Marvel Studios made their big Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement on Wednesday, which included Robert Downey Jr. and more than two dozen MCU actors. However, a lot of actors and characters are missing.
The video has received millions and millions of views across all social media, proving again that there is no such thing as superhero fatigue. Deadpool & Wolverine recently made over $1.3 billion as fans flocked to theaters to see their favorite Fox Marvel X-Men characters on screen.
The MCU hasn’t been the same since Avengers: Endgame, and you can even make a case since Infinity War. It was Kevin Feige’s idea to bring back Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. The Russo Brothers are also returning to direct both Doomsday and Secret Wars. The pair recently hinted that the movies don’t mark the end of a chapter in the MCU, but rather, things begin anew, suggesting an MCU reboot is in the works.
Who is cast in Avengers: Doomsday?
The casting announcement on Wednesday can basically be split up into four categories: The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Thunderbolts, and narrowed down to three universes.
The Avengers and the Thunderbolts are from the same universe, with the X-Men from the Fox Marvel universe, and the Fantastic Four are from their own universe. Regarding Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, rumors have said Doom is also from the same FF universe. So that’s at least three different universes involved in Avengers: Doomsday. They all possibly battle it out for survival. Other than Downey, no villains have been announced.
Let’s take a look:
The Avengers
- Chris Hemsworth – Thor
- Anthony Mackie – Captain America
- Paul Rudd – Ant-Man
- Letitia Wright – Shuri/Black Panther
- Tenoch Huerta Mejia – Namor
- Simu Liu – Shang-Chi
- Danny Ramirez – Falcon
- Winston Duke – M’Baku
- Tom Hiddleston – Loki
X-Men
- Kelsey Grammer – Beast
- Patrick Stewart – Charles Xavier
- Ian McKellen – Magneto
- Alan Cumming – Nightcrawler
- Rebecca Romijn – Mystique
- James Marsden – Cyclops
- Channing Tatum – Gambit
Fantastic Four
- Vanessa Kirby – Sue Storm/Invisible Woman
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Thing
- Joseph Quinn – Johnny Storm aka Human Torch
- Pedro Pascal – Mr. Fantastic Reed Richards
Thunderbolts
- Sebastian Stan – Winter Soldier
- Wyatt Russell – USA Agent
- Florence Pugh – Yelena
- Lewis Pullman – The Sentry
- David Harbour – Red Guardian
- Hannah John-Kamen – Ghost
“It all leads to Doom”
Following the video, Marvel’s social media that Avengers: Doomsday is now in production: “It all leads to Doom.”
- Robert Downey Jr. – Doctor Doom
It all leads to Doom.#AvengersDoomsday is now in production. pic.twitter.com/rood4csf38
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) March 26, 2025
MCU: Who’s missing?
There are lots of Marvel actors and characters that are presently missing. However, that doesn’t mean they have been confirmed NOT to appear in Avengers: Doomsday.
Following the video, on Instagram, Marvel and Robert Downey Jr. teased more actors and characters will be involved:
Eternals
Not one of the ten+ actors who starred in Eternals was revealed in Wednesday’s video announcement. Other than mentioning the Celestial in Captain America: Brave New World, the Eternals seemed to have been put back to permanent sleep. Will the Eternals be sitting out yet another Marvel event? Will anyone even miss them?
Guardians of the Galaxy
Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars are shaping up to be another big MCU Cosmic event. Where are the Guardians of the Galaxy when you need them? No casting announcement follows James Gunn, who oversaw the characters in Infinity War and Endgame, leaving Marvel. That said, that leaked concept art features Star-Lord. However, the Russos were asked about the art and said it’s not for their films.
The Avengers
Only Thor, who is a part of the original Avengers, has officially been announced to be returning in Avengers: Doomsday. Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is dead. Rumors have said Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell will return. The announcement also made no mention of Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk or Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye. Another big gun missing from the roster is Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel. Speaking of heavyweights, Elizabeth Olsen has confirmed no Scarlet Witch. What about Vision? He’s supposed to be starring in his own Disney+ series. Anthony Macke seemingly confirmed Tom Holland but the announcement didn’t mention Spider-Man. We have an Ant-Man but no Wasp. Don Cheadle is also missing as War Machine. There’s no Nick Fury. Benedict Cumberbatch has also confirmed and denied he is in the movies multiple times. Are some of the actors/characters being saved for Avengers: Secret Wars, which films at the same time as Doomsday in London?
Thunderbolts
Noticeably absent is Olga Kurylenko who plays Taskmaster. It seems likely Taskmaster doesn’t make it out alive from the Thunderbolts movie. Hopefully, that means Marvel is bringing the fan-favorite original version from the comics to the MCU.
Disney+
Surprise? No Disney+ actors and characters are a part of the Avengers: Doomsday announcement. The MCU shows on Disney+ aren’t setting any viewership records. Will they all sit out the MCU’s next big event? Fans really wanted Daredevil in that Avengers: Endgame scene. However, those fans aren’t turning up to watch the show on Disney+. What about She-Hulk? A recent rumor said Tatiana Maslany and She-Hulk are going to be a big part of Doomsday. She-Hulk also had poor ratings, cost a fortune, and Maslany has caused controversy regarding her remarks about Bob Iger and for being a trans activist. Who wants to bet she’s actually filming her new Star Trek series and not Avengers?
Deadpool & Wolverine
Again, Deadpool and Wolverine have just scored Marvel its first billion-dollar blockbuster in five years. However, only one actor has been announced to be returning. Marvel hasn’t even announced any follow-ups (wow!). How can Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds not be returning???
Missing MCU characters from Avengers: Doomsday
As we see from the following list, the Russos have a daunting task ahead of them in deciding who to include in the next big Avengers movies and who to leave out. It’s probably safe to say that some of the characters appearing in Doomsday won’t be appearing in Secret Wars. Likewise, characters will appear in Secret Wars but possibly won’t be involved in Doomsday. Are we missing any?
- Chris Evans – Steve Rogers
- Hayley Atwell – Peggy Carter
- Hugh Jackman – Wolverine
- Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool
- Halle Berry -Storm
- Famke Janssen – Jean Grey
- Anna Paquin – Rogue
- Shawn Ashmore – Iceman
- Dafne Keen – X-23
- Mark Ruffalo – Hulk
- Harrison Ford – Red Hulk
- Jeremy Renner – Hawkeye
- Benedict Cumberbatch – Doctor Strange
- Benedict Wong – Wong
- Tom Holland – Spider-Man
- Danai Gurira – Okoye
- Chris Pratt – Star-Lord
- Zoe Saldana – Gamora
- Bradley Cooper – Rocket Raccoon
- Vin Diesel – Groot
- Dave Bautista – Drax
- Pom Klementieff – Mantis
- Charlie Cox – Daredevil
- Lashana Lynch – Binary
- Iman Vellani – Ms. Marvel
- Oscar Isaac – Moon Knight
- Tessa Thompson – Valkyrie
- Evangeline Lilly – The Wasp
- Paul Bettany – Vision
- Tatiana Maslany – She-Hulk
- Don Cheadle – War Machine
- Brie Larson – Captain Marvel
- Olga Kurylenko – Taskmaster
- Dominique Thorne – Ironheart
- Joe Locke – Wiccan
- Samuel L. Jackson – Nick Fury
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Valentina
- Hailee Steinfeld – Kate Bishop
- Elizabeth Olsen – Scarlet Witch
- Gwyneth Paltrow – Pepper Potts
- Xochitl Gomez – America Chavez
- Teyonah Parris – Monica Rambeau
- Gemma Chan – Sersi
- Richard Madden – Ikaris
- Angelina Jolie – Thena
- Salma Hayek – Ajak
- Kit Harington – Dane Whitman
- Kumail Nanjiani – Kingo
- Lia McHugh – Sprite
- Brian Tyree Henry – Phastos
- Lauren Ridloff – Makkari
- Barry Keoghan – Druig
- Ma Dong-seok – Gilgamesh
- Mahershala Ali – Blade
Release info
Avengers: Doomsday gets released on May 1, 2026. Avengers: Secret Wars gets released on May 7, 2027.
Marvel also has Thunderbolts out on May 2nd, with The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25th.
