‘Fantastic Four’ Just Launched, But ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Has One Big Red Flag

The Fantastic Four: First Steps has arrived in theaters and is delighting fans and critics alike. The film marks the beginning of Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the final chapter in the Multiverse Saga, and is hurtling towards the next major crossover, Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for release in December 2026. With 16 months to go until Avengers: Doomsday, there’s still plenty of time to prepare for what’s shaping up to be the MCU’s biggest title yet.

However, there are some concerns. At San Diego Comic-Con 2025, the same time as The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ opening weekend, Rebecca Romijn, who will reprise her role as Mystique from the 20th Century Fox X-Men film, was unsure if she was done filming. She said, “The script hasn’t — they haven’t finished writing it.”

This quote has caught fire, with plenty of fans worried. Marvel Studios has developed a reputation for beginning production before scripts are fully finalized. While that worked out for Iron Man and Thor: Ragnarok, it is clear in some recent projects like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania or Captain America: Brave New World, the script was not in the best place when production began. Kevin Feige has pushed back on the notion that Marvel begins production without a script, citing the many delays to Blade.

So what exactly do Rebecca Romijn’s comments mean? Should fans be worried? Is Marvel repeating bad habits, and could it doom The Fantastic Four? Or is something being lost in translation?

Difference Between a Finished Script and Rewrites

The first aspect that needs to be addressed is the exact nature of the quote. What Rebecca Romijn said was:

“The script hasn’t — they haven’t finished writing it. It’s been very, very fun, and we don’t know yet. They keep everything very close to the vest themselves in an effort to keep everything under wraps.”

The full quote in context certainly adds a new layer, providing more context than the typical headline. One suggests Marvel went into production without a script and is winging it the whole way, while the other implies that a script is in place, but elements are being added as they go. Marvel Studios seems to have a plan in place, but the process typically works like this: Marvel starts working on pre-visualization shots and key set pieces before the script is finalized, and then writes scenes around those set pieces. This is also how Christopher McQuarrie did his Mission: Impossible entries, and it worked for the most part until the recent release of The Final Reckoning.

The way this information is reported certainly creates a narrative. For DC Studios, James Gunn comments regarding Teen Titans led to multiple versions of the headline “Teen Titans Script Doesn’t Exist,” with Gunn later needing to clarify that what he meant was that he never read a finished script because screenwriter Ana Nogueira was asked to move over to Wonder Woman. There is a big difference between “a script doesn’t exist” and “a script was being worked on and was never finished.” Similarly, “the script isn’t finished” can be rephrased as “the script is being worked on throughout.”

Even with a completed script, it’s common for scenes to be rewritten during production. Although it’s not the most comforting aspect, it doesn’t mean they didn’t have a script at least partially completed and finalized before production and are now in the process of adding more to it. Kevin Feige even addressed this a few days before Romijn’s quote. He said:

“There’s plus-ing happening every day on the Avengers: Doomsday set right now, and it is amazing to watch because what those filmmakers, those actors, both the ones that are playing these characters for the first or second time and the one playing them for the 10th or 12th time, are the best in the world at it, and know these characters so well,” said Feige. “So if they have an idea, you want to listen to it and you want to adjust to it and you want to improve it. I wouldn’t want to change that.”

It is entirely possible that what Romijn meant when she said “the script is not finished” is that pages and scenes are being rewritten to flesh out the story. John Rhys-Davies shared a story about the numerous script page changes in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, to the point where he would sometimes not open new drafts because he knew another one would come the next morning.

It is also entirely within reason that Romijn is not misquoted, and the script is indeed not finished. Part of the reason the script might not be finished, or is being rewritten, is that the film still needs to be written around and accommodate the presence of certain characters/ actors who have not yet been confirmed. Many expressed disappointment when the Avengers: Doomsday cast was announced, as notable absences included Tatiana Maslany’s She-Hulk, Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Marvel Studios did confirm that the massive cast for Avengers: Doomsday was only part of it, with more set to be announced at a later date.

This potentially makes Avengers: Doomsday one of the biggest movies in history, even larger than Avengers: Infinity War, with a cast that would nearly double its size. Because of that, they might be writing around everyone’s availability and schedules. This means the script might have been a loose definition of finished when they started filming, based on key players who were locked in, but it does need to change based on who is available. It’s certainly not the traditional way to make a movie, and whether it’s the right approach is debatable, given that there is no exact frame of reference for Avengers: Doomsday, considering the production’s scale.

The Plan Does Not Exist (But It Never Did)

The concern/fear surrounding Avengers: Doomsday is partially due to the response of previous MCU titles. While the franchise is nowhere near in the dire situation some might want it to be, given that The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Thunderbolts*, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever all recieved positive reviews, while Deadpool & Wolverine, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness were box office hits, a few bad apples have spoiled the bunch for some. That means more fans are approaching Avengers: Doomsday with concern, more so than they did with Avengers: Infinity War, which, by that point, the most disappointing MCU titles were Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World.

In many ways, Marvel has become a victim of their mythology. With Avengers: Doomsday being a replacement film for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom replacing Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, it certainly feels like a movie made in a panic. It has given the impression that there is no plan in place, in contrast to the Infinity Saga, which set up Thanos and the Infinity Stones. But that isn’t the whole story, as the Infinity Saga was also improvised and built one project at a time.

Joss Whedon admitted that the Thanos tease in The Avengers was never meant to set up a bigger threat and was only a fun reference. James Gunn came up with the mythology of The Infinity Stones in a day on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy. Even though Avengers: Infinity War was announced in 2014, the Russo brothers didn’t sign on until April 2015, with principal photography not beginning until January 2017, which was the same distance from its release date as from now until Doomsday. Still, even with back-to-back praise for Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the 16-month wait for Avengers: Doomsday is generating more anxiety than optimism.

An Uncertain Future

There are a lot of questions surrounding Avengers: Doomsday, more than Avengers: Infinity War. Going into Avengers: Infinity War, fans knew at least five of the six Infinity Stones and could predict the structure of the film and how the characters could factor in. Avengers: Doomsday doesn’t have that. Fans have a good idea of how Avengers: Secret Wars might play out, but Doomsday seems essentially like an original story (we’ve speculated there might be some Marvel Ultimate Alliance details at play). Due to the large number of characters, some of whom have only appeared in one film and others who have not even been confirmed, there is less certainty. That should, in theory, be exciting, leading to more speculation.

Yet Marvel Studios has also struggled to control the narrative, allowing rumors to spread, including many about Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. This has allowed more negative headlines to surface, as people tend to gravitate towards them at the moment. Say what you will about James Gunn’s constant online presence, but at the very least, he’s quick to clear up misinformation.

There are reasons to be concerned about Avengers: Doomsday, and if it is bad, it could have repercussions comparable to those of Cleopatra or Heaven’s Gate for the MCU, the superhero genre, and the entire industry. Hopefully, Marvel Studios isn’t sinking an estimated billion dollars into two films without a clear plan… but what does it say about the state of the industry that such a possibility even feels believable? Avengers: Doomsday is arriving in theaters on December 18, 2026.