Avengers: Doomsday Rumor Details “Dysfunction” on Set, Reason for Reshoots

Is Avengers: Doomsday doomed before it’s even wrapped? The upcoming Avengers film has already been delayed, but recent rumors and reports from the Marvel movie’s set in the United Kingdom paint a troubling picture of production. On the most recent episode of The Hot Mic Podcast, hosts John Rocha and Jeff Sneider dive into the potential causes of the behind-the-scenes strife on the set of Doomsday, along with why the film allegedly needs three weeks of reshoots amid shifting filming strategies. And apparently, it may all have to do with a single actor with a long history in the MCU.

“The dysfunction I’ve heard on this set is rivaled only by that of Fast and Furious movies,” Sneider told co-host Rocha. “There’s just a lot of testosterone and a lot of ego on that set. A lot of people who think they know what way is the best way. In the end, there’s only one person’s way who matters, and that’s actually Robert Downey Jr.’s way.”

Sneider detailed that the alleged reason for Doomsday’s reshoots has to do with how they were filming Downey’s Doctor Doom. According to the rumors, Robert Downey Jr. wasn’t even on camera to begin with. The production used a face double for the actor and a body double for him in Doom’s iconic suit while Downey stood off-camera and read his character’s lines.

“After two or three weeks, [Downey] was like, ‘This isn’t working, I want to reshoot everything with me in the suit,” Sneider said. “That’s what I heard.”

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New Avengers: Doomsday Rumor May Be Good News for a Marvel Fan-Favorite

On its surface, the rumor does make sense. So much of the MCU’s success is thanks to Downey’s portrayal of Tony Stark. His first outing as the superhero in Iron Man not only launched the cinematic universe when it became a surprise hit in 2008, but Stark went on to serve as the MCU’s lynchpin and central character for the next decade on screen. It stands to reason, then, that the actor would have a tremendous amount of sway over at Marvel. However, given that Downey likely received an eight-figure payday for playing Doctor Doom, the production’s missteps compelled Sneider to ask the question, “Why are we paying talent boatloads of money and then not using the talent?”

A “Sinking Ship” May Be to Blame for Doomsday’s Dysfunction

Sneider went on to share his theories for where the dysfunction of the Doomsday set stems from. “It’s about egos…you can see it very clearly. This reeks of too many cooks in the kitchen and too many people who sense a ship is sinking, and they’re going to get theirs before the ship goes down.”

Sneider is seemingly referring to the lackluster performance of Marvel’s last two theatrical releases, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It wasn’t that long ago that a Marvel movie was almost guaranteed to be a blockbuster hit, but Thunderbolts* took in only $382 million, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps had a sharp second-weekend dropoff in ticket sales, and has yet to cross the $500-million mark at the global box office.

“That, to me, concerns me when you look at all the dysfunctional set,” Sneider continued. “You wouldn’t hear any of this dysfunction on other sets, on all the other big movies. But it’s clear that everyone’s gotten big…everyone’s got their particular way of working and what they want to do now, and they’re not willing to give in a little bit more like they did in the past.”

Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18, 2026. Do you believe the rumors about Avengers: Doomsday? Let us know in the comments!