Avengers: Doomsday rumors: the RDJ feud, reshoots and Jackie Chan

Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man: Brand New Day drove most of this Marvel conversation. Along the way I made the case that leaks and rumors can build hype for a movie, and I think Disney might finally get that.

The Robert Downey Jr. And Ryan Reynolds Feud Rumor

When reports spread that two actors had been fighting on the Doomsday set, the first names people threw out were Robert Downey Jr. and Ryan Reynolds. I understood why. My first thought, though, was that Downey is a very professional actor. I could see how Reynolds might crack too many jokes and annoy people. Then TMZ reported that the two had never even met, let alone fought on set.

I probably believe that's true. I also think reports like that can sometimes be used by studios as damage control, so the general public stops believing the story. There's a chance it's a lie, but I believe it's probably true.

I've heard many different reports about what really happened. What I heard is that the production was using stunt doubles and voice actors for some material, especially for Doctor Doom, because the character wears a mask. From what I heard, Downey didn't like that and wanted to reshoot all of his scenes. I think the studio said that would cost a ton of money but agreed to do some, and he was fine with that as long as the result was good. That version makes more sense to me, because he definitely carries a lot of weight when it comes to final say.

Chris Evans And A Weighted Role In Avengers: Doomsday

There was also talk of a very important role for Chris Evans. The point was made in the discussion that it's cool both Downey and Evans would come back with heavily weighted roles. Bringing them back only to have their faces on screen for five minutes would probably feel a little cheap. Giving them center stage, with actual substance, is the better approach.

Asked whether I was more excited for Doomsday or Brand New Day, I picked Doomsday. I love Spider-Man, and everything going on there looked crazy cool. But if even 5% of what we're hearing is true for Avengers: Doomsday, there should be some really cool stuff happening.

Jackie Chan's Stunt Team On Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Jackie Chan's team was involved in the stunt work on Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which I think is so cool. He said what they were doing on set was very similar to some of his old martial arts films. My favorite Jackie Chan movie is one of his drunken boxing films, though there are two versions, a Chinese one and an Americanized one, and good copies are hard to find. It's English dubbed, the premise is that he gets drunk so he can fight everyone, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand old school Jackie Chan.

I loved the idea of getting actual kung fu with Spider-Man. The point came up that some of the best parts of Shang-Chi were the hand to hand combat, and that we haven't seen much of Spider-Man's hand to hand fighting on the big screen, even though his strength and ability to fight are a big element in the comics. I felt we got a little glimpse of what he's capable of in Spider-Man: No Way Home, when he fought the Green Goblin in the building where Aunt May died.

What Sony's Venom Endings Seemed To Set Up For Eddie Brock

One comment hoped for an MCU Eddie Brock, and I'm with them on that. It's hard to say with Sony, because Marvel and Sony clearly had plans for Brand New Day that changed. We heard it was going to involve Knull, perhaps with Venom going over to Spider-Man and the other Spider-Men coming back to help. If they had done Knull, that would have been pretty cool to see.

Think about the post credits scenes for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Spider-Man: No Way Home and the third Venom movie. They really seemed to set up the symbiote in the MCU. When Eddie went to the MCU and came back, he was still at that same bar, so you don't necessarily move through space, just time. The fact that he ended up in New York City means that if he crossed into the 616 universe, he'd still be in New York, which is where Spider-Man is.

Why Marvel Should Let The Leaks Work For It

I think Marvel will lean on social media for hype, the way it did with Brand New Day. I think they intentionally filmed in Glasgow in the open, where everyone could see Tom Holland interacting with people. The Punisher was announced through the trades. The Hulk seemed to be coming too, though it wasn't clear a big outlet had reported that yet, and Mark Ruffalo had started motion capture filming. Then came the Jackie Chan news. I think all of it was very intentional. The discussion also raised that Marvel had probably known about Jackie Chan for a while and announced it once the public filming stopped, which was called guerrilla marketing.

The point was made that Marvel's marketing had fallen off over the years, giving away too much before release. Captain America: Brave New World's marketing was described as awful, while Fantastic Four was a step in the right direction because they tried to hide Galactus, even if they released more than they should have near the end.

Warner Bros and other studios have done well by letting leaks do work for them. We used to work closely with Disney, though not anymore. Back then I'd get asked to take down even rumor coverage, and they'd say I didn't know what wasn't a rumor. Sony was completely fine with all our leak talk for No Way Home, and I think that created a lot of hype. James Gunn is online confirming things too, and I like him doing it. Staying quiet on leaks is supposed to earn you interviews, which is why you don't see us on red carpets anymore. I don't leak anything myself; it all comes from other insiders.

I think the rumor community should work like it did for No Way Home. You walked into the theater 99.9% sure all three Spider-Men were in it, but that small chance it wasn't true kept you on the edge of your seat.

Why I Think Secret Wars Begins the Reset Through Battleworld

The Russo brothers directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame, and they're now directing Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Stephen McFeely is writing with Michael Waldron, who wrote Loki, and that matters. The Russos have said Secret Wars is the new beginning for the MCU, and Kevin Feige has said that too. They didn't say after Secret Wars. They said Secret Wars.

I used to think Doomsday ends with the multiverse completely destroyed. Now I think it ends with a bunch of universes fused together. Battleworld would be the only universe left, made of many universes fused into one. Nobody remembers the past. Everyone believes it's the universe they've lived in the whole time, that God Emperor Doom saved them all from something and created it. That becomes our new universe moving forward.

I also don't think they're going to kill Doom in Doomsday. If they're keeping Robert Downey Jr. on as Doom afterward, they can't kill him, unless he dies and gets reincarnated.

The Doom Versus Kang Movie Marvel Isn't Making

That thought led straight to Kang. There's still disappointment here that we aren't getting him, and the character came up as awesome. There's been misinformation about whether Kang was ever meant to be the big bad. Even so, one idea raised was pushing everything back a year and making Doom versus Kang instead of Doomsday.

We've talked about Marvel doing a Doom solo film that gives a lot of background, with Kang as the villain. Studio politics rule it out. Jonathan Majors won't be brought back, and outside of maybe throwing Kang into Doomsday for 10 minutes to wrap it up, I don't think they'll recast the character until maybe 10 years down the road.

Captain America: Brave New World Didn't Push the Story Forward

A comment called Captain America: Brave New World not terrible, not good, but okay. The response was that okay isn't good enough for a Captain America movie. It was enjoyable, but while watching it you realize it could have been so much better, and that it was cut up heavily.

At this point in the Multiverse Saga every movie matters, and that one didn't. If it never happened, we wouldn't miss much. In a Captain America movie, nothing of much value happened beyond the individual characters, and that's a problem.

Marvel Lost the Connectivity That Superman Got Right

Marvel has lately said audiences can watch projects without watching the others, and that grates, because connectivity was what made the MCU cool. There were mixed feelings about Disney Plus. WandaVision and Loki are loved, but the point was made that Loki could have been one movie. The overall story stayed connected through the Infinity Saga, and Marvel lost that afterward.

Superman earns applause for this. It establishes right away that this is a big universe full of heroes. It's Superman's story, but other heroes are in his city. Phase One and Phase Two did that with subtle nods. Nick Fury mentions a mess he has to clean up, and that was Thor, without naming him. Coulson finds a Captain America shield prototype in, as best remembered, Iron Man 2. You knew the films were happening together, and it wasn't force fed.

The hope for the reset is a pause before Iron Man, Captain America and the Avengers arrive: a newspaper on Professor X's desk with an Avengers caption, or a news report in the background. A corner of a newspaper you can't fully read would be amazing, versus Iron Man simply showing up.

Deadpool, Loki and the X-Force Suit in Doomsday

Asked whether Deadpool will wear his white X-Force suit, Chris said it would be a very side nod, maybe glimpsed while traveling the multiverse, and he didn't think it would ever be a main suit. The Avengers got white suits to travel through time, but Deadpool has already crossed the multiverse without changing. Still, the Russos like comic nods, so maybe he walks into the TVA asking for a rebrand.

I think Deadpool, Wolverine, X-23, probably Gambit and Captain America will be on a team in Doomsday working for Loki. It would be funny if Loki gave Deadpool the choice of joining the X-Men or the Avengers, and Deadpool, having already been with the X-Men, jumped through the portal to the Avengers.

Marvel also has to stop throwing out moments that lead nowhere, like why Thor was crying. Those threads need tying together.

The Void and Memory Loss After Doomsday

I'm excited for Doomsday's ending because I genuinely don't know how it ends. I believe it'll end with the destruction of most of the multiverse and some type of Battleworld. I don't know who dies. I think some people will be left on Earth, and our Earth might get destroyed. I don't know who remembers what came before or what Battleworld looks like.

The point was raised that this reframes my void theory. Perhaps the void is where people who remember the old universe hide while planning an attack on Doom, with Deadpool pointing them there now that Loki's dead.

Memory loss could be essential, like the comics, where everyone falls into new roles and maybe only Doctor Strange and Doom know otherwise. There, discoveries like the life rafts expose cracks, Doom kills Strange for betraying him, and Valeria doubts Doom's story. And will some Iron Man be in Doomsday or Secret Wars? I'd actually be surprised if Robert Downey Jr. didn't play a variant of Iron Man as well.