Whenever a new Avengers movie is on the horizon, fan speculation always runs rampant, and Doomsday has been no different. We're all eager to learn which surprise characters could make their long-awaited Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, who are the heroes who won't make it out alive once the credits roll, and what the movie's story will be all about. However, amongst all the countless theories that make their way online, sometimes there is also an unintended leak that lets us get a glimpse behind Marvel's curtain. In that sense, Avengers: Doomsday hasn't been any different from its predecessors either.
Earth's Mightiest Heroes' upcoming adventure has already started filming in the UK, and the first set photo has been making waves recently. Thanks to it, we know that members of the New Avengers, Sam Wilson's Avengers team, and the Fantastic Four will be working together alongside Black Panther in an unknown mission (though it's been speculated that they want to bring Monica Rambeau back from that parallel universe seen in The Marvels' post-credits scene).
To take things a step further, the first Avengers: Doomsday set video recently confirmed the return of a beloved MCU location that may have huge implications for the movie's story.
Avengers: Doomsday set video confirms the return of the TVA
Stunt professional Bobby Holland Hanton is no stranger to working in MCU projects. His filmography includes Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Widow, Captain America: The First Avenger, and more. He's currently working on the highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday and posted a video directly from the movie's set. In it, we can see the return of a location superhero fans know all too well: the Time Variance Authority.
This is an interesting reveal, given that the dubious organization was founded by He Who Remains — the initial antagonist of Avengers 5, before Doctor Doom took his place. Ever since this swap-up was announced, many wondered how Marvel would deal with the situation. Would the studio decide to simply ignore all the world-building done during the Loki Disney Plus series? Or would they acknowledge that Kang was supposed to be the big bad, but give audiences a story explanation of why that isn't the case anymore?
Given how closely related the TVA and Kang are, it's difficult to imagine that the villain's story will be completely ignored. Instead, the most likely scenario is that Doctor Doom's motivations and plans will be the direct result of his predecessor's actions. After all, it's been officially confirmed that Loki will also make an appearance in Avengers: Doomsday, so the idea of simply ignoring He Who Remains and the way he basically controlled the multiverse becomes all the more unlikely.
Marvel doesn't need to go into too much detail about what Kang's original master plan was, or how the Council of Kangs would've factored into the story. However, they will likely acknowledge that someone was controlling which universes thrived and which ones were pruned from the shadows. But ever since that person was taken out of the picture for good, Loki has been responsible for holding the entire multiverse together, and that is sure to put him in Doom's sight.
Regardless of how the MCU decides to explain Kang's absence, it's nice to know that all the world-building made during the two seasons of Loki will still pay off in Avengers: Doomsday. Maybe there was a big change in plans, but with a bit of hope, the upcoming crossover's story will still make sense while also building upon what came before it.
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on Dec. 18, 2026.