In 2026, audiences worldwide will see the multiverse under Doom. The clock is ticking, and the supervillain is coming. Soon, everything we've ever known about the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be turned upside down, and we need at least one hero to step up and stop the madness.
Better yet, what about assembling The Avengers once again? After all, it's been a while since they've been out of the picture, and understandably so. With the death of Tony Star and Natasha Romanoff — as well as the retirement of Stever Rogers — some of the most iconic heroes the world has ever known are gone. So who else could suit up and join the fight?
Big MCU crossovers are often surrounded in secrecy as the best surprises are *intended* to be saved for the premiere. Remember how Andrew Garfield tried to deny so hard that he wasn't in Spider-Man: No Way Home? Well, it's all part of a bigger plan to make audiences jump out of their seats in excitement at the least expected moment.
With that in mind, chances are we won't get to learn the full list of cast members of Avengers: Doomsday until the day it releases. However, that doesn't mean we can't see who's currently confirmed to make a return to know our chances of surviving Doctor Doom's attack.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange
So far, we've witnessed the multiverse break loose on three different occasions: When Loki and Silvie killed He Who Remains in the first season finale of Loki, when Doctor Strange attempted to help Spidey with a secret identity crisis, and when Doctor Strange and America Chavez went against Wanda Maximoff. See the common denominator in two out of those three events? That's right, it's the soon-to-be Sorcerer Supreme himself. So it doesn't come as a shock that he'll have a big role to play in a movie that will involve the multiverse.
Back in December 2024, Benedict Cumberbatch himself revealed he'd be back in Avengers: Endgame by expressing his excitement to work with the Russo brothers once again. It's worth remembering the last time we saw Stephen Strange, he teamed up with Clea to stop an incursion — an apocalyptic-level event when two different universes collide and one is destroyed in the process (or maybe even both).
An incursion is what set in motion the events of the Secret Wars (2015) comic book storyline, so chances are we'll see a similar story structure on the big screen as well. With that in mind, Doctor Strange's mission could be more important than initially expected.
Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom
If it isn't the latest villain in town. During Comic-Con 2024, Marvel officially announced Robert Downey Jr would be back in the MCU after a long hiatus. However, he won't play the role of the genius, playboy, billionaire, and philanthropist this time around. No. Instead of being a hero (and a very iconic one, for that matter), Robert will get to be the new man to fear. Fans have been eager to see Victor Von Doom join the MCU for a long time now, and in 2026 that dream will finally become a reality.
Of course, there are rumors and speculations that we could see him even sooner than Avengers: Doomsday. After all, Fantastic Four: First Steps would be the ideal place for him to make his debut — especially considering his close and iconic rivalry with Mr. Fantastic. Besides, Marvel needs to start to build him up as the next big threat much like they teased Thanos' characters throughout the years. Time is running out for the ruler of Latveria to show up and inflict fear on audiences' hearts. So fingers crossed we won't have to wait until 2026 to see him.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man*
Let's start by addressing the elephant in the room and clarifying that Tom Holland hasn't been officially confirmed to return in Avengers: Doomsday yet. The Hollywood Reporter stated that he will likely be back in Earth's Mightiest Heroes' next movie, but that means his appearance isn't 100% secured yet. That being said, it would be absolutely shocking if Spider-Man didn't swing by to save the day in an apocalyptic-level event.
Now that the MCU has lost some of its heavy hitters like Iron Man and Captain America, many fans see the wall-crawler as the next in line for the role of most important hero. Besides, he also played a huge part in breaking the multiverse during the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. And we all just know that Marvel is planning a scene where Peter discovers that the biggest threat in the multiverse shares the same face as his former mentor. So we should definitely count Spidey in for Avengers: Doomsday. In the worst case, he has a relatively small role akin to a cameo. But chances are that he'll be one of the main faces of the movie.
Anthony Mackie as Captain America
We need to acknowledge yet another Marvel star who revealed he'll be coming back in Avengers: Doomsday during an interview. Anthony Mackie, better known for portraying Captain America on the MCU, told Empire he's "really looking forward" to working with the Russo brothers once again (you know, the directors of Avengers: Doomsday). Of course, Earth's Mightiest Heroes need a mighty leader, so who better than Sam Wilson to fill that place?
During the events of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we see Sam reluctantly grow into Steve Roger's former shield and make it his own. So it will be interesting to see if he instinctively leads other characters such as Doctor Strange and Spider-Man on the big crossover events, or if he'll need some time to get used to that as well. At the time of writing this, we're just a few weeks from the premiere of Captain America: Brave New World, so at least we won't have to wait long to see how Sam has been doing as one of the leading faces of the MCU and get a better idea of how good he'll do in a fight against Doctor Doom.
Hayley Atwell and Chris Evans
There are many big characters currently active in the MCU, such as Captain Marvel, Thor, Ant-Man, and Miss Marvel just to name a few. So it comes as quite a surprise that — before any of them were confirmed to make a return in Avengers: Doomsday — we discovered former Marvel stars Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell would be officially back for one more ride.
Unlike every other entry in this list, we don't officially know what heroes Atwell and Evans will be playing. However, there are two big (and probably obvious) choices in the form of their former characters: Captain America and Peggy Carter. But this is the multiverse we're talking about, so the obvious isn't necessarily the answer. Case in point: Evans recently returned as Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine, and there's nothing stopping him from doing it again in Avengers: Doomsday. Atwell, on the other hand, will likely wear the Captain Carter shield and uniform once again. However, it will be exciting to see her fight alongside other heroes who don't instantly die at the hands of Wanda Maximoff.
These are, perhaps, the two biggest comebacks on the list and we can't wait to see how it all plays off.
The Fantastic Four
It isn't a huge surprise that Marvel's First Family will play a big role in Avengers: Doomsday given how influential they were in the Secret Wars storyline. For starters: Victor Von Doom — an enemy known for facing off against Reed Richards — was the main antagonist of that event in comic book pages. Furthermore, The Maker (an evil version of Mr. Fantastic) had a prominent role to play as well. So, by all means, the Fantastic Four had to be on the big-screen adaptation as well (or, at least, the first chapter in that adaptation).
So how do we know that these four beloved characters will join forces with other Marvel heroes? Well, Kevin Feige, the mastermind behind the MCU, confirmed it himself by saying that once filming wraps on Fantastic Four: First Steps, "all those characters go right into the next Avengers movies". That means Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will not only appear in Avengers: Doomsday but also in Secret Wars. So fingers crossed that they managed to earn audiences' hearts and succeed where previous versions of the super team failed.
The Thunderbolts
The Fantastic Four won't be the only super team joining the battle against Doom. Case in point: The Thunderbolts will be there as well (both in Doomsday and Secret Wars). Now, the only question remaining is which members will be alive for those big crossovers? Listen, I'm not implying someone will die in the Thunderbolts* movie. I'm just saying it's a bit suspicious how some characters like Taskmaster don't appear too much in trailers (or in the image above, for that matter). So yeah, someone is definitely dying.
That being said, we can assume some of the heavy hitters and protagonists will survive the events of Marvel's upcoming movie. So we're 99% sure will see more of Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes in the big crossover events. As for the other members? Well, we'll discover the answer once Thunderbolts* hits theaters on May 2, 2025.