Nothing activates the internet’s collective imagination better than a good old-fashioned box-office flop. We’ve seen modest disappointments such as Paramount’s “Novocaine,” or more disastrous bombs like Tom Green’s legendary countercultural art piece “Freddy Got Fingered.” These films have garnered the attention of the public, partially for their disappointing critical and financial reception; however, these returns seem positive compared to what I believe will be the most widely discussed cinematic disaster of the 21st century: “Avengers: Doomsday.”
The film was doomed (for lack of a better word) from the moment Jonathan Majors received his termination notice from Marvel, setting a new course for the studio’s upcoming multiverse saga. The characters of both Kang the Conqueror and Doctor Doom are speculated to have motivations similar to their source material counterparts. However, the characters still feature substantial differences between one another, enough to where the film had to be radically overhauled, alternating the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Phase Six timeline.
It’s not that I don’t have faith in Disney to competently course correct, but longtime fans are already getting deja vu after the infamous failure of the Star Wars sequel trilogy – a series some fans agree took a quality nosedive later on in its run. “The Last Jedi” and “The Rise of Skywalker” were victims of placing too much importance on fan reception from the previous installments. In hindsight, audiences would have preferred to see the original un-doctored vision for the series – a part of history I hope doesn’t get repeated with “Avengers: Doomsday.” While it was necessary to remove Kang from the franchise to circumvent the public relations headache, “Avengers: Doomsday” should not be a complete 180° shift from their original plan, as that would make every film leading up to it essentially useless.
Even if the film can pull off the feat of redirecting the cinematic universe while bringing countless legacy characters into the world, the directors, Anthony and Joseph Russo, must curb their recent use of artificial intelligence (AI). We’ve seen glimpses of AI usage in their recent Netflix blockbuster “The Electric State,” however any AI software used in “Avengers: Doomsday” could be the kiss of death for the film’s success. It could permanently alter the reputation of not only the filmmakers, but also Marvel’s already worsening image.
A telltale sign of a generation-defining box office failure is consistent reshoots. Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler) recently said his scenes were not only shot on a different location, but in a plain green screen room with no other actors – a situation that in no way leads to the most inspired possible performance. From various reports, actors who’ve been shot in this jigsaw-puzzle style have publicly complained about its growth in the industry, further lowering hope for a quality product come Summer of 2026.
Quality control is essential for the film industry, as it ensures fans not only go to a film but keep revisiting it even after multiple rewatches. This is called evergreen, and it’s a problem many of Marvel’s post-“Avengers: Endgame” movies have suffered from. Numerous films, no matter the initial returns, have endured dramatic fall off’s post-opening weekends. “Spiderman: No Way Home,” “Fantastic 4: First Steps” and “Captain America: Brave New World,” while successful, have had little longevity outside of being newer MCU entries.
At its worst, the film will simply be another franchise. It could potentially make up its already ballooning budget upon release, but every sign leading up to its theatrical run spells the largest cinematic disaster of the year – whether it’s critical, commercial or (most likely) both
