Kevin Feige on "Dunesday," AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY's Comic Inspiration, and Why Robert Downey Jr. Became Doctor Doom

After Marvel Studios dropped the first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, and Kevin Feige had plenty to say about everything from the movie's high profile showdown with Dune: Part Three to the comic book stories shaping the next two Avengers movies.

He also addressed the question fans have been asking ever since Robert Downey Jr. walked onto the Hall H stage as Victor Von Doom.

With Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three both arriving in theaters on December 18, fans have jokingly dubbed the event "Dunesday."

Instead of avoiding each other, Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery are heading straight into one of the biggest box office battles in recent memory. Since both movies will have the benefit of the holiday season, there's a good chance audiences will make room for both.

Warner Bros. has already locked down IMAX screens for Dune: Part Three, while Disney is rolling out its own "Infinity Vision" screens as it prepares for Avengers: Doomsday's release.

Speaking with Chinese press, Feige shared his thoughts on the two blockbuster releases going head-to-head.

"Well, one of the jobs of filmmakers is to make sure a lot, a lot of people go to the theaters. So on the one hand, it's exciting to hope that theaters all over the world will be packed that weekend."

He also explained why Marvel ultimately shifted Avengers: Doomsday from its original May release date. "On the other hand, we couldn't finish making Avengers: Doomsday in May, so it had to be moved to December."

Beyond release dates, Feige teased what makes this movie different from anything Marvel Studios has attempted before.

Thanks to Disney's acquisition of Fox, Marvel can finally unite the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Doctor Doom on the big screen in what he describes as "a cosmic collision with some of your favourite characters in each universe."

He went on to explain just how dangerous the stakes become compared to Avengers: Endgame. "In Avengers: Endgame, everyone was united against Thanos. In Avengers: Doomsday, the situation is even more precarious: three different universes, three different Earths, literally colliding with each other.

“The question then arises: will these heroes kill each other to protect their own worlds, or might they find a way to work together to save all three worlds? And how will Doctor Doom intervene?"

That lines up closely with one of Marvel Comics' most acclaimed modern storylines. Feige confirmed that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are drawing heavily from Jonathan Hickman's work.

"Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were largely inspired by the storylines of Marvel Comics' 'Time Runs Out' and 'Secret Wars,' so—it's customary—the comics provide significant guidance for the films we're making."

In Hickman's New Avengers and Time Runs Out, the Multiverse begins collapsing through Incursions, forcing Earth's heroes into impossible moral dilemmas.

The Illuminati even considers destroying entire worlds to save their own universe, creating one of Marvel's darkest and most thought provoking stories. If Avengers: Doomsday sticks close to that material, audiences can probably expect much more than another straightforward superhero battle.

Of course, the biggest surprise is still Robert Downey Jr. stepping into the role of Doctor Doom. Feige made it clear that Marvel never wanted to undo Tony Stark's emotional farewell in Avengers: Endgame.

"We didn't want to just bring Tony Stark back. The ending of Avengers: Endgame was one of our proudest moments, seeing audiences worldwide react to Tony's sacrifice, so we didn't want him to just return 'magically.' But in Marvel, there are many opportunities to see actors return in new ways."

Instead, the studio approached the role from a completely different angle. "When we were casting for Doctor Doom, we said: we need to find the greatest actor in the world. Doctor Doom is one of the most interesting characters.

“He's intelligent, has an extremely high IQ; he can be a villain, but he also sees himself as a hero. We went to see Oppenheimer—for which he won an Oscar—and we finally realized."

Feige also compared the decision to an earlier piece of Marvel casting history. "Just like when we were casting Captain America, we didn't want to exclude Chris Evans just because he'd played other Marvel characters, and in this situation, we thought: how great, bold, and risky it would be to bring back our most famous hero to play our most famous villain. Thank goodness, he agreed."

Marvel Studios is clearly taking some ambitious swings as it builds toward the end of the Multiverse Saga. If Feige's comments are any indication, Avengers: Doomsday won't simply be another crossover event. It sounds like a story built around impossible choices, colliding realities, and Doctor Doom standing at the center of it all.

Even if Feige insists this isn't about bringing Tony Stark back, it's still hard to imagine Avengers: Secret Wars wrapping up without giving fans one more chance to see Iron Man before the credits roll.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on December 18.