Avengers: Doomsday directors Joe and Anthony Russo have further discussed their claim that the film’s four recent trailers were not actually trailers — and now described them as “narrative information.”
Disney released a quartet of Doomsday trailers through subsequent weeks in December and January, premiering first in theaters with Avatar: Fire and Ash before eventually also appearing online. Successive instalments saw fans reintroduced to Chris Evans’ character Steve Rogers, catch up with a newly-solemn Thor, get a glimpse at an aged selection of X-Men, and finally see The Thing turn up in Wakanda.
Discussing the trailers, the Russo brothers previously said that they did not actually see them as teasers or trailers, but instead something else. And now, speaking to Empire magazine, the Russos have elaborated further on what exactly they had meant.
“Each one of these trailers is narrative information,” Joe Russo said, “and it’s all part of larger story. So I would argue that Doomsday has already started for you.”
Is the suggestion here that these sequences were filmed just for the trailers? Or that they’re more filmic because they are more akin to clips than action-packed highlight reels? His next answer seems to lean more to the latter.
“Look, the movie is very complex,” Joe Russo continued. “We thought one of the best ways to celebrate what the movie is was to give characters their own space and highlight some moments.”
As part of the same interview, the Russo brothers doubled down on their previous statement that the newly-returned Chris Evans would play a “central role” in Doomsday, despite his character’s apparent retirement in Avengers: Endgame and a whole host of new heroes being introduced in the years since.
“We have a special affinity with the character,” Anthony Russo said of Steve Rogers, referencing the directors’ past work on Captain America films. “We can’t see this narrative without his central role in it, basically. The special place he holds among the ensemble, he sort of retains that moving forward.”
The Most Surprising Avengers and Marvel Characters Not Announced for Doomsday
Marvel’s decision to bring back Evans in Doomsday has proved controversial among fans, who have variously complained that the move is a desperate-feeling attempt to win back lapsed audiences at the expense of newer characters, and especially Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson — the current Captain America.
Mackie’s only lead movie in the MCU saga is Captain America: Brave New World, which unfortunately is one of the worst-reviewed instalments in the entire franchise. Marvel boss Kevin Feige raised eyebrows by pinning the film’s financial failure on being “the first without Chris Evans.” No plans have since been announced for a fresh Captain America sequel.
So, what’s next? Well, Marvel is still running its live countdown clock to the release of Avengers: Doomsday that’s set to run for the next 10 months. In the meantime, however you want to describe them, Marvels four Avengers: Doomsday teaser trailers have passed a combined 1 billion views.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social