You may have heard that Disney’s planning on releasing four different “Avengers: Doomsday” teaser trailers alongside “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” with a new one playing each week for its first four weeks. That’s a lot of visits to Pandora to get an idea of what to expect for next year’s blockbuster, which releases December 18, 2026. If you want to learn more about what each teaser potentially offers, in addition to why Marvel might be doing this in the first place, check out Looper’s video above.
The first teaser has already leaked, and centers on Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Since Evans’s comeback was announced, theories explaining the original Captain America’s return have circulated, but the teaser doesn’t offer many details. It sees Steve pull up to a house on a motorcycle, and greet Peggy (Hayley Atwell) and their son inside. Text reads: “Steve Rogers will return in Avengers: Doomsday.” What does any of this mean? It could be that the ending of “Avengers: Endgame” will factor into “Doomsday,” with Steve dropping off the Infinity Stones to their original locations leading to multiversal mayhem that draws the ire of Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.).
The next two will allegedly focus on Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Doctor Doom, with the final being a full trailer for “Avengers: Doomsday.” It’s a bold marketing plan unlike anything previous “Avengers” films have done before. So why start now?
Marvel Studios is in a very different place with Avengers: Doomsday compared to Endgame
It seems like a hassle to buy four tickets to “Avatar: Fire and Ash” just to see a new “Avengers: Doomsday” teaser every week (although we’re betting someone will record and share them online). At first, it appears to be a gimmick to boost ticket sales for “Fire and Ash.” While that could be part of it, the “Avatar” movies have never needed much help making money, even if they tend to have stronger staying power than initial debuts. But the strategy may be more for Marvel’s benefit.
Marvel’s in a very different place now than in 2019. Whereas the first “Avengers: Endgame” trailer came out a little over five months before the movie itself, the first “Doomsday” tease is here nearly a year before that film comes out. Marvel didn’t need to win audiences over in 2019. But in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and diminishing quality across Marvel projects, the studio can’t bet solely on goodwill this time around. Sure, there have been hits like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” but those have become increasingly rare.
2026 will bring a new solo “Spider-Man” and “Avengers” film, so maybe casual audiences will start paying attention to Marvel again. For a more in-depth analysis of this bold marketing strategy, see Looper’s video on how it could work (or fail) spectacularly.