Which stars are missing from the Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement?
On Thursday morning (Mar 27), Marvel Studios announced 27 cast members for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday movie that's slated for release in 2026. However, conspicuously missing from the list are heavyweights from the Marvel Cinematic Universe including Mark Ruffalo, Tom Holland and Benedict Cumberbatch.
This image provided by The Walt Disney Studios shows the characters Deadpool, played by Ryan Reynolds, left, and Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman, in a scene from the film Deadpool & Wolverine. (The Walt Disney Studios via AP)
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Marvel Studios broke the internet again on Thursday morning (Mar 27) after revealing 27 cast members of the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday movie – set to be released on May 1, 2026.
The Russo brothers film will be the fifth Avengers movie and the first since 2019's mega-hit Avengers: Endgame.
The reveal came in the form of a five-and-a-half-hour-long livestream which featured the camera panning to chairs, each bearing the name of a cast member, at 12-minute intervals. The last cast member to be revealed was Robert Downey Jr – seen sitting on his chair.
By the end of the livestream, the following cast members were revealed:
- Chris Hemsworth as Thor
- Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman
- Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America
- Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
- Letitia Wright as Shuri
- Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
- Wyatt Russell as John Walker/US Agent
- Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing
- Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
- Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
- Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy/Beast
- Lewis Pullman as Bob/Sentry
- Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres/Falcon
- Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch
- David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian
- Winston Duke as M'Baku
- Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr/Ghost
- Tom Hiddleston as Loki
- Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X
- Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto
- Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler
- Rebecca Romijn as Raven Darkholme/Mystique
- James Marsden as Scott Summers/Cyclops
- Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau/Gambit
- Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic
- Robert Downey Jr as Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom
The news has been lauded by fans, with most of them celebrating the fact that characters from Fox's X-Men film series will finally get to interact with the Avengers characters. Amidst the cheers of "Marvel is finally back", a few heavyweights from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are conspicuously missing from the list.
Here are some of the notable absentees and what their chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday are.
1. TOM HOLLAND (PETER PARKER/SPIDER-MAN)
Tom Holland's iteration of Spider-Man is, without a doubt, one of the pillars of the MCU by this point. His trilogy of solo movies has raked in close to US$4 billion at the global box office, so his absence from Avengers: Doomsday is suspicious, to say the least.
The upcoming Spider-Man 4 is slated for release on Jul 31, 2026. This makes it the very next MCU movie to be released after Avengers: Doomsday. Furthermore, Spider-Man 4 will be followed up with the sixth Avengers movie, Avengers: Secret Wars.
Industry insiders previously reported that Tom Holland has signed on to play Spider-Man in six more films, following 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.
So, he has to appear in at least one of the upcoming Avengers movies.
Chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday: 50 per cent. By the end of No Way Home, everyone in the MCU has forgotten who Peter Parker is; they're only aware of Spider-Man. From a production point of view, this makes it easier to keep Tom Holland/Peter Parker out of action in Avengers: Doomsday to allocate more screen time for the close-to-30 characters announced.
Plus, Marvel Studios and Sony could pull an 'Ant-Man And The Wasp' with Spider-Man 4 and make it a self-contained story that ends with the characters being affected by the events of the Avengers: Doomsday. Doing so would eliminate the need for Spider-Man to appear in Avengers: Doomsday.
On the flip side, Spider-Man 4 could very well be a multiversal story that follows up on the events of Avengers: Doomsday. History has proven that, when done right, multiverse stories bring in a lot of money for the MCU. This would also strengthen the argument that other iterations of Spider-Man, played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, will make appearances in future MCU movies.
2. BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH (STEPHEN STRANGE/DOCTOR STRANGE)
Past projects in the MCU including What If...? and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness have alluded that Benedict Cumberbatch's character will be the one to bring about an incursion to the MCU, that is, cause its destruction.
So his exclusion from Avengers: Doomsday – a movie that literally deals with armageddon – is strange.
Chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday: 40 per cent. In normal circumstances, the chances would have been higher. However, two interviews with Benedict Cumberbatch have cast a lot of doubt on his involvement with Avengers: Doomsday.
In January this year, during an interview with entertainment outlet Variety, Cumberbatch said that Doctor Strange would be "taking a hiatus" from Avengers: Doomsday.
"Is that a spoiler? F**k it!" he said.
Days later, he backtracked on his comments, telling Business Insider: "I got that wrong, I am in the next one."
So was he telling the truth initially and coerced by Marvel Studios to lie the second time? Or is he really in Avengers: Doomsday and just playing coy?
Time will tell.
3. MARK RUFFALO (BRUCE BANNER/HULK)
With Tony Stark dead, Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner is the last intellectually gifted member of the Avengers left. The movie's characters will need him to combat whatever Doctor Doom has planned.
Plus, during Banner's last appearance in the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, it was revealed that he had fathered a son during his time on another planet. So his storyline needs to be completed.
Chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday: 80 per cent.
4. JEREMY RENNER (CLINT BARTON/HAWKEYE)
Clint Barton has spent most of his appearances in the MCU trying to retire, only to be called up by his friends. With Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop taking up the mantle of Hawkeye, perhaps he can sit this one out.
Chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday: 5 per cent. As the popular adage goes: The Avengers lose every time Hawkeye isn't fighting with them. So if Avengers: Secret Wars follows the original comics, we can expect the Avengers to lose heavily in Avengers: Doomsday.
With Jeremy Renner recovering from his snow plough accident, it would also make sense to limit his physical scenes.
5. TEYONAH PARRIS (MONICA RAMBEAU)
In her last appearance in 2023's The Marvels, Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau became trapped in another universe and was found by two members of the X-Men: Binary (played by Lashana Lynch) and Hank McCoy/Beast (played by Kelsey Grammer).
Chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday: 90 per cent. With Kelsey Grammer and other members of the X-Men returning for Avengers: Doomsday, the stage is set for Monica Rambeau to be the connecting tissue between the two universes.
6. BRIE LARSON (CAROL DANVERS/CAPTAIN MARVEL)
Teyonah Parris' return would also signal the return of Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, given the close connection between the two characters.
Danvers is also currently one of the most powerful heroes in the MCU, so her presence would very much be needed to combat Doctor Doom.
Chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday: 90 per cent.
7. CHRIS PRATT (PETER QUILL/STAR-LORD)
Thursday's announcement did not include a single cast member from the Guardians Of The Galaxy franchise. Chris Pratt's absence, in particular, is notable as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3's credits featured a line saying that "the legendary Star-Lord will return".
Chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday: 70 per cent. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 ends with Peter Quill finding his way back to Earth to live with his grandfather. So if Doctor Doom were to attack Earth in Avengers: Doomsday, there's a very high chance that Quill will be around to join in the fight.
8. ELIZABETH OLSEN (WANDA MAXIMOFF/SCARLET WITCH)
Although Wanda Maximoff has died, plot threads involving her still live on – as seen in the recent Disney+ series Agatha All Along. Is her resurrection in the works?
Chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday: 10 per cent. Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are set to start filming in London very soon. However, in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Olsen revealed that she was currently in the US and would be busy filming a pilot episode for FX – making it unlikely that she will return for the movies, barring reshoots.
9. RYAN REYNOLDS (WADE WILSON/DEADPOOL)
Deadpool & Wolverine made lots and lots of money for Disney so you can bet Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman will be doing this till they're 90. As revealed by Matthew Macfadyen's Mr Paradox in the movie, Deadpool is set to play an important role in the MCU – so his return is pretty much guaranteed.
Plus, we still need to see the events that lead up to Thor crying over Deadpool's body.
Chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday: 70 per cent. Despite the writings on the wall, there's still the possibility that Marvel decides to save Deadpool's appearance for Avengers: Secret Wars. After all, that movie will still need a few surprises up its sleeve.
10. HUGH JACKMAN (LOGAN/WOLVERINE)
Just like Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman's return to the MCU is all but guaranteed. In fact, he probably has a higher chance of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday than Reynolds since many OG X-Men characters will be back, and it would be foolish to pass up the chance to see Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen interacting onscreen again.
Chances of appearing in Avengers: Doomsday: 80 per cent.
