Today, Marvel gifted us the Avengers: Doomsday trailer a few days earlier than we expected to see it, which means we have even more time to over-analyze the new footage and wildly theorize about what everything could possibly mean. Why is Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) fighting Gambit (Channing Tatum)? Are M’Baku (Winston Duke) and the Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) going to be our new favorite unlikely Marvel Cinematic Universe duo? And, most importantly, how is Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) back? Let’s break it all down.
The trailer opens on a battered sign that reads “Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.”
Professor X (Patrick Stewart), seemingly inside the school, shields his eyes from an unnatural, bright light. The wide shot shows that the school has seen better days. As Professor X watches whatever’s going on in the sky, we hear narration from Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.). “Something’s coming,” he says. “Something we may not be able to deter.” What is that accent he’s doing, you ask? Who knows!
Canonically, Doom is from Latveria, a fictional country in Eastern Europe, so Downey is probably going for something vaguely familiar but also not fully based in reality, which is basically where he lands.
We cut to a shot of Doom kneeling somewhere outdoors with flames in the background. “Before this day is done, we shall be faced with an unthinkable decision,” he says. Warning people of impending destruction doesn’t especially seem like something a villain would do, but we don’t have enough details to see the whole picture of what’s going on here.
There’s an establishing shot of Avengers Tower, then Thor (Chris Hemsworth) escorts the Fantastic Four (Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/the Thing, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch) inside to meet Sam Wilson/Captain America (Anthony Mackie), Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), and Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd).
Thor gives a rousing speech via narration as we see him gather Ant-Man, Sam Wilson, the Fantastic Four, Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell), Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Bucky Barnes in a large room. They’re grouped roughly by team/faction: the Thunderbolts are all together, as are the Fantastic Four and the remaining original Avengers. “I’ve fought with many warriors in my time,” Thor says. “They were far stronger than all of us put together. And they died. They died facing enemies and threats that scared me far less than this one.”
Next, Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), and a group of Wakandans face off against Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía), who’s sitting on his throne in Talokan, and some Talokanil soldiers. Look close and you can see John Walker, Bucky, Ghost, Joaquin Torres/Falcon (Danny Ramirez), and Ben Grimm on the edges of the confrontation, too.
Thor streaks across the sky in a bolt of lightning and lands on a devastated battlefield full of toppled statues. We get a nice view of his axe, Stormbreaker, with Doctor Doom looming in the distance.
Uh oh! That sure looks like Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters being blown to pieces. And that’s definitely Cyclops (James Marsden) scoping the place out just before the trailer cuts to a fight between Gambit and Shang-Chi.
“Everything that they sacrificed will be for nothing if we do not stand together,” Thor’s narration continues. We see Loki (Tom Hiddleston) twirling his TVA identification card, then M’Baku shaking hands with Ben Grimm as Shuri, Sue Storm, Bucky, Falcon, and Ghost look on.
There’s a quick shot of Yelena Belova pointing a gun at someone. Reed Richards, Sam Wilson, and H.E.R.B.I.E. are in the background. We then see a snippet of a fight scene between Yelena and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) where Mystique shapeshifts into an identical copy of Yelena. “Put aside your petty squabbles…” Thor narrates.
“…And presume nothing except this. If you return, you will return as brothers and sisters.” There’s a beautiful shot of Professor X and Magneto (Ian McKellen) clasping hands, then a quick peek at Scott and Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) hugging and Johnny and Sue Storm embracing.
There are a few unremarkable individual hero shots before we get a quick wide view of the fight inside the School for Gifted Youngsters. That’s Shang-Chi in the foreground, with Gambit, Mystique, Sam Wilson, and one of the Fantastic Four in the background. Then, the trailer cuts to Cyclops absolutely losing his shit somewhere.
It looks like he’s outside, but he could just as easily be in the wreckage of the school. There does seem to be the remnant of a railing behind him, but it doesn’t quite match the style of the railings in the school. The most interesting thing about this shot is those two pillar-looking things on the left side of the image above are actually legs—someone or something massive is moving in the background.
A few more hero shots, then:
Thor finishes his speech. “But mark my words, we’re going to need a miracle,” he says. Thor faces off against Doctor Doom, bringing Stormbreaker down for what should be a devastating, if not lethal, blow, but Doctor Doom deflects it with just two fingers. It’s a huge moment, but we’re not done quite yet. This is Marvel, so you know there’s going to be a button on this trailer.
As soon as Thor says “miracle,” we see a shot of him walking toward someone off-camera. “Hey, pal,” we hear, and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) just strolls in and summons Mjölnir like he’s not supposed to be dead. “It’s not possible,” Thor whispers, and yeah, his face really says it all. As far as Marvel buttons go, it’s a pretty good one, ending the trailer on a note of genuine emotional catharsis and intrigue rather than misplaced humor. Because, really, how is he back?
We’ll find out when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18.
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