As Avengers: Doomsday looms, co-director Joe Russo has admitted that spoilers are going to happen because "you can't control everything."
One half of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) team that makes up The Russo Brothers opened up about ruined surprises during an interview with Metro UK. The topic of "spoilers" is one comic book movie fans dread, especially in anticipation of the release of a new team-up film like Avengers: Doomsday, but Russo doesn't want to keep audiences from getting excited about new projects either.
"On one hand, audiences want to be surprised, and that's part of what makes the theatrical experience exciting," he explained. "On the other hand, it can become a little over-policed, where people are anxious about engaging with anything."
MCU fans will no doubt remember the online clips of moviegoers reacting to big reveals and story moments in films like Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home when they premiered in 2019 and 2021, respectively. Viral moments like that have helped get butts in movie theater seats for the nearly 20 years the MCU has been running – and it keeps fans talking on the internet, too. For many, however, spoilers sometimes dampen the fun.
Russo's comments today suggest a slight shift in strategy from his past films, though. In April of 2018, weeks ahead of the premiere of Avengers: Infinity War, The Russo Brothers published a statement that asked fans not to spoil any of the film's biggest surprises. The message came with a #ThanosDemandsYourSilence hashtag, which was later updated to a #DontSpoilTheEndgame hashtag when a separate letter was published ahead of Avengers: Endgame in April 2019.
"We design these films to unfold in a certain way, and we want audiences to feel those moments as intended," Russo added today. "But at the same time, you can’t control everything. You have to focus on making something that holds up beyond the initial surprise."
We'll see if Avengers: Doomsday manages to hold up beyond whatever surprises it has in store when it premieres December 18, 2026. After that, fans can look forward to dodging even more spoilers while they wait for Avengers: Secret Wars to premiere December 17, 2027.
For more, you can read about the fake AI leaks that have been misleading fans for the last few weeks. You can also read about the seemingly very real leaks that have come from the MCU's very own Mark Ruffalo.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
