Following Bruce Banner being kidnapped by Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom in the added Avengers: Endgame Encore footage, the Russo brothers have confirmed that the villain is indeed collecting Marvel heroes ahead of Avengers: Doomsday.
“I mean, look, his interest may extend beyond just Banner. So, that’s what we’ll say about that,” said Joe Russo to Empire. Fans were already starting to wonder what Doom might be up to, with one wondering that, in addition to the Hulk, Doctor Doom has already kidnapped Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
If this is the case, it will finally bring meaning to the Spider-Man: Brand New Day post-credits scene. When Doom infiltrated Banner’s bunker, the screen starts to glitch, which is exactly what happens at the end of Brand New Day. We see Ned’s tracker trace Spidey as he leaves Earth before the screen glitches and shows him landing on a mysterious planet. But what if the glitch was actually Doom taking Parker away?
We already know that Doomsday takes place after Spider-Man: Brand New Day, so we can’t really account for Spidey’s whereabouts after that. However, neither Bruce Banner star Mark Ruffalo nor Holland have been confirmed to return in Doomsday. When asked about Ruffalo’s involvement, Joe Russo said, “[Banner] is certainly involved in the story that revolves around Doom. We will not confirm nor deny his appearance in Doomsday.”
Anthony Russo added, “The farthest we can go is to say, there are characters and actors who have not been announced, who are a part of Doomsday.” The Russos have already stated that not all of the cast has been announced. As for Doom’s other captees, Marvel fans seem to think something has happened to Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers. Fans grew suspicious of Steve Rogers after the Avengers: Doomsday trailer, and many believe that Rogers has perhaps been replaced by the villainous Hydro Cap.
Avengers: Doomsday hits cinemas on December 18, and December 16 in the UK. For more, check out our guide to the Marvel timeline, and keep up with upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way.