Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday Cast Has Everyone Saying The Same Thing

Marvel grabbed every nerd's attention on March 26 with a livestream announcing the cast of 2026's "Avengers: Doomsday," with the camera panning every 10 to 15 minutes to a chair containing an actor's name. Many of the film's stars were confirmed, with some — like Chris Hemsworth's Thor as well as the new Fantastic Four line-up of Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach — expected. Others were genuine surprises, like original "X-Men" actors Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, and Alan Cumming. A total of 27 names was announced, but many fans online focused on who didn't get a chair.

Underneath Marvel Studios' post on X (formerly Twitter) about "Avengers: Doomsday" starting production, many users listed the actors and characters they wanted to see who were absent. User @djtickle wrote, "Did you forget some? Spider-Man, Wanda, Strange, Hulk, Starlord, Hawkeye, Vision, Wolverine, Deadpool, Nick Fury, Captain Marvel or Warmachine." Many fans in particular wondered about Tom Holland's Spider-Man, although the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield versions could also be in play for the multiversal story. Other names that came up a lot included Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen).

One of the more curious exclusions was Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), according to user @RxseGoldAngels: "How is doctor strange not in this movie." Given his last outing was subtitled "Multiverse of Madness," it would only make sense to include him in the penultimate "Avengers" movie before the Multiverse Saga ends. But maybe Marvel still has some tricks up its sleeves.

Some of the Marvel characters that people are asking about are probably unlikely to show up in "Avengers: Doomsday" and "Secret Wars." X user @Abdulla_Albader asked, "No daredevil or punisher or moon knight?" While Charlie Cox's Daredevil would be neat to see, the more street-level heroes probably wouldn't be on speed dial when Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) comes knocking.

However, @JohnnydNba brought up a character who should probably be in the mix: "I think the most surprising exclusion is Monica Rambeau [played by Teyonah Parris]. I thought she was going to be the direct connection to the 'X-men 2003-verse.'" In "The Marvels" post-credits scene, Monica winds up in another reality where she's greeted by Beast (Kelsey Grammer). Since Grammer is now confirmed for "Doomsday", it would make sense for the reality that Monica entered to factor into the plot. This could also explain the apperance of the other "X-Men" characters like Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Cyclops (James Marsden), and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn).

There's no shortage of former "X-Men" actors who could be part of "Doomsday," but it's possible this announcement video is holding some back. After all, Marvel has to keep a few secrets, right? Perhaps the studio is still negotiating with some actors. Anyone from any universe is potentially on the table, which is the joy of the multiverse: you can really just do anything you want.

If you recall, several heroes were absent from "Avengers: Infinity War," such as Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), who both played bigger roles in "Avengers: Endgame." So perhaps "Avengers: Doomsday" is only focusing on a certain subset of heroes for the first half of the next "Avengers" two-parter. Doctor Doom could be rampaging through realities and only encountering certain hero teams. From the announcements, it seems that the primary line-ups will consist of the older "X-Men" actors, the Fantastic Four, and the Thunderbolts, along with a few other heroes like Captain America (Anthony Mackie) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth).

The ending of "Captain America: Brave New World" finds Cap wanting to rebuild the Avengers, so it's possible that Doom will contend with a new line-up that will include Black Panther (Letitia Wright), Ant-Man, and Shang-Chi (Simu Liu). With that in mind, other heroes may not have joined any of these teams, which is why they're not in the initial cast line-up. Spider-Man is doing his own thing, Doctor Strange went to another reality with Clea (Charlize Theron), and Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is still hanging out with his grandfather.

These heroes may play larger roles in "Avengers: Secret Wars," saving them (and the actors' accompanying paychecks) for just one movie. It does seem odd that Spider-Man would be absent from "Doomsday" since he's a cornerstone of the franchise, but the actors unveiled so far may not be the only ones — they're just the ones Marvel wants to announce for now. We'll know all when "Avengers: Doomsday" arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026.