Robert Downey Jr. Debuts as Doctor Doom in Avengers Trailer

Robert Downey Jr. turned Marvel’s CinemaCon finale into a live reminder of the franchise’s pull, stepping onstage at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas wearing a Doctor Doom shirt and introducing the first official footage from Avengers: Doomsday. The presentation, held Thursday, April 16, 2026, closed Disney’s panel and made clear that Marvel is banking on a mix of nostalgia, star power and a newly elevated villain to restore the sense of event filmmaking that once defined its biggest releases.

Kevin Feige and the Russo brothers described Victor Von Doom as one of the greatest comic-book villains, a scientist and magician who is always three steps ahead. The footage backed up that framing with a sprawling collision of Marvel eras and factions: Patrick Stewart’s Xavier reacting to a bright light near the Xavier Institute, a different-looking Avengers Tower, the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts, the X-Men, the Wakandans, Namor, Gambit, Mystique, Shang-Chi and Thor all appearing in the same high-stakes preview.

One sequence centered on Thor attacking Doom with Stormbreaker, only for Doom to block the weapon with one hand. Another showed Steve Rogers returning, with Chris Evans joining the stage later and saying he came back only for “a really good reason.” Downey and Evans then played off the crowd’s reaction, and Evans added, “this Doom guy... I don't like him.” The crowd response underscored how much Marvel is still leaning on the emotional shorthand of its earlier chapters.

Feige said Avengers: Doomsday picks up where Avengers: Endgame left off, a formulation that ties the new film directly to the studio’s most triumphant crossover. Disney confirmed the release date as December 18, 2026, and said Avengers: Endgame will return to theaters in September ahead of Doomsday, another signal that Marvel is using its own history as part of the launch campaign.

Disney also used the panel to unveil Infinity Vision, a new premium large-format initiative meant to help audiences find the biggest, brightest and most immersive screens. The company paired the Marvel reveal with fresh looks at The Mandalorian and Grogu, Toy Story 5, the live-action Moana and Hexed, but Doomsday was the finale built to reset the room. The footage suggested a franchise trying to revive urgency by combining old faces, multiverse-scale crossover and a villain who now wears the face of one of Marvel’s most recognizable stars.