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The Kang Dynasty Team Gets ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Writing Credits

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‘Avengers: Doomsday’ had one of the most complicated paths to the screen in Marvel’s history. Before Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom took over, the fifth ‘Avengers’ film was going to be ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,’ with a different villain, director and writer. The Russo brothers’ crossover now opens on December 18, 2026, but traces of that earlier version are still part of its story.

That version took shape back in 2022. On July 26, 2022, news broke that Destin Daniel Cretton would direct the film, and that September, ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ writer Jeff Loveness signed on to write the script. Jonathan Majors was set to return as Kang the Conqueror.

Now the Writers Guild of America has recognized that earlier work. The WGA’s directory lists Cretton, Loveness, and Andrew Lanham among the writers credited with “Additional Literary Material” on ‘Avengers: Doomsday.’

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The credit doesn’t mean their names will appear in the main writing credits. Stephen McFeely and Michael Waldron remain the only credited writers. The additional literary material credit recognizes writers who contributed to a script but didn’t reach the WGA’s minimum percentage threshold for an official on-screen writing credit.

The WGA list is long. It also includes Eric Pearson, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Ryan Reynolds, and Hugh Jackman. The original version of the film unraveled in late 2023. That November, Cretton and Loveness both left the project, and Michael Waldron took over the script. Reports said Cretton’s exit was amicable and that he stayed with Marvel to work on ‘Wonder Man’ and a ‘Shang-Chi’ sequel.

The Kang storyline soon became uncertain. In November 2023, Marvel was reportedly considering moving away from the Kang plot, partly because of Majors’ legal issues. He was fired the following month after a guilty verdict in his assault trial.

The project was then reworked. The return of the Russo brothers as directors and McFeely as co-writer, Downey’s casting as Doctor Doom and the new ‘Doomsday’ subtitle were all announced in July 2024.

Loveness had clearly been preparing for a much bigger Kang story. During the ‘Quantumania’ press tour, he teased that the next ‘Avengers’ film would be a “bloodbath” and would inspire the next generation of Avengers. A scene with more details about Kang’s backstory and future was cut from ‘Quantumania,’ because he felt those details belonged in the next ‘Avengers’ film.

Lanham’s credit has fans speculating. He co-wrote ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ with Cretton, and some fans think the pair may have helped shape Shang-Chi’s arc in ‘Doomsday.’ Cretton’s involvement has also prompted Spider-Man speculation, since he directed ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day.’

None of this is confirmed. Additional literary material credits don’t mean every contribution will make it into the final cut, so the extent of their influence on the finished film is unclear.

The long list shows how much the project changed over the years. The Russo brothers have confirmed that the ‘Doomsday’ script was still being written during filming, and they describe themselves as improvisation-based, rehearsal-based directors. The WGA’s credit system is meant to account for that kind of development history, so writers whose drafts helped shape the final film still get some recognition.

Do you think elements of the original Avengers: The Kang Dynasty story made it into Avengers: Doomsday?

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