Avengers: Doomsday – Inside The Shift From Kang To Doctor Doom

Avengers: Doomsday will see the Marvel Cinematic Universe taking on one of the biggest threats of all time in the form of Victor von Doom, also known as Doctor Doom. However, the MCU was initially setting up Kang the Conqueror as the big bad of The Multiverse Saga, until Jonathan Majors was fired by Marvel Studios.

During a recent Reddit AMA with Michael Waldron, who was one of the original writers for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty before the Doomsday retooling, he was asked if there was “anything that you learnt from those initial drafts of the script that moved over to help you write for the new version, Avengers: Doomsday?” Luckily, he was able to share one of the pitches that he and Jeff Loveness had developed.

The Loki creator stated, “Jeff Loveness and I spent an afternoon pitching on the Young Avengers defeating a version of Kang and being so stoked about it,” but there was a twist. According to Waldron, the heroes would “only to discover that that particular Kang carried a little card that said to Be Patient with him, it was his first day as a Kang.”

The screenwriter concluded the answer by adding, “And then they were so bummed. I think he was gonna be the lizard Kang from the end of Kang Dynasty? I don’t know. Anyway we had fun.” When the shift was made to Avengers: Doomsday, MCU alum Stephen McFeely was hired to pen the new script, after having worked on the Captain America trilogy, as well as Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.

With Anthony and Joe Russo back as the directors for the final Phase 6 movies, the Avengers: Doomsday cast wrapped principal photography on September 19, 2025. As of right now, no filming date has been set yet for Avengers: Secret Wars, which will conclude the Multiverse Saga on December 18, 2027.

After Majors was fired by Marvel Studios as Kang got removed from the MCU timeline, it was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 that Robert Downey Jr. would bring Doctor Doom to life in Phase 6. This will mark his first time back in the franchise after Tony Stark died in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

While his face wasn’t on-screen, the Iron Man star made his debut as Victor in The Fantastic Four: First Steps post-credits scene. Avengers: Doomsday is slated to hit theaters on December 17, 2026.