In keeping with tradition Marvel Studios brought the house down at its Comic-Con session on Saturday, as the Russo brothers confirmed they will direct the next two Avengers tentpoles and dramatically unveiled Robert Downey Jr. on stage as Doctor Doom.
It had already been leaked that Anthony and Joe Russo will once again assume the mantle after directing the box office smashes Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame (as well as two Captain America instalments).
Yet the identity of the main antagonist in the upcoming May 2026 tentpole Avengers: Doomsday and May 2027 release Avengers: Secret Wars was a genuine surprise to attendees in the cavernous Hall H in San Diego Convention Center.
Cued up by the sibling filmmakers, a masked figure clad in green walked to the front of the stage flanked by actors wearing Doctor Doom masks and cloaks. The crowd erupted when Downey Jr. pulled off his face covering and raised his arms in a grandiose gesture.
Marvel Studios plummeted to an all-time low last year when The Marvels became its lowest-grossing release and talk of superhero fatigue was prevalent. Saturday’s sessions appeared to indicate the fans are excited for what lies ahead.
Downey Jr., winner of this year’s supporting actor Oscar for Oppenheimer, last appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Tony Stark aka Iron Man, whose life ended in Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
After an 11-year run as Stark the fan favourite actor is poised to return in the form of Victor von Doom as Marvel Studios pivots away from Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. That film was the original 2026 Avengers release Marvel Studios had in mind before Jonathan Majors, a rising star who had already portrayed Kang in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was fired after he was convicted of reckless assault and harassment. Majors is serving a one-year non-custodial sentence.
The Avengers segment closed out a typically boisterous panel which earlier revealed the full title of July 25 2025 release The Fantastic Four: First Steps and brought stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach and director Matt Shakman on to the stage. Production is scheduled to begin on Tuesday (July 30) and the tentpole will shoot at Pinewood Studios in the UK.
Captain America: Brave New World key cast Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford Tim Blake Nelson, Danny Ramirez, and Giancarlo Esposito took to the stage to talk up the February 14 2025 release.
And Thunderbolts cast Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Geraldine Viswanathan, Lewis Pullman, Hannah John-Kamen, Wyatt Russell, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus entertained the Hall H crowd in advance of the May 2 2025 release of their film. Olga Kurylenko also stars.
The significance of the asterisk after the title, however, remains a mystery.
On Thursday night Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackson and director Shawn Levy introduced a surprise screening of Deadpool & Wolverine, which has raced to more than $211m at the global box office after its first three days in release.
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