With anticipation building around Marvel’s next big ensemble film, Joe Russo has weighed in on the growing obsession with avoiding spoilers online — and he believes things may have gone too far.
Speaking to Metro, the filmmaker said modern fandom culture has become so strict about spoilers that audiences are now nervous about interacting with even basic promotional material before a movie releases.
“Audiences do love being surprised, and that thrill is part of the theatrical experience,” Russo said. However, he added that the intense policing of spoilers online has created anxiety among fans. “It can become a little over-policed, where people are anxious about engaging with anything,” he noted.
Russo also explained that while filmmakers carefully structure stories to deliver emotional payoffs in a particular way, there is only so much control creators can have once a project enters the public sphere.
“We design these films to unfold in a certain way, and we want audiences to feel those moments as intended,” he said, before adding, “But at the same time, you can’t control everything. You have to focus on making something that holds up beyond the initial surprise.”
The comments arrive as Marvel gears up for Avengers: Doomsday, which is being positioned as a major turning point for Marvel Studios after a string of underwhelming box office performances from films including Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
In an apparent attempt to recapture the scale and excitement of earlier Avengers films, Marvel has assembled a massive cast featuring returning fan favourites such as Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Rudd, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Letitia Wright and Rebecca Romijn.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the return of Robert Downey Jr— this time as Doctor Doom, years after Iron Man’s emotional death in Avengers: Endgame. Joe and Anthony Russo are also set to helm Avengers: Secret Wars, scheduled to release in 2027. Meanwhile, Doomsday is currently slated to hit theatres on December 18.
