Avengers: Secret Wars will reportedly feature the one return NOBODY is expecting

Marvel Studios' Multiverse Saga has presented the franchise with an abundance of opportunities to feature nods, references, and even appearances from former Marvel stars. We've seen that in effect already through titles such as Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. We're going to see it again in the upcoming Deadpool and Wolverine, which will bring back Hugh Jackman as the X-Men's Wolverine.

That movie has fans ready for surprises, as it will bring Deadpool into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while also featuring returns from other Marvel movies produced during the Fox Marvel era. There is one character who fans thought might show up in it, but according to reports they will not; the good news is that they are rumored to return in the one place we didn't expected them to: Avengers: Secret Wars.

Jessica Alba rumored to appear in Avengers: Secret Wars

According to social media Marvel scooper Rejected Scooper, Jessica Alba will appear in Avengers: Secret Wars and reprise her role as Sue Storm, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman. The report came during a series of posts on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) during which the insider responded to a fan question about whether or not Alba would be in Deadpool and Wolverine. They claimed that she will not appear in that film but that she would be in Avengers: Secret Wars.

This scoop comes as a bit of a surprise to fans who were hoping that she would appear in the former film instead. The actress famously played Sue Storm in 2005's Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which were both produced by 20th Century Fox. As Deadpool and Wolverine will feature a sequence set in the Fox version of The Void, where the titular duo are expected to run into a number of characters from the Fox Marvel movies, a return from Alba there would have been believable.

In fact, Alba's costar in those movies, Chris Evans is rumored to return to reprise his role as Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch, for a cameo appearance in Deadpool 3. Granted, Evans is a longtime friend of Marvel Studios due to his leading role in the franchise as Captain America, so that one would have likely been easier to make happen (if it does happen, that is).

All that being said, the prospect of any Fantastic Four cast member appearing in Avengers: Secret Wars shouldn't be entirely out of the blue either. After all, this movie is the culmination of the Multiverse Saga and it is expected to feature a huge battle sequence that will rival the closer of the Infinity Saga, 2019's Avengers: Endgame. To make that happen, there would likely have to be appearances from multiple non-MCU Marvel characters, so the idea of Alba's Sue Storm being among them is also very believable.

Among the names rumored to return in Avengers: Secret Wars are Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. Both of those characters would already have MCU appearances under their belts at that point, so we can probably expect a lot more surprises. With that in mind, a Jessica Alba return as Sue Storm would be a welcome one at that.

As with all reports and rumors when it comes to Marvel movies, it's important to take this one with a pinch of salt. But I'll admit it, the prospect of seeing any member of the original Fantastic Four appear alongside The Avengers is extremely exciting. They walked (or flew) so the Avengers could run (or fly, too), after all.