Chris Evans filming on location for “The Avengers” in Central Park on September 2, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney/WireImage)
WireImage
After Avengers: Doomsday trailers leaked online, MCU fans were shocked to see the return of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers.
Two theatre-exclusive teasers focusing on Steve Rogers and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) spread across social media before Marvel hit back via copyright strikes (an unfinished trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day also leaked online).
The leaks, covertly recorded in low resolution, coincided with a wave of AI-generated fakes that were difficult to distinguish from real footage (confusingly, some AI trailers were designed to mimic the real leaks, shot-for-shot, while others were just bizarre).
While the unofficial rollout was messy and disorienting, the discourse focused on the return of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, whose role as Captain America was officially replaced by Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Endgame and Brave New World.
While some Marvel fans cheered on the return of Evans, others were unhappy with the reversal, describing Doomsday as “nostalgia-slop.”
Why Were Fans Unhappy To See The Return Of Steve Rogers?
Endgame delivered a conclusive, emotional end to the story of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), with Tony sacrificing himself, and Steve choosing to exploit their time-meddling by retiring, growing old with the love of his life.
The return of Robert Downey Jr. as another character (the iconic comic villain Doctor Doom) already raised eyebrows among Marvel’s fanbase, but the leaked trailer confirming that Steve Rogers was also coming back sparked a surprising amount of criticism.
The teaser implies that Steve is returning for a central role in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, making it clear that the MCU had already entered its nostalgia era.
The original Avengers crew were wildly popular, but Marvel was meant to build a new, exciting roster for future superhero adventures.
Marvel has spent the last few years trying to create new stars for the franchise, and largely struggled, releasing a huge amount of films and TV shows introducing new heroes and villains, interconnected in increasingly complicated, interdimensional ways.
Ever since Endgame, the MCU has performed inconsistently at the box office, far removed from the heights of their success—Marvel’s golden years were practically a money-printing machine.
Spider-Man and Deadpool have thrived in the modern MCU landscape, but The Eternals, The Marvels, The Thunderbolts and The Fantastic Four fell short of expectations.
Casual viewers seem to have checked out, and online, fans have complained that following the increasingly drawn-out story of the MCU feels like “homework.”
Many Marvel fans viewed the leaks as evidence that Doomsday was going to echo one of the classic hits, Civil War, with another battle between Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr.
Fantastic Four fans expressed concerns that the bitter rivalry between Doctor Doom and Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) was going to be sidelined by the nostalgic pairing of Evans and Downey Jr.
Others jokingly pointed out that the perceived decline of the MCU mirrored the storytelling of Marvel comics.
While the plot of Doomsday is still unknown, the messy leaks haven’t created a great impression, although a more expansive, officially released trailer might well change the narrative.
We’ll soon see if MCU fans can get hyped for Downey’s Doctor Doom.
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2025/12/17/messy-avengers-doomsday-leaks-are-killing-the-hype-for-marvel-fans/
