Avengers: Doomsday is in production with still no script finalized. So how in the world are they filming months into the movie’s process with no finished roadmap? According to sources, it’s based on the idea of shooting big action sequences required for the film and then filling in narrative gaps in between. Some might say that’s called “knowing the beats without the reasons”.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 23: (L-R) Taika Waititi and Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios attend the Thor: Love and Thunder World Premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in [Hollywood], California on June 23, 2022. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
Principal photography on Avengers: Doomsday began in late April 2025 at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, U.K. (working title: “Apple Pie 1”). Multiple round-ups place day one on April 28, 2025, with location work in England (including Windsor Great Park) and Bahrain through the summer. But work on the movie didn’t mean a script was finished, or that the directors knew what happens in the film. Let’s dive into just how chaotic the creation of Avengers: Doomsday has been and what it means for Marvel!
Even after three months of filming, Marvel boss Kevin Feige acknowledged the screenplay was being refined on set, what he called “plus-ing…every day.” Around the same time, reporting and interviews indicated Michael Waldron (who previously wrote Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) was actively assisting Stephen McFeely on the Doomsday script during production.
Simu Liu says everyone will be “blown away” by Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of Doctor Doom in ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’
(Source: https://t.co/Z8MsSHFnG5) pic.twitter.com/LY2VBImROY
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 2, 2025
Coverage in July emphasized Waldron’s continuing involvement while cameras rolled, reinforcing that script pages were still in motion rather than fully locked when principal photography began (Feige, for his part, pushed back on the idea Marvel starts without a “full script,” but simultaneously framed live rewrites as a normal part of their process). Consider us major skeptics of anything Kevin Feige says at this point about the process. Frankly, the post-Perlmutter era of Marvel, perhaps best identified as the Feige era (Phases 4-6) has been rocky at best. In fact, the best example of success was developed completely separate from Marvel proper and was greenlit by briefly Disney CEO, Bob Chapek. The other major successes were Sony distributions (see: Spider-Man).
A striking thread across leaks and trade-adjacent coverage is that Marvel moved ahead with major set pieces they were confident would survive rewrites, while character beats and connective tissue kept evolving. Reports point to the production shooting marquee battles first, notably an X-Men vs. Fantastic Four clash, before the full, final script was locked. We’re also hearing rumors that Doctor Doom will fight the Thunderbolts, Spider-Man and Wolverine will team up to face off against some form of the TVA, etc. While Marvel hasn’t confirmed the matchups on the record, multiple outlets and scoop aggregators described at least the Fantastic Four versus Fox X-Men a sequence being staged during the spring/summer shoot. Adding credibility… Alan Cumming seemed to confirm it.
The cast of The Avengers staged a Zoom call in support of Kamala Harris for U.S. President – YouTube, SkyNews Australia
If only Fantastic Four had achieved box office success, there might be more excitement surrounding that battle.
With a cast spanning Avengers, Wakandans, Thunderbolts/New Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and “original” X-Men alumni, Doomsday is a logistics puzzle. In that environment, it’s pragmatic to block, pre-viz, and photograph tent-pole action the studio knows it wants (and that VFX pipelines require months to a year to finish), then “plus” dialogue, transitions, and character-driven scenes around those anchors. That approach mirrors how prior Russo-era team-ups integrated evolving pages with locked-in spectacle—just at a bigger multiversal scale.
The good news? Everyone reportedly is having a great time filming the action sequences even while waiting for the story to still be written!
Simu Liu talks about what it’s been like filming ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’
“Every day feels like a dream. I get to go to work and work with people I respect and admire. Some of them are actors I watched when I was little, even before I wanted to be an actor. It’s an incredible… pic.twitter.com/TDfGnnrhNX
— Avengers Updates (@AvengersUpdated) September 1, 2025
Ultimately, Avengers: Doomsday sounds like a movie that has particular beats they must complete… but no solidified story for how to get there. It’s a road trip without a vehicle. Marvel just has to hope Robert Downey Jr can drive whatever it is.
