Marvel has always been at its best when it keeps things surprisingly simple.
Strip away the explosions, the superheroes and the CGI battles, and films like Iron Man, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and even Infinity War all have one thing in common.
They know exactly whose story they’re telling.
That’s why I’m struggling to get excited about Avengers: Doomsday.
Not because I think it’s going to be a bad film.
Not because I suddenly dislike Marvel.
But because I honestly don’t know how one film is supposed to juggle everything it’s trying to achieve.
And that’s an enormous writing challenge.
Below is my video covering my thoughts on the Avengers: Doomsday trailer.
This Isn’t Just Another Team-Up Movie
One argument I’ve already seen is that Infinity War also featured an enormous cast.
That’s true.
But I don’t think the comparison really works.
Infinity War wasn’t trying to introduce half of its cast.
By the time Thanos arrived, we’d already spent years getting to know Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
We cared about them before the film even began.
Doomsday is walking into a very different situation.
Many of its biggest characters still need audiences to invest in them.
That immediately makes the storytelling much more difficult.
One Film… Too Many Jobs
The more I thought about the trailer, the more one question kept coming back to me.
What is this film actually about?
Because it feels like it’s trying to do everything at once.
It has to establish Doctor Doom as Marvel’s next truly great villain.
It has to continue Thor’s story.
It has to continue Sam Wilson’s journey as Captain America.
It has to properly bring the Fantastic Four into the wider MCU.
It has to introduce the X-Men.
It somehow has to explain Loki’s involvement after the ending of his own series.
And somewhere in the middle of all that…
It also needs to tell a satisfying story.
That’s an incredible amount of responsibility for one screenplay.
At some point, something has to give.
Every Great Character Needs Their Moment
This is where my biggest concern comes from.
There are characters in this film that I’ve wanted to see in the MCU for years.
Cyclops.
Gambit.
Doctor Doom.
Professor X.
Magneto.
The Fantastic Four.
Thor.
Every single one of those characters deserves a memorable moment.
Not just a quick entrance followed by disappearing into the background.
Cyclops, in particular, has spent decades being overlooked in live-action adaptations.
For the first time in a long time, it finally feels like Marvel has an opportunity to present him as the leader of the X-Men that comic fans have known for years.
That’s exciting.
The same goes for Gambit.
Channing Tatum looked completely at home in the role during Deadpool & Wolverine, and it’s easy to see why fans immediately embraced him.
These characters deserve room to breathe.
My concern is that the film simply doesn’t have enough time to give everyone the attention they deserve.
I Actually Like Sam Wilson
This might be where I disagree with a lot of Marvel fans.
I actually think Anthony Mackie has grown into Captain America remarkably well.
He’s never tried to replace Steve Rogers.
Instead, he’s trying to honour what Steve stood for while becoming his own version of Captain America.
That’s a much more interesting direction.
Out of Marvel’s newer heroes, Sam Wilson is probably the one I’m most invested in.
Which is exactly why I don’t want his story squeezed into a film that’s already bursting at the seams.
Doctor Doom Has to Earn His Reputation
Perhaps the biggest challenge of all is Doctor Doom.
Marvel desperately needs him to become the next iconic villain.
That’s not something audiences simply accept because the script tells them to.
Characters like Thanos became memorable because the films gave them time.
Time to establish their motivations.
Time to demonstrate why they were dangerous.
Time to make audiences genuinely fear what they were capable of.
Doomsday doesn’t seem to have much spare time available.
If Doctor Doom is competing for screen time with thirty other major characters, can he really become the terrifying presence Marvel needs him to be?
I’m not convinced.
Marvel Is Fighting More Than One Problem
This is where I think the studio has put itself in a difficult position.
It’s not just making another Avengers film.
It’s trying to solve several problems at once.
Superhero fatigue is real.
Many audiences haven’t connected with the newer generation of Avengers.
Doctor Doom still has to establish himself.
The Fantastic Four need introducing.
The X-Men need integrating.
That’s a huge amount of heavy lifting for one blockbuster.
And I’m not entirely convinced that adding even more superheroes is the solution.
If anything, it risks making the film feel even more crowded.
Final Thoughts
I don’t think Avengers: Doomsday is going to flop.
Marvel is still one of the biggest brands in cinema, and millions of people will turn up to watch it.
But success at the box office isn’t the same as telling a great story.
Right now, my biggest concern isn’t the casting.
It isn’t the CGI.
It isn’t even the action.
It’s whether one film can possibly do justice to everything Marvel is asking it to do.
Because great stories usually know exactly what they are.
At the moment, Avengers: Doomsday feels like it’s trying to be five different films at once.
And that’s a much bigger problem than having too many superheroes on screen.
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