Marvel Studios' latest attempt to build hype for Avengers: Doomsday fell flat, failing to generate any new excitement for the film. Following a string of teaser reveals in December and early January that spotlighted different teams set to appear, Avengers 5 marketing has gone quiet. With anticipation building for a full trailer expected in the coming months, the studio launched a new promotional push, only for it to miss the mark in front of a global audience.
What was clearly meant to be a Disney-orchestrated preview for Avengers: Doomsday turned into one of the most cringeworthy moments of the 2026 Oscars night.
Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans were trotted out to present the screenplay awards, but the intent was obvious: with Doomsday bringing back both actors to the MCU, ABC (owned by Disney) had a golden opportunity to generate some organic buzz in front of Hollywood's biggest audience of the year.
Disney's The Mandalorian and Grogu more successfully pulled this off with a live Grogu puppet, and Kate Hudson being a very good sport.
Instead, the Marvel segment became a masterclass in how not to build excitement for a blockbuster. The first red flag arrived almost immediately, when Evans' opening move was to guilt Downey about not getting him a gift for the 14th anniversary of the original 2012 Avengers. A 14th anniversary...possibly the first time that's ever been made a milestone in the history of cinema.
The bit that followed never recovered. Downey handed Evans his valet parking ticket before thinking better of it, which was met with muted responses before announcing the first reward.
Luckily, there was a second part, the bit that did have more of an enthusiastic response: a bedazzled thong apparently worn by Channing Tatum in Magic Mike.
Tatum, who is himself set to appear as Gambit in Doomsday, got the night's only legit laugh from the segment with a quick one-liner from the audience that he'd need it back.
But one charming ad-lib couldn't rescue what had already flatlined. Online, the reaction was swift and unsparing. "No one laughed. Tough," wrote The Ringer's Van Lathan on X.
One thing was clear: the room at the Dolby Theatre was not having the Marvel banter, and watching from home, the silence was somehow even more uncomfortable.
The shame of it is that the premise had potential. Evans and Downey are genuinely charismatic individually, and their on-screen chemistry as Cap and Iron Man is a big reason the MCU became such a juggernaut in the 2010s.
But chemistry requires a script worthy of it, and this one wasn't. Had the two simply walked out, exchanged a couple of confident barbs, and handed out the awards, the nostalgia alone would have done the heavy lifting. Instead, an overwritten, head-scratching sketch drained the room of any MCU or Doomsday hype.
The Oscars bit was a stumble, but there's a long time until release, and Marvel Studios is sure to not make that same type of mistake again before December 18.
When Will the Avengers 5 Trailer Release?
The next major domino to fall in the Avengers: Doomsday promotional cycle is the debut of its first official trailer. Up to this point, the earlier "trailers" released at the start of the year functioned more like segmented teases, highlighting different corners of the film rather than delivering a traditional, cohesive look.
Naturally, fans are now waiting for a more standard MCU trailer, one that properly showcases the film's scale, multiverse-bending team, and child-centric conflict.
A big piece of that will be the long-awaited reveal of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in action. Despite being the film's primary draw, his version of Doom has yet to be fully shown in action, and that reveal will be a huge moment in the marketing, especially for audiences still unsure about his return in a completely new role.
With Dune: Part Three recently kicking off its campaign and confirming the idea of "Dunesday," a Doomsday trailer could arrive at any time.
The most logical windows would be ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu on May 22 or closer to Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31. Either way, Marvel Studios will likely want that trailer in theaters sooner rather than later so it can play consistently in front of the biggest summer hits.
