We finally know which Marvel characters are going to appear in Avengers: Doomsday.
Well, for the most part, anyway. You see, while Marvel announced a 27-strong cast for Avengers 5 during a torturously long five-hour livestream yesterday (March 26), the comic book giant has suggested it hasn’t actually released the movie’s full character line-up. In a playful exchange with iconic MCU actor Robert Downey Jr on Instagram, Marvel indicated that more Doomsday cast announcements will be made in due course.
So, which heroes, who haven’t made the cut so far, could show up in the Marvel Phase 6 film? Many, many heroes, actually. To ensure this list isn’t an incredibly long one, however, I won’t be including characters like Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, whose MCU fate is unknown. I’m taking a similar stance with actors like Chris Evans, too, who’s rumored to appear in Doomsday in some capacity but has consistently denied his involvement.
With that housekeeping out of the way, here are 17 characters I expect (or, rather, want) to see added to the eagerly anticipated MCU flick’s roster.
1. Spider-Man
Arguably the biggest omission from Doomsday‘s initial cast reveal.
Sure, following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, nobody knows that Peter Parker is the civilian behind the webslinger’s mask. That doesn’t mean he’s not an Avenger, though – indeed, he was christened as one by Downey Jr’s Tony Stark/Iron Man in Avengers: Infinity War.
So, with Spider-Man being an enduringly popular Marvel superhuman and current Spidey star Tom Holland being one of the MCU’s hottest commodities, why isn’t the wallcrawler part of proceedings? I’d be pretty surprised if Holland isn’t added to the Avengers 5 cast before it lands in theaters on May 1, 2026, so don’t be shocked if he joins its roster soon.
If he isn’t, there’s a very good reason why: Spider-Man 4 (read more about it in my dedicated Spider-man 4 hub). That movie is slated to arrive in cinemas on July 31, 2026 – i.e., between Doomsday and its Secret Wars sequel, which arrives in May 2027. It’s possible, then, that Doomsday and Spider-Man 4‘s plots run concurrent to each other, with events transpiring in the former impacting what happens in the latter.
If that proves to be the case, Parker will have to deal with issues of his own before joining up with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to combat Doctor Doom and save the Marvel Multiverse.
2. Deadpool and Wolverine
This iconic pairing starred in the only Marvel movie of 2024, aka Deadpool and Wolverine, which went on to make over $1 billion globally.
Given how popular Ryan Reynolds’ Merc With a Mouth is, not to mentioned Hugh Jackman’s legendary take on James ‘Logan’ Howlett/Wolverine, it begs the question: why aren’t they in Doomsday, either?
That query becomes even more of a headscratcher when you consider that Channing Tatum’s Remy LeBeau/Gambit, who finally made his scene-stealing live-action debut in a Marvel film in Deadpool and Wolverine, is in the next Avengers flick.
3. Jean Grey and Storm
Staying with the X-Men for a minute, I was baffled that Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey and Halle Berry’s Ororo Munroe/Storm aren’t involved, too.
Okay, maybe they weren’t asked back, or either or both actors turned down the opportunity to return. If the former is true, it’s a decision all the more strange when Marvel has opted to bring back numerous characters from 20th Century Fox’s first X-Men trilogy (read more about that in our X-Men movies in order guide) for Doomsday.
Heck, the Disney subsidiary has called on Rebecca Romijn and Alan Cumming to reprise their roles as Mystique and Nightcrawler from those three films. So, why not include Jansen and Berry as well?
4. Hulk and She-Hulk
With rumors linking Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk with a supposedly big role in Doomsday, it was a little surprising that Tatiana Maslany’s return as She-Hulk wasn’t announced yesterday.
One of The Avengers‘ original six-strong line-up in Bruce Banner/Hulk, aka the cousin of Walters, isn’t part of Avengers 5‘s cast roster, either. Mark Ruffalo has had cameo and bit-part roles in the MCU since Avengers: Endgame, so he’s clearly got an important role to play in the Multiverse Saga. The absence of these two green, mean machines, then, is also quite perplexing.
5. Hawkeye (Clint Barton and Kate Bishop)
Two archers are better than one but, at the time of writing, Marvel hasn’t seen fit to bring either or both Hawkeyes into the Doomsday fold.
His near-fatal snow-plough accident notwithstanding, Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton should be brought back for one final MCU adventure before officially passing the Hawkeye torch onto Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop. Like Banner, Barton is an OG Avenger, so it’s a shame that he and the Hulk won’t be joining the only other remaining founding member (that being Thor) in this film.
As for Steinfeld, her star continues to rise following break-out roles in Dickinson on Apple TV+, Transformers prequel Bumblebee, and playing Spider-Gwen in Sony‘s animated Spider-Verse movies. Maybe she’s being held back for Secret Wars and/or Marvel’s in-development Young Avengers project alongside Kamala Khan/Ms Marvel. Speaking of which…
6. Ms Marvel
Iman Vellani’s live-action version of Ms Marvel has been one of the most notable bright spots of the post-Endgame era. She was fantastic in the hero’s self-titled Disney+ series and stole the show in the much maligned The Marvels movie. It would’ve made sense, then, for Khan to be drafted into the Doomsday fold.
Like Bishop, Khan is nowhere to be seen on the cast roster. But, hey, with Daredevil: Born Again episode 5 teasing what Ms Marvel has been up to since The Marvels, – that likely being the Young Avengers’ formation – though, maybe Vellani’s Khan is also absent due to her forthcoming commitments in another MCU production.
7. Photon and Binary
Of the numerous projects that make up the MCU, The Marvels, which is one of the lowest-ranked flicks on my best Marvel movies list, appears to be the biggest loser in all of this.
Indeed, not only is Ms Marvel not part of Doomsday’s cast list, but neither are Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau/Photon and Lashana Lynch’s Maria Rambeau/Binary.
The exclusion of this duo is all the more confusing when you realize Kelsey Grammer is among Doomsday‘s 27-strong roster. Indeed, he voiced an alternate reality’s Beast in The Marvels’ post-credits scene. Unless Grammer is playing the Beast seen in Fox’s original X-Men trilogy instead, it’s baffling that the Beast from the universe that Photon and Binary inhabit is in Avengers 5, but the latter pair aren’t.
8. Captain Marvel
Lastly on The Marvels front, Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel was notably absent as well.
Captain Marvel has proven to be a divisive figure among the MCU’s fanbase and general cinephiles alike. The Marvels‘ bombing at the worldwide box office did little to improve the character’s live-action image, too.
Still, Captain Marvel is one of the most powerful superheroes within the MCU. With the Marvel Multiverse’s entire existence at stake in Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, her fellow heroes could use someone like her to help prevent its complete destruction…
9. Doctor Strange and Wong
Speaking of characters whose abilities would prove incredibly useful in preserving the Multiverse’s stability, the MCU’s two most famous sorcerers are also conspicuous by their absence.
Benedict Cumberbatch has already gone on record to claim Doctor Strange won’t feature. Regardless of whether he actually shows up, it doesn’t make sense to me that Benedict Wong’s Wong, aka the MCU’s current Sorcerer Supreme, wouldn’t. Like Bruce Banner, he’s appeared in multiple Marvel films and TV series since Endgame, so his apparent Doomsday omission is eyebrow-raising.
10. Star-Lord
I have my doubts that we’ll see the Guardians of the Galaxy again, especially as the writer/director of that group’s movie trilogy James Gunn is now overseeing the DC Universe (DCU) for Warner Bros.
There is one of the team’s former members who’ll be part of the MCU moving forward, though, in Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill/Star-Lord. Marvel confirmed he’d return at some point after the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and one or both of the next Avengers movies would be the perfect time for him to do so.
Right now, he isn’t part of the Doomsday cast, but I wouldn’t be stunned if he’s announced at a later date.
11. Daredevil
This is the long shot to end all long shots. The Man Without Fear has, a brief cameo in No Way Home aside, only appeared in a live-action capacity on the small screen, whether that be on Netflix or Disney+, aka two of the world’s best streaming services.
How cool would it be, though, to see Charlie Cox’s Daredevil appear in a much larger capacity in a Marvel film? Admittedly, the chances of that are slim as Daredevil: Born Again season 2 is currently being filmed in New York.
One of the best Disney+ shows‘ sophomore outing is expected to be released sometime in 2026, too. Like Spider-Man 4, that positions it between Avengers 5 and Avengers 6, so it’s incredibly unlikely that The Devil of Hell’s Kitchen will appear in Doomsday. If that proves to be the case, let’s hope Marvel makes it up to him by giving him a supporting role in Secret Wars instead. But, hey, I live in hope of seeing Daredevil in Avengers 5 all the same!
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tom.power@futurenet.com (Tom Power)
