Change is coming within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After nearly 20 years of world-building, the MCU is heading towards a reboot of sorts, with the next two Avengers movies bringing an end to the MCU as we know it.
At the center of this forthcoming reboot is Doctor Doom, whose arrival brings with it the return of Marvel legend Robert Downey Jr. in a new role that is sure to shake things up. We know that as Marvel looks to reset the MCU to begin a new chapter for the franchise, there are going to be departures of longtime members of the MCU as well as introductions of new faces who will help carry the franchise forward into the future.
Heading into Avengers: Doomsday, we know that there is a good chance many characters could perish over the course of the film as part of the reboot plans. No character is considered safe and it seems that the odds are not in favor of one character who has been part of the MCU for 15 years and appeared in eleven MCU projects.
Avengers: Doomsday might be Sebastian Stan’s final Marvel movie
We’ve been preparing for Avengers: Doomsday to bring about some big deaths, and it seems that fans might want to start bracing themselves for the impending death of a character who has been a core part of the Marvel Studios DNA for over a decade.
In a since-deleted tweet, insider The Beyond Reporter reported that “A New Avenger will die permanently in Avengers: Doomsday," indicating that Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, John Walker, Sentry, or Ghost will be dying in the upcoming film. While it is possible that more than one of these characters will die, it seems that the theory among fans and fellow insiders is that the New Avenger that dies in Avengers: Doomsday will be none other than Bucky Barnes, and for good reason.
The reason Bucky has emerged as a likely candidate to be killed off in Avengers: Doomsday stems from the fact that Sebastian Stan has officially joined the DC Elseworlds universe.
Stan has joined the cast of The Batman 2 this May, playing the role of Harvey Dent, who eventually becomes Batman’s iconic foe Two-Face. The addition of Stan to the cast of the highly anticipated sequel to Matt Reeves’ acclaimed Batman film immediately turned heads as production on The Batman 2 is slated to overlap with Avengers: Secret Wars. This overlap would seemingly make it difficult for Stan to appear in both films, which is what makes it seem likely that the plan is to kill Bucky in Avengers: Doomsday.
If Stan was under contract with Marvel beyond Avengers: Doomsday, it would seem likely that he would be unable to sign on to appear in The Batman 2 knowing that the productions would overlap. After all, we've seen many actors having to pass on key roles due to filming conflicts such as how Danny Ramirez was forced to step back from The Last of Us season 3 due to his commitments to the MCU.
As much as we hate the thought of Stan's time in the MCU coming to an end, we know that Marvel Studios will treat the post-Secret Wars MCU not as a hard reboot and that many characters will not be returning. Stan has been a part of the MCU since making his debut in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, so it would make sense for him to be ready to hang things up and finally put the character to rest.
We'll find out the exact fate for Bucky and the New Avengers when Avengers: Doomsday releases in theaters on December 18, 2026.
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