Avengers: Doomsday Directors Drop Cryptic Photo—Fans Think They Cracked the Code

If you thought the Russos were done with cryptic teases, think again. They dropped a black-and-white mystery photo and told everyone to squint. Naturally, the internet turned into a crime lab in about six minutes.

'Look hard'

What the Russos posted

On September 30, 2025, the Russo Brothers shared a black-and-white shot on Instagram with the caption above. It looks a lot like their 2018 'Endgame' tease: a big soundstage, overhead lighting rigs, sharp triangular set pieces, and one person sitting alone on the floor. It sure reads like a deliberate echo of the old playbook, and yeah, the timing is very on-the-nose — almost seven years since that original Endgame post.

The internet did the internet thing

Fans immediately started tracing shapes and building theories, some of which are pretty clever, some of which are... enthusiastic. A few notable reads came from users like Vincenzo Veneziano (@vincenzovin95), @kubixxik, ThatzJay (@NotThatzJay), and @todesertnstars, who circled silhouettes and shadow patterns to make their case.

• Letters everywhere: people see an 'A', an 'X', and a '4' formed by the rigging — Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, take your pick.
• Doctor Doom vibes: the central silhouette looks like a hooded figure on a 'shadow-throne', which definitely screams Doom if you tilt your head just right.
• TVA and Doomsday clock nods: the geometric layout reminded some of the TVA aesthetic and the ticking clock imagery associated with, well, Doomsday.
• Wolverine clues: several folks argued the highlighted beams line up like adamantium claws. Some think this is setting up a Wolverine announcement.
• Captain Marvel front and center: the Captain Marvel News account even overlaid 'CAROL' on the structures to argue she pops from the composition.
• AvX talk: a lot of commenters jumped straight to Avengers vs. X-Men theories, because of course they did.

New Rockstars connected the dots (and then some)

Erik Voss at New Rockstars dropped a breakdown comparing the new shot to the 2018 'Endgame' photo. He points out Joe Russo appears to be the one seated again — this time holding a phone — and suggests the rigging that seems 'lit' could be hinting at Wolverine's claws.

Voss also threads it through Marvel Studios' earlier chatter about 'anchor beings' (basically cosmic keystones holding timelines together) and Franklin Richards, tying the photo to where Deadpool & Wolverine left things and to the broader setup for Avengers: Doomsday. From there, the speculation expands: Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire potentially popping up again, Channing Tatum finally turning up as Gambit, and a Fantastic Four post-credit stinger where Doctor Doom kidnaps Franklin Richards. Voss even floated that the Russos might have waited to post this so they did not step on Insomniac's Wolverine game trailer.

So what is this actually teasing?

Short answer: it is a Rorschach test for Marvel fans. The Russos — who are directing Avengers: Doomsday — know exactly how to get the hive mind buzzing, and this is them playing the hits. Even influencer Matt Ramos (@therealsupes) amplified it, which helped it trend almost instantly.

Whether those shapes are pointing to Avengers vs. X-Men, Doctor Doom running the board, Wolverine cutting his way into the spotlight, or all of the above, the caption did its job. Everyone is staring too hard at a bunch of aluminum truss and talking themselves into a crossover fever dream. And honestly? That is the point.

One last bit of context

If this feels familiar, it is because the Endgame tease was basically the same trick — and it worked then, too. This round just comes with extra baggage: Deadpool & Wolverine cracked the multiverse door back open, Fantastic Four is laying pipes for Doom and Franklin Richards, and the Doomsday title does a lot of heavy lifting for fan imagination. The whole thing was first written up by Anubhav Chaudhry at SuperHeroHype before it snowballed across the usual feeds.

Bottom line: expect nothing, assume nothing, and keep your eyes peeled. But if you see claws in the truss, you are not alone.