After a series of leaks and a week-long run exclusively in front of Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters, the Avengers: Doomsday teaser trailer confirming Steve Rogers / Captain America’s return is online.
Marvel officially released the teaser trailer today, December 23, with a Thor teaser trailer set to replace it in theaters this week. (The Thor teaser trailer leaked overnight, as this Captain America trailer had last week.)
December 18, 2026. #AvengersDoomsdaypic.twitter.com/HaForXhq3W
— Avengers (@Avengers) December 23, 2025
As IGN reported last week, the trailer begins with a figure on a motorbike pulling up to a familiar-looking 1950s house, which Marvel fans may recognize from Avengers: Endgame’s closing scene. Inside the house, the figure is revealed to be Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers, as he folds away his Captain America uniform and picks up a baby, which we assume is his. On-screen text then reads: “Steve Rogers will return in Avengers: Doomsday.” We then get the countdown to Avengers: Doomsday’s release date in December 2026, alongside a Doctor Doom-themed Avengers logo.
Steve Rogers was last seen living happily in the 1950s with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), having presumably completed his final mission of returning the Infinity Stones to their original places in the timeline. Doomsday may explain how Rogers managed to get back to the main MCU reality in order to hand his shield over (according to MCU time-travel rules, he should technically be in a new branch of reality instead).
The character was one of the original Avengers and played a key part in the $2.7 billion-grossing Avengers: Endgame. Having the original Captain America back will undoubtedly be a huge audience draw, especially for those who have lost interest in Marvel over the past few years amid a string of underwhelming entries in its Multiverse Saga.
However, some have criticized Marvel’s decision to bring Steve Rogers back into the fold as a “desperate” attempt to win back audiences at the expense of newer characters, and especially Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson. It’s a point of discussion IGN has also expanded upon, suggesting it has exposed Marvel’s failure to introduce more fan-favorite characters in the years since Endgame.
In a post on Instagram, the Russo brothers, who directed both Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, issued a statement on Steve Rogers’ return: “the character that changed our lives. The story that brought us all here together. It was always going to come back to this…”
Chris Evans reunites with former co-stars Robert Downey Jr. (Doctor Doom) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) for Avengers: Doomsday. A recent report suggested that four separate trailers would launch over four weeks, in a move designed to encourage repeat viewings of Avatar 3 and keep audiences entertained with a series of big reveals. Thor is reportedly up next, with a Doctor Doom-focused teaser allegedly set to follow next week.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters December 18, 2026. Avengers: Secret Wars follows a year later.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
