After several rocky and polarizing years post-Avengers: Endgame, the latest Avengers: Doomsday trailer finally teased Marvel fans with the kind of connectivity and multiversal anarchy they have been clamoring for. On the surface, the footage, shown at CinemaCon in April 2026, did what a trailer for a mysterious, potentially world-shaping Avengers movie should do. It showcased the film’s massive scope, teased dynamic team-ups, and raised new questions meant to drive fan conversations for months.
The Direct attended CinemaCon and watched the Doomsday trailer first-hand, taking in new looks at Doctor Doom, Thor, Steve Rogers, Shang-Chi, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and several other major MCU players.
Although Marvel Studios has yet to release the CinemaCon trailer online, detailed descriptions of the footage from those who saw it flooded social media almost immediately. The response from fans was largely positive, a far cry from the mixed response Downey and Evans’ casting revelations garnered. But beneath all that excitement, the new Doomsday trailer still raised a few concerns that are not being talked about enough.
Loki Is Nowhere To Be Found
In a trailer that leans into nostalgia with the returns of Steve Rogers and Thor, as well as a new character played by Robert Downey, Jr., the biggest omission from the Avengers: Doomsday trailer is Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.
That would be notable under almost any circumstance, but it feels especially strange here. Loki, along with Steve Rogers and Thor, is one of only three announced Doomsday characters who have been with the franchise since Phase One. One of the MCU’s most popular characters for over a decade, an appearance by the former God of Mischief would have popped, even among fans who didn’t see the CinemaCon trailer. This makes his absence almost feel deliberate.
The former trickster and Frost Giant also plays an essential role in the multiverse’s health in the post-Endgame MCU. As the God of Stories, seen at the end of Loki Season 2, Loki holds the fractured multiverse together. With Doomsday expected to feature incursions that could lead to the destruction of one or more universes, no MCU character has become more essential to the MCU than Loki.
He is one of the few heroes who should understand the stakes of this story before almost anyone else does. That is what makes his absence so concerning. Marvel could simply be saving Loki for a later reveal, especially if his role is too spoiler-heavy to show this early.
Still, trailers often tell fans what a studio wants them to expect. If Loki is not part of the early Doomsday conversation, it may be a sign that his role is smaller than many hoped. For an Avengers movie that hinges on audiences accepting multiversal hijinx, that would be a major missed opportunity.
Steve Rogers Reclaims Mjolnir
The trailer’s final beat is undeniably fun. Steve Rogers returning, Thor reacting in disbelief, and Mjolnir flying back into Cap’s hand is exactly the kind of moment that gets a CinemaCon crowd roaring.
It calls back directly to Avengers: Endgame, where Steve finally proved himself worthy and wielded Thor’s hammer against Thanos. That scene remains one of the MCU’s all-time great theater moments, so it is easy to understand why Marvel would revisit it.
But that’s also part of the problem. Avengers: Doomsday already has a lot of old toys back in the sandbox. Chris Evans is returning. Robert Downey Jr. is back, albeit as Doctor Doom. Several of Fox’s X-Men characters from the early 2000s are also involved. That’s a lot of nostalgia bait, and many fans are rightfully concerned about it.
At a certain point, the concern becomes less about whether these moments will work and more about whether Doomsday will lean too hard into the past and undermine established MCU storylines. Steve holding Mjolnir again could be thrilling in context. It could also be a warning sign that Marvel is using callbacks as a crutch instead of forging a new identity for this next MCU chapter.
Doctor Doom Needed a Bigger Spotlight
For a movie named Avengers: Doomsday, the trailer could have used more Doom. That does not mean Robert Downey Jr.’s villain was absent. The footage features Doctor Doom speaking ominously, showcasing Downey’s take on a Latverian accent for the first time. Doom also faces off with Thor, stopping a lightning bolt from Stormbreaker with one hand. The footage does a good job establishing Doom as a terrifying force.
But compared to past Avengers marketing, Doom’s presence feels lighter than expected. The first Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer was practically built around Ultron’s menace. Avengers: Infinity War made Thanos feel like the inevitable center of the entire movie from its first major trailer.
Doom should have that same gravity. Instead, much of the new Doomsday footage appeared more focused on assembling heroes, teasing clashes, and selling spectacle. That is understandable. Marvel Studios knows it needs to win over audiences who tapped out of the Multiverse Saga after a string of polarizing films and TV series. The movie also boasts a staggering cast and, in some cases, needs to reintroduce characters who haven’t appeared in live action in years or even decades.
For Avengers: Doomsday to work, the film must justify Downey’s MCU return and establish why he’s the only actor who could have played this iteration of the iconic supervillain. While Doom is the Avengers’ biggest antagonist since Thanos, he’s also a brand-new character who hasn’t been properly set up in a previous MCU project.
Doctor Doom has the unenviable task of anchoring Marvel’s most important movie yet. But with little screen time in the CinemaCon trailer, he has yet to convince many fans that he was the right choice to anchor the film in the first place. The sooner Marvel can quiet the Doctor Doom skeptics, the sooner audiences may come around to the studio’s most controversial casting decision yet.
