Doomsday Cast Announcement Gave Thunderbolts* Spoilers

Marvel Studios dropped huge news this week by revealing the cast of Avengers: Doomsday. The film featured a litany of incredible actors and some of the biggest characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some surprise additions were former X-Men stars, some of whom haven’t been seen in those roles for over a decade.

It proves that Marvel Studios is going all out for Avengers: Doomsday in a bid to make it a success, but they are also providing opportunities for newer characters. Many stars of the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie will also be appearing in the film. However, the announcement provided several significant spoilers for that project, disappointing people.

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Marvel Studios Spoiled Thunderbolts* In Its Own Announcement

Thunderbolts* features a fantastic cast of actors and some brilliant characters that MCU fans are excited to see more of. However, the decision to reveal that the majority of the team are going to be in Avengers: Doomsday has effectively spoiled the movie. Audiences now know that they will survive, which has dramatically lowered the stakes of all the upcoming action scenes. However, it also pointed toward one character that is unlikely to survive Thunderbolts*: Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster.

There has already been a lot of speculation that he’s not going to make it out of Thunderbolts* based on how rarely Taskmaster is seen in the trailer for the movie. In group shots, he’s often missing, which hints at him being taken out earlier on, and the fact that he’s not joining the rest of the group in Avengers: Doomsday doesn’t do much to quell those rumors. It was a strange decision on Marvel’s behalf, given the interest in Thunderbolts*, as this has given people an idea of what they’re going to see.

This Decision Could Hurt Thunderbolts* Box Office Results

Thunderbolts* is a brand new project for the MCU; therefore, there’s always going to be a risk that it won’t deliver, given that interest in the franchise is slightly down across the board. Marvel Studios has put together a great cast, but they still need to promote the film as much as possible, and this announcement feels like something that could hurt the box office results. The Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal had over four million views on the livestream alone, so it obviously did a great job of promoting that film. However, an Avengers project doesn’t really need tons of promotion in order to deliver, as fans are going to head out in their droves to see it regardless of who is involved. On the other hand, Thunderbolts* is an unknown commodity and a team that fans have never seen; therefore, making the movie as appealing as possible should be the key.

Of course, adding several cast members to Avengers: Doomsday could get some people interested to check it out to see what they’re all about, as Marvel seems to be invested in them as a group. However, effectively confirming who will and won’t survive the movie is a massive problem as it gives away key elements of the story. While nothing is confirmed, as Taskmaster might survive but leave in a different manner, it has certainly brought a lot of controversy and anger among fans who were excited for Thunderbolts*.

It’s A Worrying Long-Term Planning Decision

The timing of this announcement is particularly strange given that it effectively spoiled how Thunderbolts* will end for no reason. While the cast is likely to be spotted on set for Avengers: Doomsday, the majority of casual audiences wouldn’t have found out about that news until Marvel wanted to reveal it. Therefore, this was an announcement that could easily have taken place after Thunderbolts* had been released. It would have benefited that stand-alone movie, which is going to see Marvel attempt to create a brand new team out of characters that are either relatively unknown or lacking in significant powers. Given the positive reviews that the trailer has been receiving and the fact that Marvel Studios could do with a hit, the decision to potentially damage that movie just to get some extremely early buzz around Avengers: Doomsday seems baffling.

Marvel Studios has always prided itself on fantastic long-term planning, which is the reason why the MCU exists and has worked in the first place. However, the Avengers: Doomsday announcement felt like the opposite of that, and no real thought had been put into it regarding the impact it could have on other projects and characters. Thunderbolts* might not be one of Marvel’s biggest priorities compared to the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps film, but it still needs to be treated with the same respect. That’s especially true since there are obviously plans for the Thunderbolts* characters beyond this movie, as they are going to be in Avengers: Doomsday, so Marvel should want as many eyes on the film as possible.