Marvel’s Weird Chair Stunt Attracts Extra Viewers Than First ‘Avengers: Infinity Battle’ Trailer

Marvel Studios might have simply pulled off the strangest — and most profitable — stunt in superhero advertising and marketing historical past. In a five-hour-plus livestream occasion that unfolded on Wednesday, the studio very slowly unveiled the cast of Avengers: Doomsday one painful chair at a time. The occasion, which started at 8AM PT and ran for a marathon 5 hours and 27 minutes, racked up a jaw-dropping 275 million digital views, making it Marvel’s most-watched livestream ever — even topping the debut trailer for Avengers: Infinity Battle and any of the studio’s purple carpet premieres. We’re simply encouraging them at this level of us, come on!

Now for the boring numbers half. The stunt generated 3.1 million social media mentions, with #AvengersDoomsday trending at #1 on Twitter/X for over 7 hours and yielding greater than 55 distinct trending phrases all through the day. Deadline reported that viewers engagement grew hour over hour.

What Precisely Was The ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Chair Stunt All About?

The vanity was easy sufficient: unveil 27 solid member chairs, one after the other, on a minimalist set. The execution? Eh, it was a bit a lot. The Implausible 4: First Steps lineup was formally unveiled, with Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Factor.

Then got here the actual multiversal chaos: the return of (a few of) the OG X-Males. That’s proper — Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), James Marsden (Cyclops), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), and Channing Tatum (lastly as Gambit) all had chairs ready for them.

The stream additionally confirmed the involvement of the Thunderbolts* ensemble, with Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, and David Harbour joining the Doomsday ranks, alongside MCU regulars like Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Simu Liu, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Tom Hiddleston, and — sure — Robert Downey Jr.

Downey added extra gas to the hearth when he posted on Instagram asking if that was the total solid, earlier than the official Marvel Studios account replied with: “There’s always room for more…“. What subsequent? Place playing cards at a dinner desk saying Mark Ruffalo and Chris Evans?

Directed once again by Joe and Anthony Russo, the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday is about to hit theaters Could 1, 2026. Keep tuned to Collider for extra chair updates.

Supply: Deadline