Featuring over 30 superheroes from almost 40 movies released over the past 20 years, one would assume this December’s Avengers: Doomsday could be the ultimate Marvel Cinematic Universe final exam. 2019’s Avengers: Endgame was one thing, but since then, Marvel has introduced so many additional characters and concepts that the prospect of all of it paying off in a new Avengers movie is mindboggling. But, apparently, it may not actually matter.
Speaking this week at SXSW London, Doomsday directors Joe and Anthony Russo referred to their upcoming film as being “Phase Zero” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “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],” Joe Russo said, via the Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
So Doomsday, the 39th film in the MCU, which brings back Robert Downey Jr. as a recast main villain, as well as a thought-to-be-retired Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, “isn’t leaning on anything from the past?” Wasn’t this supposed to be part of Phase Six of the story, and now you’re referring to it as “Phase Zero?” That’s wild. You’d imagine that tying in characters new and old from Fox’s X-Men universe, Deadpool vs. Wolverine, Fantastic Four: First Steps, Thunderbolts, Shang-Chi and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, just to name a few, would require at least some prior knowledge of those stories. But the implication is that it will not.
How that’s possible, we have no idea, but in theory, it’s probably a smart approach. Clearly, Marvel Studios is at a crossroads after its last several releases have failed to meet its incredibly high expectations. So there is probably a balance to give fans who have stuck with the franchise lots of the characters and storylines they love while also not alienating fans who haven’t seen everything. It’s just surprising because that’s not usually the Marvel playbook.
And, in fact, that original playbook comes back just one year later. While the Russos are still working on Avengers: Doomsday for its December 18 release, they’ve also begun pre-production on its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, which is scheduled to release one year after Doomsday in December 2027.
“The stories that we’re focused on now are complete,” Anthony Russo said via Deadline. “Doomsday and Secret Wars speak with one another as two films and they form a complete expression. Whether or not we all collaborate with Marvel beyond that is certainly a possibility, but right now, the vision, the narrative vision is just for Secret Wars.”
So, basically, while you won’t need to have seen the past six years of movies and Disney+ shows to see Doomsday, you will have to see Doomsday to see Secret Wars. Which, frankly, we’re fine with. We’re craving the kind of payoff Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame provided. We’d just love to all be on the same page about it.
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