out the first official poster for the forthcoming comic book flick. It shows Robert Downey Jr's Victor von Doom climbing some steps and approaching a mural of what I suspect is his wife and son — who, based on the fact there's a stone carved monument of them, are no longer alive...

Oh my god, it's happening!

Well, who expected this? Nobody, that's who!

Many, if not all, of us though Marvel would withhold the release of Avengers: Doomsday's first official trailer until its forthcoming Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2026, which takes place on Saturday, July 25. But, lo and behold, the comic book titan has taken us all by surprise and unveiled it today (Monday, July 20).

As I said up top, there's a lot to unpack from the film's latest teaser. Join me, then, over the next few hours as I comb over it with a fine toothed comb and pick out all of the Easter eggs, references, and other bits and pieces you might have missed on first viewing. Excelsior!