There are many things that Avengers: Doomsday needs to accomplish, but an overlooked goal that must be addressed involves bucking a character trend from Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Just seven years after the Infinity Saga ended with the defeat of Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, the MCU is on the cusp of another culmination. This time, however, the setup is less smooth, as Marvel Studios faced several issues building the Multiverse Saga.
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In order to address the growing concerns about the status of the MCU post-Infinity Saga, Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios turned to their most-trusted creative partners — both in front of and behind the camera. Familiar players like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans are coming back as Doctor Doom and Steve Rogers, respectively. Meanwhile, directors Joe and Anthony Russo are spearheading the project. Recruiting them back to the MCU is the safest route to ensure that Avengers: Doomsday has the best chance to succeed.
Admittedly, it’s difficult to argue against those aforementioned talents’ record in the MCU. They were all heavily involved in some of the franchise’s best projects, particularly Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. That said, come Avengers: Doomsday, the Russos, specifically, need to break a trend that was prominent in their most successful films when it comes to the most vital hero in the Multiverse Saga.
The Russos Never Got The Chance To Evolve Loki In The Infinity Saga
2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier was the Russos’ entry point to the MCU. After its success, they were awarded with directing 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, which played a big part in setting up the culmination of the Infinity Saga. It functioned as the filmmakers’ application to direct the next Avengers films, as the high-profile film also featured a big ensemble. That said, since it was mostly a grounded movie, it didn’t give the Russos the chance to experience handling galactic characters, including the Asgardians.
Avengers: Infinity War was the duo’s first exposure to Thor and his people. The film opened with the Asgardians’ encounter with Thanos and the Black Order, effectively establishing the stakes of the film. While the Russos were able to craft an arc for Thor across the last two Avengers movies, they didn’t have that chance with Loki, who was, arguably, equally important as his Avenger brother. This was primarily because of how he was utilized in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
Loki was the first major death in Avengers: Infinity War, serving to establish Thanos’ power and ruthlessness. The Russos didn’t have enough time to do anything with his character because he was killed in the opening sequence of the film. Tom Hiddleston did come back for Avengers: Endgame‘s time-travel sequence to 2012, on the heels of the Battle of New York. This version of Loki was the same version of his most nefarious, so there was no character development whatsoever that could be done.
Why The Russos Must Buck Loki’s Trend In Avengers: Doomsday
As the Russos come back to the MCU for Avengers: Doomsday, they need to ensure that their last two films’ handling of Loki doesn’t happen again in the Multiverse Saga. So much has happened to the God of Mischief since Thanos’ arrival and eventual defeat in the MCU. Granted that the current version of the character isn’t the original, but it is still Loki for all intents and purposes. The existing variant may not have personally experienced his redemption past the events of The Avengers, but his memory of how his life was supposed to pan out is intact.
In any case, Disney+’s Loki sent the character on his own hero’s journey. Throughout the game-changing show, Marvel Studios not only laid the foundation of the multiverse but also set up Loki to be its most important hero. At the end of Loki season 2, after everything that he has been through with Mobius and his other newfound friends, the God of Mischief made the ultimate sacrifice by becoming the God of Stories. He willingly isolated himself at the center of time to hold all the branching universe together, transforming into a living tree structure that looks like Yggdrasil
Playing this big role in maintaining the multiverse, albeit mostly behind-the-scenes, the Russos owe it to the character to properly utilize him in Avengers: Doomsday. The good news is that, since Loki is perhaps the most knowledgeable in the MCU with regard to how the multiverse works, it’s easy to make him relevant in the story. Being the current God of Stories, Doom’s multiverse-hopping activities will have an impact on his fate. It’s only a matter of how effectively the duo can execute the continuation of Loki’s story on the big screen, especially if Marvel Studios has plans for Hiddleston’s character beyond the Multiverse Saga.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026.
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