The latest rumors surrounding Avengers: Doomsday is giving fans a much different picture of the movie’s core conflict than expected.
The casting for the film that has been revealed so far with Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards and Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, fueled expectations that the two would anchor a major storyline together.
Since Doom showed up in the mid-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, many assumed the rivalry between Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom was finally about to ignite on screen.
But new reports suggest that isn’t the direction Marvel is taking. While Downey’s Doom Variant exists apart from Earth 828’s Fantastic Four, fans were hoping the two geniuses would clash in a big way. If the latest rumour is on the money, that meeting may not happen here and some fans are already bracing for disappointment.
A leaker known as @variablelace claims that most of Doomsday will actually focus on Doctor Doom taking on Steve Rogers. Shortly after that, scooper @MyTimeToShineH added:
“[Downey] and [Chris] Evans weren’t even going to be part of The Kang Dynasty, and now they’re not only back but will be the main focus of Doomsday.”
Other sources have echoed the same thing which strengthens the idea that this story leans heavily on the dynamic between Doom and Cap rather than Doom and Reed.
The reasoning behind Doom’s obsession with Steve supposedly ties back to Avengers: Endgame. Rumor has it Doom arrives on Earth-616 convinced that Rogers’ decision to return to the past and stay with Peggy Carter created the Incursion that wiped out his world.
That destructive ripple may have even triggered the chain of events threatening the entire Multiverse. Fans have been wondering for years what Cap’s off screen life looked like after Endgame ended and Doomsday might finally give that answer.
Of course this approach comes with trade offs. Doom’s long running rivalry with Reed Richards is one of Marvel’s most iconic relationships and shifting it out of the spotlight won’t sit well with some comic readers.
The film is directed by the Russo Brothers with a script by Stephen McFeely, marking a return to the creative team behind some of Marvel’s biggest hits in the Avengers and Captain America franchises.
Michael Waldron, known for Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, is also contributing to the screenplay which adds even more multiverse expertise to the mix.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives December 18, 2026. Its follow up, Avengers: Secret Wars, is set for December 17, 2027.
If these rumors hold true, Doom’s warpath toward Steve Rogers could redefine the MCU’s entire multiverse saga and set the stage for a massive showdown.
