Marvel Studios stole the show at CinemaCon Thursday, debuting the first extensive trailer for “Avengers: Doomsday” and delivering what may be the biggest theatrical moment of 2026: Robert Downey Jr.’s full reveal as Doctor Doom. The moment instantly positioned the December tentpole as the most-watched release on the 2026 calendar.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige closed out Disney’s presentation to a packed Las Vegas audience. “Doomsday picks up where Avengers: Endgame left off,” Feige said, adding that he is equally thrilled to finally bring the Avengers and the X-Men together on screen.
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo — the duo behind both “Endgame” and “Infinity War” — return to helm the film from a script by Michael Waldron and Stephen McFeely. Joe Russo framed the central villain plainly. “He’s not simply a villain — he’s one of the most complex Marvel characters,” Russo said. “He’s always three moves ahead.”
Downey strode onto the stage to the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” — an entrance that made the crowd erupt. The actor is beloved globally for his decade-plus run as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the MCU. “I couldn’t have imagined reuniting with this amazing team — let alone as a new character,” Downey said.
The trailer gave audiences their first look at Downey’s Doctor Doom in full mask. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor warned his fellow heroes: “Put aside your petty squabbles. Presume nothing except this: If you return, you will return as brothers and sisters. Mark my words: We are going to need a miracle.”
The clip ended with a stunner — Chris Evans showing up unannounced to grab Thor’s hammer, prompting Hemsworth to mutter, “It’s not possible.” Evans then walked onstage and got the best laugh of the night about Doom: “This guy — I don’t like it.”
The reveal marks the first full footage of “Doomsday” following a series of teasers in late 2025 and early 2026 spotlighting Steve Rogers, Thor, the X-Men, Shuri and the Wakandan ensemble, and The Thing from the Fantastic Four. Those teasers combined for 1 billion views online — without ever showing Downey’s face as Doom. The actor had briefly appeared as the character in “Fantastic Four: First Steps”, but his identity remained concealed.
Opening Dec. 18, “Doomsday” is the film theater owners are most counting on this holiday season. The film reunites the same filmmakers and cast from “Avengers: Endgame” — the No. 2 highest-grossing film of all time — and “Avengers: Infinity War”, ranked “No. 7 globally”, including the Russo brothers and much of their ensemble.
Rumors had been circulating that “Doomsday” might be forced to shift its release date due to IMAX screens being committed to “Dune: Part Three” for a three-week window. Disney insiders shot down the rumors, and Thursday’s presentation explained the reasoning: the studio is launching its own Premium Large Format certification program, Infinity: Vision — a viewer-facing quality benchmark aimed squarely at IMAX’s market grip. The initiative fills a gap the industry has ignored for years; while PLF screens collectively generate far greater combined box office revenue than IMAX alone, the latter gets most of the buzz and marketing dollars. Infinity: Vision debuts alongside the September rerelease of “Avengers: Endgame.”
CinemaCon is the official annual convention of Cinema United, running this year from April 13–16 in Las Vegas.
