Hayley Atwell Reveals AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY Filmed Multiple Storylines, But Some Were Dropped

Marvel Studios apparently had a few different ideas for Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter in Avengers: Doomsday, and not all of them made it into the final movie.

The actress recently opened up about the film's unusual production process, revealing that several storylines were filmed, developed, and ultimately abandoned as Marvel worked to figure out what fit best.

Atwell is returning to the MCU as Peggy Carter, but exactly how she fits into the massive Marvel crossover is still a mystery. Fans have already seen her take on a much bigger superhero role as Captain Carter in Marvel Animation's What If...?, although her live-action appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ended rather violently when the Scarlet Witch brutally murdered her.

More recently, the new ending of Avengers: Endgame: Encore featured Loki interrupting Steve Rogers' dance with Peggy, teasing some interesting developments ahead. Despite that, Peggy has been noticeably absent from the Avengers: Doomsday trailers.

During an interview with The Playlist, Atwell shared her excitement about the movie and explained how much effort Marvel Studios and directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo have put into getting the story right.

"I think with this, though, there is such meticulous care for delighting the fans that I really feel that the studio knows exactly what it’s doing for the sake of really delighting and satisfying the expectation and going beyond it. So ['Doomsday'] comes out in December, [and] it’s so epic."

She then revealed that the filmmakers experimented with multiple storylines during production, with some ideas evolving while others were eventually tossed aside.

"It’s so extraordinary, the level of ambition and scope that they had for it, that I knew that whatever we were trying — and we tried different things, we shot different things, there were different storylines, some picked up, some developed, some dropped away," Atwell admitted.

"It really is with the intention of finding the thing that makes the most sense for those characters, but also for what role they play in this part of the world."

Without a completed script, the filmmakers feel they are able to explore different directions and make changes along the way.

Of course, Atwell's comments arrive as rumors continue circulating about major changes to other characters in Avengers: Doomsday. Unverified reports suggest that The Sentry and Captain Marvel have had their roles significantly reduced following reshoots, while Boris has supposedly been removed from the movie entirely.

None of those claims have been confirmed, and Atwell didn't identify which storylines were dropped or which characters were affected.

As for Peggy Carter, it sounds like her return might not involve the kind of superhero action fans saw in What If...?. That's something Atwell would love to explore in another MCU project, though.

"I’ve said publicly that any time I’ve been asked to come back or speculation of me coming back, of wanting to in some way do something new and evolve her more. And I love the fact that in 'What If...?' it was an animation, but we saw her doing so much more than I’d gotten to do in a practical sense in the live action."

Atwell clearly wants the chance to push Peggy further, especially when it comes to getting involved in some serious superhero action.

"And I hope that that’s something that if the fans want it specifically, that there is a calling for that to happen at some point. I’d be willing to have that conversation for sure.”

I'd definitely be up for seeing Atwell get another proper shot at playing Captain Carter in live action. Her appearance in Multiverse of Madness was fun while it lasted, but the character has a lot more potential than what we got to see.

For now, Peggy's role in Avengers: Doomsday remains under wraps. The movie will bring together heroes from three different universes as they find themselves on a deadly collision course against an existential threat unlike anything they've faced before.

With so many Marvel characters involved, it'll be interesting to see how the Russo Brothers manage to give everyone their moment, especially after hearing how many different directions the story explored during filming.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026.