Marvel Cinematic Universe burnout is real, people. People have become bogged down in the convoluted web of Marvel’s multiverse. They’ve lost track of the endless ping-pong between MCU streaming series and theatrical releases. The only thing that could truly recapture the Marvel magic? Another deadly crossover experience like “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” Is it possible? I don’t know. But I know that if it’s going to happen, a top-notch cast is the number one item on the to-do list, and the sheer number of actors set to reprise their Marvel roles in “Avengers: Doomsday” is robust, to say the least. Seriously, everyone, including their mother, is in on this.
Following the epic “Doomsday” cast reveal in March 2025, Marvel and directors Anthony and Joe Russo have rolled out four short trailers to announce the film’s release at the end of this year. This continuous character-by-character flow has received mixed responses, but I think it contains a lot of the energy that marked the lead-up to “Endgame.” Despite the MCU’s increasing apathy in recent years, I admit that this has made me sit up and pay attention to it again. Love it or hate it, this will be the MCU experience for the immediate future. So we thought we’d put together the four character mini-reveals and do what we always do: rank them and see what there is to see. What does each tell us? Is the information repetitive or new? How much do we care, anyway? Let’s dive into this thing.
4. Thor will return (and what’s new?)
On December 30, 2025, the teaser for Thor “Doomsday” was officially released online. (Online, at least – many of them were showing in theaters days before they were released to the public.) It was the second of four trailers, and it mostly showed Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder kneeling in a forest, holding Stormbreaker and praying to his father for strength in his time of need. What else is new? There’s a lot of talk about duty, war, the All Fathers, final battles, defeating enemies, and a general focus on words.
It’s a familiar Thor trope – and you know you love it. He is one of the most enduring characters in the entire MCU. Odin’s son arrived early and remained a central character from the start. Its magical, mesmerizing energy peaked around “Thor: Ragnarok,” and I understand how important (and fun) this film is to so many people. To be honest, though, I think most of its best moments didn’t come in its own four-part franchise. They were in “Infinity War” and “Endgame.”
Thor has a way of shining in the MCU’s ensemble films, and he will undoubtedly be a main character in the upcoming “Doomsday.” This teaser also touches on his new fatherhood as Love’s (India Rose Hemsworth) adoptive father and the tension that adds to his long and complicated MCU journey. Make no mistake, Thor’s role in this is going to be awesome. But the teaser? Well, it just didn’t really bring anything new to the table. This is why he finds himself at the bottom of the ranking.
3. Wakanda and the Fantastic Four will return (together)
When the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman forced “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” to change course, it ended up building its own set of important characters within the MCU’s Wakanda narrative. Some pre-existing characters, like Shuri (Letitia Wright) and M’Baku (Winston Duke), were thrust into the spotlight. Others, like the king of Talokan, Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía), were introduced for the first time.
It was 2022, more than three years ago. Although we’ve since gotten little nods to T’Challa’s homeland in Disney+ shows like “Ironheart” and “Eyes of Wakanda,” the Wakandan story hasn’t expanded much beyond its own borders. We now know that the country’s citizens will be back for “Doomsday” – oh yes, and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and his fellow Fantastic Four astronauts will be with them. Yeah.
This surprising crossover was revealed in the fourth and final teaser for “Avengers: Doomsday,” which only officially went live shortly before this article was published. While “Fantastic Four: First Steps” was barely released in 2025, it ended on a post-credits cliffhanger featuring Doctor Doom himself (Robert Downey Jr.) making a house call to the residence of Marvel’s First Family.
This trailer ranks above the Thor teaser for several reasons. Firstly, it’s a double – and if you consider the whole element, it’s more than that. Additionally, these are IPs that have been set up for future MCU roles and are waiting to re-enter the fold. Between the injection of the Fantastic Four into the universe and the re-emergence of Wakanda (and Talokan) into the larger MCU narrative, you can bet your bottom dollar that this promo legitimately teased a very large part of the “Doomsday” story, if only thanks to the sheer amount of characters involved.
2. Steve Rogers returns (from the past)
The first “Avengers: Doomsday” character trailer was officially released online on Christmas Adam 2025. (That’s Christmas Eve, for those of you who don’t follow the trending terms kids are using these days.) This teaser opens in a rural setting with a lone biker riding down a dirt road. The evocative shot screams Captain America, and of course, it culminates with the reveal that Chris Evans will return as the one and only Steve Rogers. Oh, and he has a baby now too. (Or, at least, he’s shown holding a baby. We’re guessing Cap didn’t suddenly start kidnapping random kids.)
Yes, it was a dramatic announcement, to be sure, and it ranks above Thor’s because, technically, it was at least official confirmation that Evans was indeed returning to the MCU. Is this an unexpected development? Not really. To quote Jeremy Mathai, my colleague at /Film, Rogers has become the “Break the glass in an emergency” hero of Marvel Studios. He’s the one you scroll past whenever audience interest wanes because, well, it’s Steve, fucking Rogers. The guy is a founding father of the MCU. You can’t help but support him. That said, the fact that Marvel had to “go for it” and bring Evans back to make this thing work waters down the reveal a bit.
1. The X-Men will return (for the first time)
Okay, the X-Men contingent technically made their MCU debut in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” but that disappointing reveal was nothing more than a massive, multiversal dose of fan service. It didn’t last long and we didn’t really see much of everyone’s favorite mutants in action. We know an “X-Men” movie reboot is coming, but at least some of 20th Century Fox’s OG X-movie gang are reuniting for one (presumably) final go-around in “Doomsday.”
Indeed, the third “Doomsday” character trailer introduces three key mutants. In addition to a shot of James Marsden’s Cyclops (with some Sentinels in the background), the teaser gives a glimpse of older versions of Professor X and Magneto, played once again by cinematic heroes Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, respectively. They are shown hanging out together, holding hands and smiling at each other in a nod to their iconic tension-filled relationship.
This one is big, folks. It’ll be great to have Fox’s mutants in the mix for the drama “Doomsday.” More than that, this reveal – which has been a long time coming – has huge implications for the MCU as a whole. This means the film will bring in another group of key superheroes alongside established MCU teams like the Avengers and the Wakandans, as well as franchise newcomers like the Fantastic Four. Here’s hoping this iteration of the X-Men sticks the landing during their transition from Fox to Disney. I will say this at this point: the trailer is a good start.
“Avengers: Doomsday” hits theaters on December 18, 2026.
