Marvel Studios turned its Comic-Con panel into a spectacle Saturday night, using surprise stage reveals, actor cameos and a redesigned trailer package to reset the narrative around “Avengers: Doomsday” after a shaky trailer debut days earlier.
The panel opened with a jolt: a hidden stage at the back of Hall H revealed cast members from “Thunderbolts*” and the 2000s “X-Men” films, who walked the length of the 7,000-seat room greeting fans before joining Robert Downey Jr., Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell onstage. Marvel handed every attendee a Doctor Doom mask and cape, part of a presentation built around lights, music and a costume theme tied to Downey’s villain.
The studio used the moment to make two major casting announcements. David Jonsson, known for “Alien: Romulus,” will play T’Challa’s son and take up the Black Panther mantle in a third installment set for December 2028. Ryan Gosling was unveiled as Ghost Rider in a separate 2028 film directed by Shawn Levy, who also directs Gosling in the upcoming “Star Wars: Starfighter.”
Ryan Reynolds added an unscripted moment, appearing in Deadpool costume under the guise of a cosplayer to ask, in character, whether “Doomsday” had already wrapped production. Downey shut him down on the spot, telling him filming was finished and gesturing to the assembled cast as proof.
Marvel needed the momentum. The studio’s first full “Doomsday” trailer, released Monday, drew record viewership but a lukewarm response from fans and critics. Saturday’s panel countered with a Hall H-exclusive reel showing clearer stakes, including Doctor Doom summoning an army of giant robots and Susan Storm explaining his motivations to the crowd. Studio chief Kevin Feige opened the presentation by crediting Marvel’s comic-book origins and welcoming Stephen Wacker as the publishing division’s new editor-in-chief.
“Avengers: Doomsday” arrives in theaters December 18, reuniting the Avengers with the Fantastic Four and the X-Men from 20th Century Fox’s earlier film series, ahead of “Avengers: Secret Wars” the following December.
