Anthony Mackie Met Sir Ian McKellen on Avengers: Doomsday Set, Calls It ‘Surreal’

Anthony Mackie says his first face-to-face with Sir Ian McKellen on the set of Avengers: Doomsday began with a simple “Hello, son” and ended with a blessing he won't forget. Recounting the moment to IMDb at San Diego Comic-Con 2026 , Mackie lit up as he described meeting the legendary Magneto actor while now carrying Captain America ’s shield himself.

“I go to Ian McKellen, he goes, ‘Hello, son.’ I’m like, ‘Ian McKellen, sir. You’re amazing. It ’s amazing to work with you.’ He goes, ‘So what are you doing in the film? ’ and I’m like, ‘I’m Captain America.’ And he goes, ‘Wonderful... and you deserve that.’”

The brief exchange — a veteran X-Men icon welcoming the MCU ’s new Cap — quickly bounced around online, a neat snapshot of how this crossover is folding multiple Marvel generations into one movie.

Presales are surging

On the business side, the movie is already drawing crowds before opening day. Variety reports $16.5 million in advance ticket sales within the first 24 hours after tickets went live in premium formats across roughly 1,000 U.S. theaters. The push arrived alongside the film’s first official trailer and, even in a limited presale window, premium showings around the December 18 opening began selling out, with exhibitors reportedly adding Christmas Day showtimes to keep up.

• $16.5 million day-one presales (per Variety)
• Premium-format tickets in about 1,000 domestic theaters
• Extra December 25 showtimes reportedly added

There’s a twist on the format front: the film won’t screen in IMAX because Dune: Part III has an exclusive three-week IMAX window despite sharing the release date. Marvel is instead rolling out its own Infinity Vision certification in qualifying theaters — and the strategy appears to be working. Early sales have already doubled the opening-day ticket haul of Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which went on to top $1.3 billion worldwide.

Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters December 18.