It’s official: Avengers: Doomsday started filming without a script.
Marvel Studios is betting heavily on Avengers: Doomsday to restore the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the heights it enjoyed during the Infinity War and Endgame era.
But directors Joe and Anthony Russo have now confirmed something that could raise serious questions about Marvel’s biggest movie in years: production began without a finished screenplay.
The revelation becomes even more noteworthy when combined with previous comments from members of the massive Doomsday cast and reports claiming the filmmakers have encountered difficulties assembling the movie during post-production.
Speaking with the Associated Press ahead of the film’s December 18 release, the Russo Brothers discussed the enormous challenge of bringing together the Avengers, New Avengers, Fantastic Four, Wakandans, and returning members of Fox’s original X-Men franchise.
The AP reported that the extensive overhaul of the fifth Avengers film resulted in the Russos beginning production with an unfinished script.
Joe Russo defended that approach.
“We always view the script as a living organism,” Russo told the outlet.
“We’re improvisation-based, rehearsal-based directors,” he continued. “We like to see what the actors bring to the characters, and sometimes you don’t get the actors until a few days or few weeks before you shoot them. And a lot of the time, that’s when the magic happens.”
The Russos have certainly earned some benefit of the doubt after directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
But Doomsday may be a considerably different beast.
Sebastian Stan Says They Shot “Scattered Scenes”
The directors aren’t the only people who have acknowledged the unusual production process.
Sebastian Stan, who returns as Bucky Barnes, recently told French publication Le Journal du Dimanche that he didn’t know what to expect from the finished movie for one very simple reason.
“Honestly, I have absolutely no idea. Because we didn’t have a script,” Stan said.
The actor explained that he was instead filming individual portions of the movie without knowing everything surrounding them.
Bucky in Marvels Thunderbolts* – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
“We were just shooting scattered scenes,” Stan said. “It’s a different way of working, continuous, constantly evolving.”
According to Stan, Marvel also deliberately withheld the complete screenplay from performers to prevent actors from accidentally revealing spoilers during interviews.
That makes some degree of sense for a production as secretive as Doomsday. Marvel has employed similar tactics previously, and Stan acknowledged that he has become accustomed to Marvel’s secrecy over his 15 years playing Bucky Barnes.
However, Stan isn’t the only actor who indicated the screenplay was still evolving.
Rebecca Romijn Previously Said They Hadn’t Finished Writing It
Rebecca Romijn, who returns as Mystique from the original X-Men movies, raised eyebrows while Doomsday was still filming when she was asked whether she had completed her work on the film.
“Not quite sure,” Romijn said. “They haven’t finished writing the script.”
That comment now looks significantly more interesting following the Russos’ confirmation.
Rebecca Romjin as Mystique in X-Men – Disney+
There’s an important distinction here. Actors being prevented from reading an entire Marvel screenplay because of spoiler concerns isn’t necessarily evidence of a troubled production. Actors actively filming a movie while portions of that movie are apparently still being written is something different.
And Marvel is attempting something extraordinarily complicated with Doomsday.
The movie is combining characters from multiple corners of the MCU with the Fantastic Four, the New Avengers, and characters from the Fox X-Men universe, while simultaneously introducing Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom as the central antagonist.
Anthony Russo acknowledged the scale of the undertaking to the AP.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: (L-R) Joe Russo, Robert Downey Jr. and Anthony Russo speak onstage during the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
“The MCU is this massive experiment in how vast, how much scope can an ensemble really have?” he said. “If we have a taste and talent for ensemble storytelling, we’re certainly pushing ourselves further than we ever have before.”
That makes having a coherent roadmap particularly important.
And that’s where earlier reports surrounding Doomsday become concerning.
Report Claims Marvel Is Struggling to “Find the Movie” in Editing
In July, YouTuber and entertainment commentator John Campea reported that he had heard Avengers: Doomsday was experiencing difficulties during post-production.
According to Campea’s source, the problems didn’t necessarily become apparent while the movie was being filmed.
“Apparently, when they shot the movie, everything felt great, everything looked great,” Campea reported. “But now that they’re editing, they’re discovering some issues.”
He said the filmmakers were having difficulty “finding the movie in the edit.”
Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday – Marvel Entertainment, YouTube
There’s an important caveat.
Campea subsequently contacted another source connected to the production who disputed the claim, reportedly responding, “That’s not what I heard.”
Therefore, reports of serious editing problems should still be treated as rumor rather than established fact.
However, World of Reel’s Jordan Ruimy subsequently reported hearing similar concerns.
Ruimy claimed a source had previously described Doomsday as a “mess” and later said there was “friction” occurring in the editing room.
Thor in Avengers: Doomsday – Marvel Entertainment, YouTube
That same source reportedly remained confident the filmmakers would ultimately “figure it out,” and Marvel is still moving forward with the movie’s December 18 release.
Again, none of that has been confirmed by Marvel Studios.
But the context surrounding those reports has changed considerably now that the Russos themselves have acknowledged going into production without a completed screenplay.
Marvel Is Betting Everything on Doomsday
The stakes surrounding Avengers: Doomsday are enormous.
Marvel spent years building toward Kang the Conqueror becoming the central villain of the Multiverse Saga before abandoning those plans and transforming what had originally been announced as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty into Doomsday.
The studio subsequently brought back the Russo Brothers and shocked audiences by announcing that Robert Downey Jr. would return to the MCU as Doctor Doom.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: (L-R) Louis D’Esposito, Co-President, Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios, Robert Downey Jr., Joe Russo and Anthony Russo attend the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
Meanwhile, Doomsday is expected to unite an enormous collection of Marvel characters across several different franchises and universes.
This isn’t some disposable Disney+ series.
It’s supposed to be the movie that brings Marvel’s increasingly scattered post-Endgame storylines together and launches the MCU toward Avengers: Secret Wars.
And apparently, the filmmakers began shooting it before they had finished writing it.
James Gunn Warned About This Exact Practice
Ironically, DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn (who is far from perfect himself) has publicly criticized exactly this kind of filmmaking.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2025, Gunn argued that one of Hollywood’s biggest problems was studios putting movies into production before the screenplay was ready.
“I do believe that the reason why the movie industry is dying is not because of people not wanting to see movies,” Gunn said. “It’s not because of home screens getting so good. The number-one reason is because people are making movies without a finished screenplay.”
Gunn said DC Studios had even killed a project that was already greenlit because its screenplay wasn’t ready.
Supergirl and James Gunn – DC
“Everybody wanted to make the movie. It was greenlit, ready to go. The screenplay wasn’t ready,” Gunn explained. “And I couldn’t do a movie where the screenplay’s not good.” It should be noted that James Gunn put Supergirl into production…
But whatever one thinks of Gunn’s DC output, the underlying point is difficult to dismiss.
Massive blockbuster productions involve hundreds of millions of dollars, enormous casts, visual effects work that can begin before principal photography has concluded, and countless moving pieces that eventually have to fit together into one coherent story.
Attempting that with an unfinished screenplay introduces another potential complication into an already extraordinarily complicated process.
Is Avengers: Doomsday Actually in Trouble?
That’s the billion-dollar question.
The available evidence does not establish that Avengers: Doomsday is a disaster.
The Russo Brothers previously pulled off Infinity War and Endgame, two enormous ensemble movies that had to balance dozens of characters and multiple simultaneous storylines.
Marvel also has months remaining to edit, score, polish, and potentially adjust Doomsday before its December release.
Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday – Marvel Entertainment, YouTube
But the filmmakers’ own comments confirm that at least one significant piece of the reported production chaos is real.
Those editing-room claims remain unconfirmed. The unfinished screenplay does not.
For a film carrying the future of the MCU on its shoulders, that makes what ultimately arrives in theaters on December 18 considerably more interesting.
Marvel desperately needs Avengers: Doomsday to prove the studio can once again deliver the kind of massive crossover event that made the MCU a cultural phenomenon.
Hopefully, the Russos really do find the movie in the edit.
Do you think Avengers: Doomsday will ultimately succeed despite filming with no finished script? Sound off and let us know!
UP NEXT: Ryan Reynolds Claims 80s Nostalgia Paves Over The “Trauma” of Tumultuous Decade
