Marvel Just Admitted Viewers’ Biggest MCU Criticism Is Completely Valid (& Doomsday Isn’t Going to Be Any Different)

September 28, 2026, 11:09am

Just because the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most successful franchises in cinematic history doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its problems, even leading up to Avengers: Doomsday. For the most part, the MCU has gone from strength to strength since its 2008 debut, but there have always been criticisms of the franchise. Adapting beloved characters from Marvel Comics might have largely proved to be a formula for cinematic success, but there have been some MCU issues that have persisted year on year even as the franchise has continued to grow in both size and cinematic stature. While there are a handful of common criticisms, one of the biggest is how little the franchise actually develops its characters, with only a few arcs that have truly struck a chord with fans.

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Anthony Russo, one of the franchise’s most successful directors, has now validated that criticism by admitting it’s something he and his co-director, his brother Joe Russo, have also struggled with. Per GamesRadar+, Russo spoke with fans at a Q&A after a screening of Avengers: Endgame Encore, where he admitted that it is a considerable challenge to balance fan expectations with genuine narrative development. “It’s a very difficult part of the process because, I mean, we basically just have to use our own meters because we love the characters, we love the history, we love them in the same way that many fans do,” Anthony Russo explained when asked about the challenge of narrative development in the MCU. He went on to briefly explain this was particularly challenging when it came to casting Robert Downey Jr. as Victor Von Doom in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, hinting that the same issue has already affected the upcoming movie.

Why Fans Don’t Need To Worry About Avengers: Doomsday’s Narrative Quality

While Anthony Russo’s comments about Avengers: Doomsday all but confirm that the major MCU criticism has been an issue while making the movie, it’s actually not as much of a cause for concern as some fans may think. Russo’s own admission of struggling with balancing fans’ expectations of characters with genuine narrative innovation might seem worrying, but it’s only natural that the issue would affect Avengers: Doomsday just as it has every other movie in the MCU. Weighing up the importance of a character’s most popular attributes against delivering new narrative developments and personal growth within the franchise is undoubtedly a problem in the MCU, but Russo’s acknowledgement of it is actually an encouraging sign.

In explaining the struggles the Avengers: Doomsday co-director has had with the dilemma, Russo identified himself as a fan of the characters. Knowing that he went into the next major cinematic event in the MCU with the common criticism in mind implies that the Russo brothers have tried their best to balance genuine development with the established successes of the franchise. In practical terms, this suggests that while the problem will indeed remain, there will be something in Doomsday to satisfy fans on both sides of the divide. Realistically, that’s the best possible outcome.

For any fans who are unconvinced, just look at the Russos’ MCU track record. They have directed some of the franchise’s most beloved movies, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. Each of those titles arguably did the franchise’s best job of balancing character development against the wider world of the MCU, so it would seem that Avengers: Doomsday has been entrusted to the safest possible hands. While the MCU criticism isn’t likely to go away any time soon, it already appears as though Avengers: Doomsday will make changes to certain characters, so fans need not panic, despite Anthony Russo validating fans’ concerns.

Will Avengers: Doomsday help move the MCU in a new direction, or will it be more of the same? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!