The superhero movie rumor mill is nothing new, but Avengers: Doomsday has been a bigger lightning rod for speculation, uncertainty, and misinformation than the average Marvel Cinematic Universe film. Part of this is because Marvel has been keeping the movie under wraps with enigmatic teases and trailers that you probably don’t know are (supposed to be) playing ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash if you’re not tuned into the space. But even if you are paying attention to Doomsday’s hype cycle, it’s hard to trust that the information, images, or clips you’re seeing are even real.
Part of this is just the consequence of the Marvel Cinematic Universe being one of the most prominent pieces of modern pop culture in a brainrotted, engagement-driven news climate. Millions of people share without verifying, post without sourcing, and get so excited about Doomsday’s nostalgia baiting that they discuss theories as if they’re fact until the average passerby has no reason to believe they’re fake. The bigger your audience, the more slop gets generated around you, and Avengers: Doomsday, with all its pandering by bringing back old characters and actors, is primed to fall into this trap.
So what does that look like? Some of the simplest examples involve people making what appear to be AI images purporting to be from the Avengers: Doomsday trailers playing before Avatar, including ones that don’t seem to have been released yet like one focusing on Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.
already its been 4 THOR in marvel universe 😂#AvengersDoomsday #Thor pic.twitter.com/9wsHoOBPjh
— screentime (@something_al_) December 17, 2025
Some of these mock-ups are clearly being made with humorous intent, rather than the hope of feeding off of Marvel fans’ desperate need for any information about this movie. One of the funniest examples occurred when an Alien fan account used fake footage of Doomsday as a way to introduce Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But even so, the fabricated clips, including one of Doctor Doom being referred to as a “Stark clone” in reference to the villain being played by Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr., could be convincing enough on their own to someone who wouldn’t verify them before dropping them in their group chats.
NEW leaked Avengers: Doomsday teaser trailer… this is ABSOLUTELY INSANE! #AvengersDoomsday pic.twitter.com/e6T2ufrLZT
— Alien Theory (@Alien_Theory) December 16, 2025
The theory that Doctor Doom might be some kind of multiverse variant of Tony Stark has been circulating ever since Downey Jr. was cast as the villain last year, so it’s not surprising that mock-ups might lean into this, but it is a symptom of a larger disease that has infected online conversations about the MCU for nearly two decades. If you search for most of these movies or characters on most social media platforms, you’ll find deepfakes, photoshops, concept art from dubious sources, and theories presented as if they’re confirmed. Some fan accounts on X will say something false or unverified about an upcoming film, put “(Source: [some random profile with no credibility or even ties to insider information])” at the end of it, and people will share it without checking because the post structure has become so ubiquitous in the online rumor mill.
While the superfan who lives and breathes anything Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige puts in front of them lives in this filth year round, for the casual viewer, this self-sustaining slop is usually inconsequential, and they don’t have to look at the constant spread of misinformation. However, when something like Doomsday’s theater-exclusive teasers are putting the film into the actual news cycle, the average person is caught in the crossfire, and because these trailers aren’t being released online through official channels, anyone who wants to see them without paying for tickets to Avatar has to rely on a system of leaks and rumors that has been broken for years.
The spread of fake, AI-generated trailers has become such a nuisance that even YouTube has started stepping in by shutting down prominent channels that made AI-generated movie promos. It’s funny how big tech starts taking a hard stance on generative AI when it threatens a big company’s bottom line, huh?
