Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Reportedly a “Mess” in the Edit After Shooting Without a Finished Script and Packing in 60+ Roles

A few months ago, I was told by a top source of mine—the same one who told me the Blade movie had been scrapped—that “Avengers: Doomsday” was a “mess,” which had led some people internally at Marvel to wonder whether it would make its intended December 18, 2026, release date.

That same source reached out to me again this week after John Campea reported on his popular podcast that the post-production process for “Avengers: Doomsday” was not going well, with editors struggling to assemble the behemoth of a film. The gist of Campea’s source, shared on his YouTube show, was that directors Joe and Anthony Russo weren’t “finding the movie in the edit.” “Apparently, when they shot the movie, everything felt great, everything looked great… but now that they’re editing, they’re discovering some issues.”

My source tells me there is indeed “friction” in the editing room, but that “they’ll figure it out,” and any doubt about making that December 18 release date has evaporated. Marvel is bullish on that date, despite “Dune: Part Three” opening the same day.

Listen, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s going on here. When you have that many characters and no completed script while shooting, this is what happens. On paper, ‘Doomsday’ feels like one big cameo fest. The latest count has at least 60 actors part of this movie.

While shooting was taking place, Rebecca Romijn confirmed that the “Avengers: Doomsday” script was still in progress: “Not quite sure, they haven’t finished writing the script.” That’s right—they started rolling cameras without having secured a complete cast or a coherent script.

‘Doomsday’ was was being written and re-written until the very last week of production. The full cast also wasn’t fully locked during shooting. How does that work exactly?

Marvel head Kevin Feige described this as part of Marvel’s “creative process,” referring to the ongoing script changes as “plus-ing,” which is “happening every day,” and affirming that rewriting during filming has been a regular feature of the studio’s production model.

It goes without saying that shooting without a finalized script runs an increased risk of narrative inconsistency and structural confusion. Constant rewrites can compromise pacing, character development, and thematic cohesion. Feige and company are playing with fire here. They need to get this thing done, in some form or shape, on time for its December 2026 release date.

Did the main actors have a clear understanding of their arcs? I sure hope so. You can bet post-production reshoots were done on ‘Doomsday’, with editors scrambling to mold the damn thing into something coherent.

Marvel’s in a bind here. Not only does this behind-the-scenes scramble look messy, but it also threatens the quality of ‘Doomsday’, a $300M+ movie meant to be a pivotal chapter in the MCU. The Russo brothers, who are coming off a string of duds, were reportedly directing scenes with only a rough idea of who’s actually in them. What can possibly go wrong?

• Pedro Pascal-Reed Richards 

• Robert Downey Jr- Dr Doom

• Vanessa Kirby-Sue Storm

• Ebon Moss Bacharach-The Thing

• Joseph Quinn-Human Torch

• Anthony Mackie-Captain America

• Chris Hemsworth-Thor

• Letitia Wright-Shuri

• Paul Rudd-Ant Man

• Simu Liu-Shang Chi

• Danny Ramirez-Falcon

• Winston Duke-M’baku

• Tenoch Huetra-Namor

• Florence Pugh-Yelena Belova

• Sebastian Stan-Bucky Barnes

• David Harbour-Red Guardian

• Wyatt Russell-John Walker

• Hannah John Kamen-Ghost

• Lewis Pullman-Sentry

• Tom Hiddleston-Loki

• Patrick Stewart-Professor X

• Ian McKellen-Magneto

• Alan Cumming-Nightcrawler

• Rebecca Romijn-Mystique 

• James Marsden-Cyclops 

• Channing Tatum-Gambit 

• Kelsey Grammer-Beast

• Chris Evans-Captain America

• Hayely Atwell-Captain Carter

• Benedict Cumberbatch-Doctor Strange

• Ryan Reynolds-Deadpool

This doesn't even include the speculated characters that could very well join the cast in the coming weeks, including Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda), Paul Bettany (Vision), Xochitl Gomez (America Chavez), Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Don Cheadle (War Machine) Karen Gillan (Nebula), Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Ke Huy Quan (Ouroboros), Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau), Will Poulter (Adam Warlock), Dominique Thorne (Ironheart), and Sophia Di Martino (Sylvie).