Summary
Avengers: Doomsdayis still far from its highly anticipated release date, but the cast for the next mainline installment in theAvengersfilm series already seems to be stacked, giving fans an idea of the sort of scope the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going for with the project.
The Avengershave been the center of the MCU since its formation, with founding member Iron Man’s solo 2008 outing being the first installment of the now-iconic franchise. Since Robert Downey Jr. first donned the armor and started the most successful franchise in recent history, the MCU has come a long way and seen one massive story unfold over the course of more than two dozen projects. With the Infinity saga over and done with, the franchise laid out its plans for the future to general enthusiasm, with fans eagerlypredicting the Avengers roster forThe Kang Dynastyyears ahead of time. However, several circumstances concerning Kang actor Jonathan Majors and a terrible 2023 at the box office would see things take a bit of a sharp turn.
This new direction would see RDJ return to the MCU in a new role, as well as aMarvel veteran returning to write the rechristenedAvengers; DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars, and the Russo brothers once again set to direct the next pivotal arc in the MCU. A new report fromThe Directdetailing all the confirmed characters making an appearance in the film, and the list makes for interesting reading. Starting off with the obvious introduction of RDJ’s Doctor Doom, the report states that Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson (aka the new Captain America), new Falcon Joaquin Torres (played by Danny Ramirez), Sebastian Stan’s returning Bucky Barnes, and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova will all be in the film, alongside the four main characters of the upcoming MCUFantastic Fourfilm, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing.
The report also adds in Franklin Richards, who has not been confirmed for an MCU appearance, but is reportedly likely to also be involved in theFantastic Fourfilm. This first part of the report, which reiteratesthe fool’s errand thatAvengers 5could be on, considers and amalgamates statements given by Marvel Studios kingpin Kevin Feige at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, as well as information from the Cosmic Circus concerning the upcoming project to get what’s likely only s portion of the film’s final cast listing. The second end adds more names, though through more speculative means, most notably highlighting that Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange are likely to return. Additionally, Shang Chi was seemingly a lock for the film when it was still headlined by Kang, and the main characters ofThe Marvelswere exceedingly likely to be involved before the film tanked in historic fashion.
While there’s a lot of time for casting news between now and the film’s 2026 release, that time isn’t quite as sufficient for building up the franchise. It’s been said thatAvengers: Secret Warsis coming out too soon afterAvengers:Endgame,and the precedingAvengers: Doomsdayseems doomed to similarly hit theaters without the sort of painstaking and rewarding build thatAvengers: Infinity Warhad behind it to naturally lead into the record-breakingEndgame.How the newly reinstated brains behind the scenes intend to recreate the franchise’s greatest success in such a small time frame remains to be seen, but fans can definitely look forward to a lot of characters joining the fray in the effort.
Avengers: Doomsdayis currently set for a theatrical release on Jul 17, 2025.
