Avengers: Doomsday co-director Anthony Russo has addressed one of the biggest challenges facing the upcoming Marvel blockbuster: finding new directions for characters audiences have followed for years.
Speaking during a Q&A following a screening of Avengers: Endgame Encore, Russo explained that evolving established heroes is “a very difficult part of the process.” He said the creative team has to rely on its own judgment because the filmmakers are fans of these characters too.
Russo emphasized that the relationship between audiences and Marvel’s heroes is complicated because fans do not necessarily agree about how a character should develop.
“Fandom does not speak with a single voice.”
That creates an interesting challenge for Avengers: Doomsday. The filmmakers have to respect the history attached to major Marvel characters while still giving them meaningful changes that can keep the story fresh.
The Russo brothers want to surprise themselves too
Russo said he and his brother, Joe Russo, have “a lot of respect” for the storytelling journeys these characters have already experienced. However, simply preserving those established versions is not enough for the next Avengers movie.
“We need to surprise ourselves in terms of who those characters are, where they can go, what they can do, what can happen, and in doing that, we hopefully surprise audiences as well,”
Russo said.
His comments suggest that Avengers: Doomsday could continue pushing characters into unfamiliar territory rather than simply recreating their most popular versions. That approach is already visible in the movie’s presentation of Thor, who appears considerably more serious than his portrayal in Thor: Love and Thunder.
The change could be particularly important as Marvel brings together characters from different eras and corners of its cinematic universe. With Robert Downey Jr. returning in a new role as Doctor Doom and several established heroes coming back, the film has a large cast and an enormous amount of franchise history to balance.
Russo also confirmed that Marvel has not revealed the complete cast yet. He admitted that the sheer size of the lineup makes it difficult even for him to remember which actors have already been publicly announced.
Confirmed names include Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, Simu Liu and Tom Hiddleston, among others.
Avengers: Doomsday is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026.
| Release Date | December 18, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Studio | Marvel Studios |
| Director | Anthony Russo, Joe Russo |
| Writer(s) | Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely |
