The latest trailer for Marvel Studios' upcoming Avengers: Doomsday film confirmed that there will be some huge differences between the upcoming movie and its predecessor, Avengers: Endgame. Fans all over the world are chomping at the bit to receive any new footage or just one little detail regarding Avengers: Doomsday. The movie is undoubtedly the biggest film of all time, and could end up breaking every box office record ever set.
The Direct was one of the outlets in attendance when Disney's official showcase at CinemaCon 2026 debuted the brand-new trailer for Doomsday. Theater owners and members of the press were allowed to view the trailer, but it was never publicly released. However, official descriptions of the footage was allowed, so die-hard fans have gotten a pretty good idea of what the trailer looked like without actually seeing it.
Joe and Anthony Russo, the Avengers: Doomsday directors who were also the directors of Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Infinity War (alongside two Captain America flicks), have made it a point to tell fans that Doomsday is very much a sequel to Endgame. The connection between the two MCU entries is so important that Marvel Studios will be re-releasing Endgame in theaters with new footage so that fans understand Doomsday is a direct continuation of what happened in the 2019 title.
So, it would not be a surprise if Doomsday looked fairly similar to Endgame. After all, they are directed by the same duo, include a massive cast of Hollywood A-listers, and essentially follow the same plot thread.
However, the most recent Doomsday trailer indicated that there will actually be quite a few differences between the two movies.
Every Major Difference Between Avengers: Endgame and Doomsday
Avengers Tower (Doomsday) / Avengers Compound (Endgame)
Thunderbolts* finally revealed that Valentina Allegra de Fontaine purchased Avengers Tower and, thanks to the events of that film, it now operates as the base for the New Avengers (or "New Avengerz" if you ask Red Guardian).
The most recent Doomsday trailer included footage at the New Avengers tower. The Thunderbolts were not the only team there, as Sam Wilson's New Avengers, Thor, and the Fantastic Four were also seemingly present. It appears as though Avengers Tower will operate as the main base for the superheroes in Doomsday, which is a pretty interesting throwback to when Avengers Tower was used in the early days of the MCU.
However, Avengers Tower being the main base is a major difference from Endgame. In that film (and others before it, such as Captain America: Civil War), Earth's Mightiest Heroes set up in the Avengers Compound, which was a wider structure than it was tall.
Many will likely remember Thanos laying waste to the compound as he entered the atmosphere to kick off Endgame's climax, and the wasteland being the setting for the "Avengers, assemble!" scene.
Multiversal Travel (Doomsday) / Time Travel (Endgame)
One major part of the Doomsday trailer that was revealed at CinemaCon was the crossover between different universes, or, in other words, Multiversal travel. For instance, heroes from different universes were seen together in the same shot multiple times. Shang-Chi was squaring off against Channing Tatum's Gambit, Mystique (from Fox's X-Men movies) was showcased going toe-to-toe with Yelena Belova, and the Fantastic Four were seemingly in Wakanda.
Multiversal travel will be a huge element of Doomsday. The incursions that will threaten entire universes will be the main plot device to bring all of the different superheroes from different timelines together, which will result in the huge mash-up that will become Doomsday.
However, that is much different than what happened in Endgame. In that Avengers movie, time travel was the driving force for the storyline, as Earth's Mightiest Heroes traveled back to different points in time to retrieve each of the Infinity Stones so that they could bring everyone back who had been snapped away.
Time travel took up the entire second act of Endgame, and Multiversal travel will likely take up just as much of Doomsday's runtime, if not more.
Paying Homage to Past Marvel Movies (Doomsday) / Paying Homage to Past MCU Movies (Endgame)
Fans already knew that actors and characters who played superheroes in the past would be showing up in Avengers: Doomsday to an extent, but the CinemaCon trailer confirmed that they will have major roles, and that the movie will be paying homage to a lot of older Marvel movies that weren't a part of the MCU.
For example, the trailer included shots of the X-Mansion from Fox's X-Men films, while also showcasing certain characters from that franchise, like Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen's Erik Lehnsherr, Rebecca Romijn's Mystique, and James Marsden's Cyclops.
Other actors and characters from other franchises (such as the 2005 Fantastic Four movie or Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man movies) could appear, as it is clear the movie is going to honor the comic book films that came before the MCU and paved the way for the MCU's success.
However, this will be extremely different from Endgame in that Endgame did not really honor any past Marvel movies outside of the MCU. However, it did put a lot of focus on past MCU flicks like 2012's The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, and Guardians of the Galaxy. So, both movies will be paying homage to past releases, but they will be different because Doomsday will focus on Marvel as a whole, while Endgame was solely centered around the first three phases of the MCU.
The Inclusion of the Wakandans (Doomsday) / Largely Leaving the Wakandans Out (Endgame)
With the release of the CinemaCon trailer, it was made clear by Marvel Studios that the Wakandans as a whole will play a major role throughout the events of Doomsday. The Wakandans were already featured in one of the four original teasers, and then they showed up again alongside the Fantastic Four (and, of course, Shuri) in the full trailer.
Endgame didn't really include the Wakandans in a major way. Yes, they appeared at the end of the movie during the major final battle with Thanos and his army, but that was the only time they were featured in the film, and even then, most of the focus was solely on T'Challa. It seems as though Doomsday is going to utilize the Wakandans in a much bigger way.
Thor Will Be A Main Character (Doomsday) / Thor Was a Secondary Character (Endgame)
There is no doubt that Thor will be one of the main characters in Avengers: Doomsday, likely alongside Doctor Doom and Steve Rogers. Thor's teaser that was released a few months ago proved that the Infinity War version of the character has returned, and that he has something to really fight for (his adopted daughter, Love).
The CinemaCon trailer completely reinforced Thor's role in the movie, as he was featured in way more shots than any of the other characters. For instance, Thor was seen with Doctor Doom, at Avengers Tower, and then reuniting with Steve Rogers. It is also important to mention that there was a monologue throughout the entire footage that was coming from the God of Thunder. Therefore, it is safe to assume that a lot of focus will be put on Thor in Doomsday, which is a pretty major departure from Endgame.
One of the biggest complaints many had with Thor's character arc in Avengers: Endgame was that he seemed to be sidelined and turned into a big joke. Because of self-guilt, Thor had gained quite a bit of weight and was the punchline of nearly every joke for about half of the film.
Essentially, Thor's story was sidelined and wasn't taken seriously because Marvel wanted most of the focus to go on Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. That makes sense in retrospect since Thor continued to appear in the MCU and those other two characters were leaving, but it doesn't change the fact that he was put on the back burner in Endgame. Luckily, that will not be the case in Doomsday.
