AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY Empire Covers Assemble Loki, The Avengers, and X-Men for a Showdown With Doctor Doom
Marvel Studios is getting ready to unleash absolute chaos with Avengers: Doomsday, and four new Empire Magazine covers bring together a ridiculous number of Marvel heroes for what looks like one hell of a fight against Doctor Doom.
Empire has revealed four connecting covers for its upcoming 22-page Avengers: Doomsday special, featuring interviews with the cast and filmmakers. Put the covers together, and you've got a massive Marvel banner packed with Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four members, and a few familiar faces who haven't been part of the action in a while.
The artwork features Cyclops, Captain America, Magneto, Black Panther, Steve Rogers, Loki, Invisible Woman, Gambit, Shang-Chi, Thor, Mister Fantastic, Black Widow, and Bucky Barnes. That's a pretty wild collection of heroes, and they'll apparently need every bit of firepower they can get.
Of course, Robert Downey Jr. gets his own cover as Doctor Doom, because when you're bringing back the guy who helped build the MCU to play its next major villain, you're going to make a big deal out of it.
One of the more interesting additions to the artwork is Loki. Tom Hiddleston's God of Mischief has been sitting at the center of the multiverse since the conclusion of Loki, and his prominent placement here raises some interesting questions about how much he'll factor into the challenges the multiverse is facing.
Early plot leaks suggested a smaller role for the character, but who knows, Loki could have a much bigger part to play. Considering his connection to the multiverse, it would be pretty strange to leave him on the sidelines while Doctor Doom starts tearing everything apart.
The Empire special should offer some new insight into the film, although these magazine features tend to come with carefully managed interviews and a few promotional talking points. Still, Marvel could use the opportunity to reveal some fresh story details, and there's a good chance we'll get our first official movie stills as excerpts begin making their way online.
With just a little over a month until Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters, another trailer is reportedly coming later this month, possibly as soon as next week.
If that happens, it could be our final substantial look at the movie before its release. Marvel has plenty of surprises to protect, especially with this many characters running around.
The story will bring together beloved heroes from three different universes, throwing them into a deadly collision course as they confront an existential threat unlike anything they've faced before.
The cast is absolutely massive, with Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, and Paul Rudd returning alongside Hiddleston and Downey Jr.
The film also features Avengers franchise newcomers Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Mabel Cadena, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, India Rose Hemsworth, and Wesley Holloway.
The Fantastic Four are joining the madness as well, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn reprising their roles from The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Then you've got the returning X-Men veterans, including Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden, along with Channing Tatum returning as Gambit following his appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Anthony Russo and Joe Russo are directing both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, reuniting with screenwriter Stephen McFeely, who previously worked with the brothers on the Avengers and Captain America franchises.
Michael Waldron, whose credits include Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, has also worked on refining the story alongside Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The real question is whether Marvel can make this enormous crossover feel like an actual story instead of an expensive parade of familiar faces.
We'll find out when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18.