Avengers: Doomsday World Series promo shows Fantastic Four at Ebbets Field and Doom’s arrival; fans want more

Marvel used Game 1 of the 2026 World Series on Friday night (US time) to air a new promo for Avengers: Doomsday, and the reaction online has been split. The spot featured fresh footage built around baseball, but many viewers who had waited through the hype said it offered only a few seconds of new material.

The film opens in theatres on 18 December 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars to follow on 17 December 2027, according to Comic Basics.

What the promo showed

According to MLB, the scene is set at Brooklyn’s old Ebbets Field, where the Fantastic Four throw out the ceremonial first pitch, with Reed Richards wearing a Brooklyn Dodgers cap. The clip closes with Doctor Doom appearing above the ballpark, prompting Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper to deliver the line, “We gotta go. Like, now.”

Alongside Harper, MLB said the promo featured Freddie Freeman, Randy Arozarena, Jacob Misiorowski and Junior Caminero. TheWrap reported that it also included brief glimpses of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Robert Downey Jr.’s Doom causing destruction, and appearances by Thor, Black Panther and Ant-Man, with Pedro Pascal as Mister Fantastic on the mound.

MLB had built anticipation through the week with a teaser posted on X showing a giant Avengers logo glowing through storm clouds above a stadium, Cosmic Book News reported.

Fans underwhelmed

TheWrap noted that many fans felt short-changed, saying much of the footage seemed familiar and the new portion lasted only seconds. Some joked about sitting through a baseball broadcast for so little. A smaller group defended Marvel, saying they preferred the studio not to reveal too much before release.

Cast and creative team

Joe and Anthony Russo direct, with Stephen McFeely co-writing. Downey returns to the MCU as Doctor Doom, a role other than Iron Man, in a story that brings together heroes from the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four. AV Club reports that more than two dozen stars have been confirmed.

Sebastian Stan expects heartbreak

Sebastian Stan, who plays Bucky Barnes, recently told Decider he has not seen the film and does not know how it ends, but expects it to be “heartbreaking, in a lot of ways”, AV Club reported. The outlet added that Marvel actors are often kept in the dark, so his remarks should be taken lightly.

What next

With the film about eight weeks from release, attention now turns to a full trailer, which Marvel has not formally dated.

Sources

• MLB.com: Avengers: Doomsday promo debuts during Game 1 of the 2026 World Series
• TheWrap: Avengers: Doomsday teaser falls flat after promise of a new look
• SlashFilm: Marvel reveals new Avengers: Doomsday footage in special World Series commercial
• Cosmic Book News: Avengers: Doomsday World Series preview confirmed
• Comic Basics: A new Avengers: Doomsday look is landing during the World Series
• AV Club: Sebastian Stan hasn’t seen Doomsday but is guessing it’s sad