Avengers: Doomsday Cast Announcement
The ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ cast was announced today via a livestream from Marvel. And it was announced very, very, very slowly. If you weren’t joining myself and the other 10+ million people watching, they showed a chair with each cast members name on it before panning to the next chair. But the catch is that it sat on each individuals chair for about 12 minutes before playing some music and moving onto the next. For everyone saying Marvel is dead, keep in mind they had millions of people staring at chairs for 5 and a half hours. I sacrificed valuable movie-watching time for this. Here we will go through all 26 cast member that were announced and who they will (presumably) be playing in the 2026 film. We will go in order they were announced.
Chris Hemsworth (Thor)- They decided to start with one that may have seemed obvious, but actually hadn’t been confirmed yet. This will be Hemsworth’s 9th time picking up the hammer in film (11th if you count cameos) with the most recent being the lackluster ‘Thor: Love and Thunder.’ Again, this was expected, but a very welcome announcement!
Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman/Sue Storm)- Now some of the only confirmed cast members were the Fantastic Four actors. I don’t know why they couldn’t just knock them out at the beginning to get it done, but I digress. Starting off Marvel’s first family is Vanessa Kirby who, along with her castmates, will be playing her character for the first time this summer in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps.’ For those that are unaware, it is actually rumored that Sue will be the primary character in that film.
Anthony Mackie (Captain America/Sam Wilson)- Well come on. You’ve gotta get Cap in there. Mackie finally got to pick up the shield on the big screen in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ last month. Prior to that, his only post-Endgame appearance came in the Disney+ series, ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier.’ This will be Mackie’s 8th MCU film appearance.
Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes)- Now I kind of wish they wouldn’t have officially announced the Thunderbolts until after their film came out, because that was one where some of them could’ve realistically died. Not Bucky of course. This will be Stan’s 10th MCU film appearance and second since his Oscar nomination & Golden Globe win.
Letitia Wright (Black Panther/Shuri)- Another fairly obvious one, this will be Wright’s 5th MCU film appearance, but only 2nd after taking over the Black Panther mantle from her onscreen brother, Chadwick Boseman (RIP).
Paul Rudd (Ant-Man/Scott Lang)- They at least did something a little fun and gave Paul Rudd a much smaller chair than everyone else. Ha! Get it! Because Ant-Man! This will be Rudd’s 6th time playing Lang on the big screen and lets hope he is able to redeem himself from the bust that was ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.’
Wyatt Russell (US Agent/John Walker)- Another Thunderbolt, this will be Russell’s 2nd film appearance after 2025’s ‘Thunderbolts*.’ He originated the character on ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ as the ‘new Captain America’ before the role was rightfully given to Sam Wilson.
Tenoch Huerta Mejía (Namor)- This was a surprise, but it shouldn’t have been. One bad part about everything the MCU has going on and the large gaps between many films is that some characters slip through the cracks. Namor should not be one of those characters because he was awesome in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ which is his only appearance thus far. Many fans are excited to see he and Sue Storm in the same film because they often have a romantic relationship in the comics.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing/Ben Grimm)- It’s clobberin’ time. Cousin. The second Fantastic Four member who was officially announced. Come on, we have one, we’re going to have them all.
Simu Liu (Shang-Chi)- Again, this should NOT be a surprise, but it was. And I was incredibly pleased to see Simu Liu’s name. ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ was one of the best things Marvel has done post-Endgame and Liu was great in the titular role. This will mark only his 2nd film appearance in the MCU.
Florence Pugh (Black Widow/Yelena Belova)- Another Thunderbolt! I’m not sure if she actually is taking over the Black Widow title, but I’m going to stick with it. This will be Pugh’s third film appearance as Yelena, who she also played in ‘Hawkeye.’
Kelsey Grammer (Beast/Hank McCoy)- One of the first major surprises, but only for people that didn’t watch ‘The Marvels.’ So most people. Grammer played Beast in a large role in 2006’s ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ and made a cameo in ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past.’ Then he reprised the role with a more comic accurate look in the post credit scene of ‘The Marvels.’
Lewis Pullman (Sentry/Bob Reynolds)- Another character returning from ‘Thunderbolts*,’ Sentry is one of Marvel’s most long awaited character to hit the screen. Lewis Pullman (who you may know from ‘Top Gun: Maverick’) will be returning to the role.
Danny Ramirez (Falcon/Joaquin Torres)- Another one I think we inferred ourselves. Ramirez was actually just spotted in London (where they are filming Doomsday) earlier this week. He debuted in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ and took on the Falcon mantle from Sam Wilson in ‘Captain America: Brave New World.’
Joseph Quinn (Human Torch/Johnny Storm)- Another Fantastic Four member? Check. Flame on.
David Harbour (Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov)- Another Thunderbolt? Check.
Winston Duke (M’Baku)- One of the MCU’s most underutilized characters. I hope Duke gets a bigger role in this, though I have a feeling he won’t. This will mark his 5th appearance after the two ‘Black Panther’ films, Infinity War, & Endgame. It was potentially implied he will become the King of Wakanda at the end of Wakanda Forever, but I guess we shall see!
Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost/Ava Starr)- Another Thunderbolt. Sorry I’m just having a hard time getting super excited about this one, especially with the good run that’s to follow.
Tom Hiddleston (Loki)- I got excited about this one. I think Season 2 of ‘Loki’ was some of the best work the MCU has ever put out and the ‘ending’ it gave Loki was tragic, but perfect. I had a feeling there would be more to come, and we will finally get to see this version of Loki interact with Thor.
Patrick Stewart (Professor X/Charles Xavier)- So I guess he didn’t die in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?’ But to be fair the character has also died in ‘Logan’ and ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ so maybe this is just ANOTHER variant or something. Welcome back baldie.
Ian McKellen (Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr)- Welcome to the MCU Sir Ian McKellen! With this and a rumored role in the new Lord of the Rings film, McKellen is perhaps the busiest 85 year old I’m aware of. The last time we saw McKellen was in 2014’s ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ with appearances in the original X-Men trilogy prior to that.
Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner)- People that only know Alan Cumming from ‘The Traitors’ are probably so confused. Cumming took on the role of Nightcrawler in 2003’s ‘X2’ and that was his only appearance in the role until 23 years later in Doomsday. But he actually was wonderful in the role so it’s cool they brought him back.
Rebecca Romijn (Mystique/Raven Darkhölme)- Romijn played the role of Mystique in the original X-Men trilogy before it was taken over by Jennifer Lawrence in the prequel series. Another surprising, but welcome, addition!
James Marsden (Cyclops/Scott Summers)- This one had me hyped up. My fellow Putnam City North Panther will be joining many of his former X-Men cast members when he puts the red visor back on. Marsden was seen in the original X-Men trilogy and had a brief cameo at the end of Days of Future Past.
Channing Tatum (Gambit/Remy LeBeau)- Woohesabouttomakeanameforhimselfhere. For those that aren’t fluent, that’s Cajun. Many fans believed that Tatum would get to take on the role again after his warm reception in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and they were right.
Pedro Pascal (Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards)- What, did you think they were going to be the Fantastic Three? Not very fantastic without Mister Fantastic.
Robert Downey Jr. (Doctor Doom)- I had a feeling it would end with this one. We of course, already knew this. But it was still a good way to wrap up the announcement.
Not to be this guy, but there were a lot of names that are still missing. Some that people were sure would be confirmed were some actors who have led recent MCU films: Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), and maybe at least one of the Eternals? Many fans were also hoping for and theorizing about Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man), Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Mahershala Ali (Blade), Wesley Snipes (Blade), Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Halle Berry (Storm), Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight), & Chris Evans (Captain America). Look at us Marvel fans not being pleased with this blockbuster announcement.
I personally think Holland, Cumberbatch, Ruffalo, Larson, & Pratt are all for sure going to return, but will maybe be announced later? Also, Marvel always loves to keep some tricks up their sleeve, so it really is anyone’s guess who else may appear!
