Avengers: Doomsday is undoubtedly the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s biggest release since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. In an effort to bring the Multiverse Saga to a satisfying conclusion after an uneven handful of years, Marvel is bringing together multiple superhero teams from different realities for a showdown against the powerful Doctor Doom (played by MCU poster boy Robert Downey Jr.). With a plate that full, some people are wondering how Doomsday can ever live up to expectations, especially since it lacks the organic setup that defined the Infinity Saga for over a decade. In response to that, star Wyatt Russell has one word of advice.
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Speaking with Screen Rant at the premiere of Disclosure Day, Russell shared his thoughts on Doomsday. “I hope that people can go to see that movie and just throw away these predispositions from talking about it online,” he said. “Seven years of buildup is a long time. And like, just go have fun, dude. I know you’ve been talking to the same guy online for 10 years about what’s wrong about this character or what’s bad about that. Just go enjoy it and forget about the nine years of talking about it. It’s really not the way a movie’s supposed to be enjoyed, and you’re just setting yourself up for failure if you do it that way.”
Can Avengers: Doomsday Live Up to Fan Expectations?
Russell’s sentiment is appreciated. At the end of the day, what matters most is whether or not fans have fun watching Doomsday. If they do, it will go a long way in ensuring the film is the return to form Marvel wants it to be. Positive word of mouth from viewers will fuel a lengthy box office run that’s bolstered by repeat viewings, much like Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. At the same time, one can understand why people have spent so much time talking about the buildup to Doomsday. The MCU’s interconnectedness has been its defining trait since it started nearly two decades ago, and part of the fun of following the franchise is seeing how all the pieces come together. No Avengers movie is going to exist in a vacuum.
One of the reasons why Infinity War and Endgame worked so well is because they felt like a natural culmination of a sprawling saga —not just delivering the Thanos confrontation after years of teasing the Mad Titan, but also paying off storylines and character arcs that had been set up across multiple installments. It also helped that most of the projects in the Infinity Saga were well-received. Some turned out better than others, of course, but the MCU had established itself as the dominant film franchise by the time Infinity War came around, meaning people were genuinely excited to see the film and just have fun with it. Marvel had the trust of general audiences.
That isn’t really the case with Doomsday. Marvel has been up and down over the past handful of years, with certain projects failing to resonate with viewers (including those setting up key characters for Doomsday, like Captain America: Brave New World). In some respects, Doomsday doesn’t feel like the ultimate payoff that’s been years in the making. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen some characters (Shang-Chi), and viewers aren’t as emotionally invested in their journeys when compared to Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. It’s a hurdle Doomsday is going to have to clear.
Granted, those involved with Doomsday seemingly understood there was no way they could top Infinity War and Endgame, so they didn’t even try. The goal was to simply make Doomsday as great as it can be, melding together these various pieces into something epic. Hopefully, directors Joe and Anthony Russo delivered the desired results. The Doomsday trailer that played at CinemaCon went over well with attendees, so if that’s a sign of things to come, perhaps people will be able to just have fun with Doomsday this December.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Forum Conversation: Wyatt Russell's Advice For Doomsday: "Just Have Fun" Do You Agree?
Go to Forum“We all know this is probably gonna stink but our contracts say we can’t bad mouth it”
That makes me nervous for the movie, to be honest. It feels very “we didn’t do as good a job hyping this as we wanted so um… enjoy?” That said, I’d love to be able to truly enjoy a Marvel movie without quite so much viewing homework, so if that’s what he’s getting at, great.
I don’t think anyone involved would be saying “just have fun” if the build-up had… actually been strong and cohesive. Like you say, it’s one of the foundations the MCU is built on (and talking about what’s next and what’s set up and what it all means was sometimes more fun than the movies themselves).