Avengers: Doomsday's Boring Teaser Trailers Explained By The Russo Brothers

Aside from the X-Men-themed trailer, the promos for "Avengers: Doomsday" have thus far been disappointing (to say the least). Now, directors Anthony and Joe Russo have offered an explanation that may not do much to reassure fans. In an interview from the latest issue of Empire Magazine, the pair claimed the dull nature of these teasers was all down to them wanting to give characters singular moments ahead of a film that will be packed to the brim with characters both new and old. According to the duo, these "Doomsday" trailers actually act as "narrative information," forming their own micro-story within the framework of the movie itself.

The "Doomsday" trailers, to recap, have thus far been vignettes that introduce and re-introduce various beloved characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other Marvel Comics adaptations in a decidedly anticlimactic fashion. If nothing else, the awful "Doomsday" trailer rollout was at least the wake-up call Disney needed. But according to the Russos, this was all part of a plan to celebrate various characters individually. As Joe Russo put it, "The movie is very complex. We thought one of the best ways to celebrate what the movie is was to give characters their own space and highlight some moments."

Again, those moments have so far been, well, pretty boring (James Marsden's Cyclops unleashing a furious energy blast notwithstanding). For the Russos, though, aside from giving individual characters their own space, these moments all connect together to form a narrative. "Each one of those trailers is narrative information," explained Joe Russo, "and it's all part of a larger story. So, I would argue that 'Doomsday' has already started for you." Let's hope not, as that would be a pretty poor kick-off for a movie that will basically make or break Marvel Studios.

Thus far, the Russos have struggled to match the success of their Marvel films outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "The Electric State," for example, was Netflix's most expensive movie ever and the Russos' worst. Prior to that, they also directed the aggressively mediocre Netflix action flick with "The Gray Man," prompting Hoai-Tran Bui to kick off her review for /Film at the time by writing, "The Russo brothers must be stopped." But there is no stopping these maestros of the mediocre, especially since they've churned out the MCU's biggest hits.

Now they've been put in charge of righting the Marvel ship by directing the upcoming "Avengers: Doomsday," and thus far, the question of whether they'll succeed remains very much up in the air. Things haven't exactly gotten off to the best start. The announcement that Robert Downey Jr. would return as big bad Victor von Doom simultaneously excited and perplexed fans the world over. Then, the trailers started arriving.

The most egregious was the very first, in which Chris Evans' Steve Rogers rocked up on a motorbike and held a baby (presumably his own ... right?). This marks the return of one of the most important and beloved characters in MCU history, yet it felt more like some b-roll from a screen test that was never meant to be seen. Anthony Russo, on the other hand, felt it was a perfectly fitting way to welcome Steve Rogers back into the fold. "We have a special affinity with the character," he said. "We can't see this narrative without his central role in it, basically. The special place he holds among the ensemble, he sort of retains that moving forward."

After Steve Rogers' weird reintroduction, things only got worse. /Film ranked all four "Avengers: Doomsday" trailers and every single one after Cap's was ranked lower than the original (except for the X-Men "Doomsday" trailer which was the best by far). Brief looks at Wakanda, the Fantastic Four, and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) all failed to improve upon the first teaser until the X-Men showed up to reignite fan interest. 

Still, the whole rollout was already tainted and the Russos' explanation doesn't really do much to fix that. Re-contextualizing boring clips as part of a wider narrative just suggests the narrative itself might be boring, though with this film being as monumental a moment for Marvel Studios as it is, it will likely be anything but. That, in turn, only serves to remind us how hard it is to make trailers for this event movie so dull. I guess if anyone can pull off such a thing, though, it's the Russos.

The only thing from the duo's Empire interview that might pique fan interest is the tease of a darker tone. As Anthony Russo put it:

"As much as we run at the fun in terms of what these films can be, we also run at the complexity and the difficulty of what these movies can do at a narrative level. I think we've found a new level of that in 'Doomsday.'"

Joe Russo added that "Victor von Doom demands a certain tone." Let's just hope that tone proves to be a lot more evident and exciting in the final film than it is in the teasers when "Avengers: Doomsday" arrives on December 18, 2026.