First Avengers: Doomsday Concept Art Reveals Doctor Doom And Returning X-Men

It's been seven years since all the major forces of the Marvel Cinematic Universe assembled to take on Thanos in "Avengers: Endgame." Now, a new threat will bring together heroes from across the multiverse, including the recently introduced iteration of the Fantastic Four and a collection of mutants from 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" movies.

Some short teaser trailers for "Avengers: Doomsday" have been released, but today Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige gave attendees at Bilibiliworld in Shanghai, China, the first look at official concept art for the movie. It was also shared on X/Twitter by Marvel's former director of visual development, Andy Park, who was laid off along with the rest of the visual development team earlier this year. Park noted that "Doomsday" was "the final full film I had the honor of leading" at Marvel, adding, "This illustration commemorates that journey and reveals the characters and their looks for the first time."

Doctor Doom (played by former Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr.) takes center stage in the artwork, but perhaps more interesting is the fact that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is hidden at the centre of it. The image also reveals returning X-Men characters Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), Beast (Kelsey Grammer), and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn). Here's the "Avengers: Doomsday" concept art in full:

Marvel Studios/Andy Park

Directing duo Anthony and Joe Russo, who wrangled the disparate parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Endgame," returned to helm "Doomsday." Barring any surprise appearances, only two members of the original superhero team lineup from 2012's "The Avengers" — Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) — are back in the fray this time. But the movie will have the New Avengers* on deck, alongside the Fantastic Four, Steve Wilson aka Captain America (Anthony Mackie) and his sidekick Joaquín Torres aka Falcon (Danny Ramirez), Shuri aka Black Panther (Letitia Wright) and M'Baku (Winston Duke), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), and Shang-Chi (Simu Liu).

Patrick Stewart made his MCU debut as Professor Charles Xavier in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," though that version of Professor X was quickly killed off. The X-Men were then folded deeper into the MCU's multiverse via the R-rated, very tongue-in-cheek "Deadpool & Wolverine." That movie also introduced Channing Tatum as Gambit, a role he was originally cast in for "X-Men: The Last Stand," and then for his own solo movie, but had never actually gotten to play. 

With so many celebrated superheroes in the artwork, it's easy to miss Loki lurking at the center of it all, but it certainly looks like he might play a pivotal role in bringing everyone together. The last time we saw him, at the end of "Loki" season 2, he'd made the self-sacrificing decision to place himself at the heart of the multiverse's many branching timelines. He became the God of Stories, charged with the glorious purpose of maintaining harmony among the many possible realities. But it seems the arrival of Doctor Doom will bring some of those realities crashing together.

"Avengers: Doomsday" arrives in theaters on December 18, 2026.