Lily Ford / The Hollywood Reporter:
Joe Russo said that they’re “back to phase zero” of the MCU with Doomsday and Robert Downey Jr. playing antagonist Dr. Doom: “That serial shifting and changing and surprising you and then reinventing itself and then shifting and changing and then surprising you — that’s exciting and I think you’re going to see some shifting and changing [with Doomsday]. So, get ready for it. Look, we were with Rob [Downey Jr.] earlier today. We were both talking about this concept that we are back to phase zero. This is starting over from scratch. We want to make sure everybody feels like this isn’t leaning on anything from the past.”
Not that I need to, because I’ve said it before — I really want Avengers: Doomsday to be good.
The run from Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame was truly a miracle. It’s been a mixed bag since — I really loved Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four, recently — but if you’re really going to try to tell me that this is “phase zero” and you’re “not leaning on the past”…
Why is the entire marketing about “[Insert Name Here] Will Return”?
Why is Robert Downey Jr. back, despite having a perfect send-off in Avengers: Endgame?
Why is Chris Evans back, despite having a perfect send-off in Avengers: Endgame?
Why is the entire Fox X-Men team back, after having send-offs in…X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Logan and Deadpool and Wolverine?
Why are you both back in the Marvel fold, given that you left to pursue your own creative work?
Be honest, guys. You can say that this is an attempt to get back on track. You can say that you’re being entrusted to land the plane. This just makes me trust you less and become even more cynical about the movie.
But I’d love to be wrong.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th, 2026. So does Dune: Part Three.