‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Uses 80% Practical Sets to Excite Marvel Fans

Marvel fans have long expressed their concerns about the franchise’s increasing dependence on digital environments. Complaints regarding weightless CGI battles and noticeable green screen work have become a frequent topic of discussion online. This criticism has intensified in recent years, making the upcoming crossover event a crucial test of whether Marvel has been attentive to its audience’s feedback.

Positioned as one of the most ambitious entries in the franchise, ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ features a vast ensemble cast, including Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, and returning X-Men icons like Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and Ian McKellen’s Magneto. With expectations soaring, fans are eagerly watching for insights into how the Russo brothers plan to manage the film’s extensive visual scope.

This is why a recent statement from the film’s production designer has sparked considerable excitement. Gavin Bocquet disclosed that approximately 80 percent of the film’s interior sets were constructed with physical backings instead of relying on blue screens, marking a significant departure from the franchise’s previous standard approach.

In an appearance on The Young Indy Chroniclers podcast, Bocquet explained that Marvel typically utilized blue screens and added digital environments later. For ‘Doomsday,’ however, the team opted to create physical or painted backings whenever possible, enabling much of the footage to be captured in-camera rather than being composited in post-production.

This shift reportedly began even before principal photography for ‘Doomsday’ commenced. Bocquet highlighted the film’s post-credits scene, which appeared at the end of ‘Thunderbolts,’ as an early example of this new methodology, noting that actors were visibly surprised to find themselves working with practical environments instead of the usual all-digital backdrops.

According to Bocquet, that scene had to be filmed ahead of schedule since ‘Thunderbolts’ was still in its theatrical run, leaving the crew just three days for post-production. This tight timeline pushed the team to rely even more on practical, in-camera solutions rather than digital fixes.

Bocquet credited directors Joe and Anthony Russo for fully endorsing the practical-first philosophy, emphasizing that filmmaking is fundamentally an art of illusion that benefits from physical execution whenever feasible. He acknowledged that this approach couldn’t be universally applied, given the vast scale of environments and characters in a film of this magnitude, but the team pursued it wherever it made sense.

This level of behind-the-scenes transparency comes at a crucial time for Marvel, especially in light of the criticism the studio has faced regarding its VFX pipeline in recent years. Reports of rushed effects timelines and overworked visual effects artists have followed several of Marvel’s major releases, making any genuine shift toward practical filmmaking feel like a significant response to ongoing concerns.

Whether audiences will notice the difference on screen remains to be seen when ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ finally hits theaters. However, the knowledge that the production made a conscious effort to ground its visuals in physical sets rather than defaulting to digital environments should provide some reassurance to fans who have grown skeptical of contemporary blockbuster filmmaking techniques.

With the Russo brothers returning to direct their first Avengers film since ‘Endgame,’ expectations for ‘Doomsday’ were already high before this latest revelation. The fact that the production leaned heavily into practical craftsmanship only adds another layer of anticipation as its release approaches.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!