Marvel fans are desperate for Doctor Doom to face off against Thanos in Avengers: Doomsday

With Avengers: Doomsday only a year or so away from hitting our screens, Marvel fans are keen to see one particular battle in the new duo of Avengers movies – Thanos versus Doctor Doom.

"The only thing I want to see happen in Doomsday," one fan wrote on Reddit, alongside a comic book panel that sees Doom make short work of Thanos without the power of the Infinity Gauntlet.

"It would be an incredible scene to see Thanos teaming with the Avengers," another replied. "We are trained to think Thanos is one of the strongest beings, and it’s always compelling to see the heroes teaming with their villain. Based on Thanos prior appearances, we are expecting a fair fight only for this to happen."

Others think it's more likely to happen in Doomsday's sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, based on the way things go in the comics with the evolution of Doom's power. "Not in Doomsday, but Secret Wars. Doomsday should be Doom’s rise to power and ends with him winning and becoming God-Emperor," someone else replied.

"A variant (lifeboat saved) Thanos would see usurping God Emperor Doom’s power as a potential source of Infinity Gauntlet power. So they duke it out which would then be a cinematic reversal of the actors battle in Infinity War."

However, not everyone is as sold on the idea of the two big bads facing off against each other. "Why would you want Thanos back? Don’t you think death has too little meaning already with the whole multiverse?" said one fan. "Bring Thanos back and the previous movies lose all their meaning."

Avengers: Doomsday will see the Russos back in the directors' chairs, and the movie's cast list was recently revealed in a five-hour live stream (although there may still be more to come…). Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom, and he'll be joined by plenty of familiar faces, including the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts, and even a few X-Men.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars following on May 7, 2027. In the meantime, get up to speed with our guide to all the other upcoming superhero movies on the way from Marvel and DC.