Avengers Doomsday trailer chaos: Marvel fans are basically living in the multiverse of maybe

If you’ve been refreshing YouTube, waiting for the Avengers: Doomsday trailer to drop… breathe. Hydrate. Step away from the notifications. The long-whispered-about first trailer for the fifth Avengers film — slated for December 18, 2026 — is playing a game of cosmic hide-and-seek.

Marketing for the movie is supposed to kick off a year early, meaning the first footage could drop any second. And yes, it’s still expected to hitch a ride with Avatar: Fire and Ash. Which means Disney could strike at literally any dramatic moment.

Fans were convinced Thursday, December 11 was the day. Why?

Then entertainment insider Grace Randolph had the insider input.

“I just heard that Disney trailer, which wasn’t necessarily [Avengers: Doomsday] is no longer coming out tomorrow.”

Rumour had it Disney was planning to dodge DC’s Supergirl trailer, which everyone thought was landing on December 10. But when DC Studios confirmed their drop was actually Thursday, Disney allegedly stepped out of that release-day showdown. One blockbuster at a time, please.

Also, Randolph clarified — very importantly — that this mystery trailer wasn’t necessarily for Doomsday at all. Disney has a stack of trailers waiting like files on an intern’s desk.

Disney’s lineup for 2026 is a buffet of potential trailer drops:

But as of right now: The mystery trailer is floating in the void. No new date. No clarification. Just vibes.

The most realistic bet: with Avatar: Fire and Ash in cinemas on December 19.

Whether Disney releases it online first or makes audiences crawl into theaters for that first glimpse… unclear. And very on-brand for them.

Rumor has it the Doomsday teaser will be the shortest first trailer in Avengers history — a little record-breaker that reveals absolutely nothing.

Given that the film doesn’t release until December 2026, Marvel may only have enough footage for a moody tease anyway.

Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.
(Yes, everyone already knows. No, Marvel hasn’t shown it off yet. Yes, they absolutely will milk this for maximum screams.)

According to insider James Mack, quoted by News 18, the film kicks off with an epic face-off: Avengers,  Fantastic Four, X-Men and  Doctor Doom. That alone is enough to fuel fan theories for the next year, but wait — there’s more. “Shuri is the one who discovers the Incursions,” Mack says. “While detecting anomalies in the fabric of reality and investigating the multiverse, she realises that different universes are colliding with each other. Using a hologram (like in the Shang-Chi post-credits scene), she shares her findings with Sam, Wong, Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers, warning them about the imminent threat.”

Apparently, the Fantastic Four’s grand arrival on Earth-616 happens while the Thunderbolts (now rebranded as the New Avengers?) are trying to figure out what is going on. Reed Richards drops a bomb: Doctor Doom has kidnapped his son, Franklin, and— Galactus tried to grab the kid too. Casual. “Bucky, unsure how to handle the situation with Doom, goes to seek advice from Sam,” Mack adds.

Fans are unsure of these plot details; they can't help but remember the peak of Infinity War and Endgame.

Before Avengers: Doomsday starts whipping fans into a frenzy, it’s worth remembering the last time Marvel had the entire planet in a chokehold: Infinity War and Endgame — the two-part crescendo that slammed Phase Three shut with the force of a fully-powered Infinity Gauntlet.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018): The real stakes

Marvel pulled off the impossible: a film with 30+ heroes that didn’t collapse under its own weight. Infinity War hurled the Avengers (and every cosmic side-character Marvel could find) into a desperate scramble to stop Thanos, who collected the Infinity Stones, to snap away half the universe.

For the first time, the villain won. Thanos snapped, and dusted half the universe and left audiences in funereal silence. It was bold, brutal, and emotionally unhinged in the best way.

Box office: A mega-smash at $2.05 billion, instantly cementing it as one of the highest-grossing films of all time.

Endgame was a time-heist adventure, catharsis marathon, and farewell tour rolled into one. The Avengers regrouped, travelled through their own cinematic history, stole the Stones back, and delivered the perfect fan-service battle.

Tony Stark snapped. Steve Rogers retired. Black Widow sacrificed herself.

Endgame was the perfect ending. A decade-long storyline folded into a near-perfect emotional payoff.

Box office: A record-breaker at $2.799 billion, briefly becoming the highest-grossing film of all time.