By John Corrado

The first trailer (and poster) for Avengers: Doomsday has just been released, with tickets going on sale for the film five months in advance. This trailer mainly teases the X-Men officially joining the MCU, and ends confirming the return of another character, though Robert Downey Jr. – now playing villain Doctor Doom – is kept under wraps.

But will this be enough to fully revive audience interest in the long-running franchise? I’m still not sure enough time has passed from Avengers: Endgame, which felt like a genuine cultural moment in 2019, for this sort of reunion. The main thing that this trailer showcases is that the Russo Brothers film promises to be a massive visual effects spectacle (that reportedly cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make), with dozens and dozens (if not hundreds) of characters all making appearances.

I’ll reserve judgement until it comes out. The trailer ends with a countdown to when the film opens in theatres on December 18th, the same day as Dune: Part Three; so expect a lot of “Dunesday” hype.