It’s 2025, so we can officially say that the next Avengers movie will be with us next year! After years of the MCU’s once vibranium-plated reputation taking a beating, it truly feels like a long time since Avengers: Endgame sailed to cinematic superstardom and became (almost) the highest-grossing film of all time with ease. Can Avengers: Doomsday find the same success when it releases in May 2026?
Well, as Deadpool & Wolverine proved, bringing back a boatload of familiar faces for the occasion definitely won’t hurt its chances. Luckily, a bevy of Marvel’s best and brightest are already being assembled behind the scenes. Rest assured, it’s not just the Russo brothers who are making their much-anticipated directorial returns to the MCU for this one. Here’s every actor linked to Doomsday to date.
Robert Downey Jr. (Doctor Doom)
Well, this one goes without saying. Avengers: Doomsday‘s very existence came with the announcement that Robert Downey Jr. would be playing its title character, with the Iron Man icon swapping one metal mask for another as he leaves behind Tony Stark for Victor Von Doom. Expect fans to continue debating the pros and cons of this explosive casting twist for years to come.
Pedro Pascal (Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing)
Similarly, at the same Comic-Con presentation as the Downey revelation, Marvel Studios bigwig Kevin Feige confirmed that Downey would be joined by four other cast members, although unlike him, this quartet are newbies to the MCU scene. Feige assured us that the primary cast of this July’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps will return ASAP for roles in Doomsday. So expect Pascal’s Reed Richards, Kirby’s Sue Storm, Quinn’s Johnny Storm, and Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm to travel from their own universe to the Sacred Timeline.
Anthony Mackie (Captain America)
Trust the loose-lipped Anthony Mackie to confirm something he shouldn’t about his MCU future. While he’s not Mark Ruffalo or Tom Holland (more on him in a moment), Mackie has a habit of saying things he maybe shouldn’t. That said, in this case, finding out the current Captain America will appear in Avengers: Doomsday is hardly a surprise.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back on set with the Russos, they understand this Marvel world in a very unique way,” Mackie gushed to Empire Magazine about his excitement for Doomsday. “And just having [Downey] back adds so much. To see what he brings to the table is just a huge opportunity.”
Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange)
Likewise, no one’s shocked to hear that the would-be Sorcerer Supreme is likewise on hand to return for Doomsday. No, not Wong — although he’d better be in the movie or we’ll riot — but Doctor Strange. Funnily enough, Cumberbatch confirmed his own casting with some comments that are almost word for word what Mackie said, suggesting Marvel may have given them a sheet to read from.
“I’m really excited not only to work with the Russo Brothers again, but to have Robert Downey Jr. returning as Doctor Doom,” Cumberbatch told Japanese outlet TV Groove. “I think there’s going to be some really cool developments ahead.”
Chris Evans (Steve Rogers?)
That’s it for those who have confirmed the news from their own mouths, so we’re having to rely on trusted reporting from now on. For starters, fans were thrilled when Variety announced in early December 2024 that Chris Evans would be back for Avengers 5. According to the trade’s sources, he’ll play a significant role, too, although it’s too early to confirm which of his Marvel multiversal characters he’ll portray. Still, given who else is back, we can likely hazard a guess…
Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter?)
Just a few days after the Evans news, Deadline reported that Hayley Atwell had joined him in signing up for Avengers: Doomsday. Again, specific details are thin on the ground, but given how early she’s been hired we can assume Atwell has a big role to play in the Russos’ plans. Likewise, while she may be reprising Captain Carter from What If…? and Doctor Strange 2, the presence of Evans indicates Atwell could be back as the OG Peggy Carter. Are we finally about to find out what happened to Steve and Peggy after Endgame?
Tom Holland (Spider-Man)
Many overlooked this, but back when Tom Holland was confirmed to be teaming up with Spider-Man co-star and IRL girlfriend Zendaya for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Odyssey adaptation, THR‘s breaking of the story revealed one intriguing detail. The Hollywood Reporter claimed that Holland has three projects to shoot in 2025, with his Nolan venture and Spider-Man 4 joined by a “likely stop” in Avengers: Doomsday. Fingers crossed he brings Andrew and Tobey with him.
Charlie Cox (Daredevil)
Oops! Daredevil: Born Again isn’t even out yet but it seems we know Charlie Cox will be back soon after in Doomsday. The actor’s gym, DFRNT Health and Fitness, shared more than was probably wise in an Instagram post in December, in which a caption of the star working up a sweat read: “Charlie is currently training for his role in the upcoming @marvel Avengers movie where he will play @daredevil.” The caption eventually changed to “Charlie is currently training for a new role,” but Kevin Feige’s sniper’s weren’t quick enough for eagle-eyed Marvel fans.
Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost), and Olga Kurylenko (Taskmaster)
Now we’re in 2025, Avengers: Doomsday is starting to feel a little more real with Production Weekly sharing a new production listing which may just reveal a few juicy tidbits. Like, for instance, that filming is scheduled to begin in late March in London. What’s more, that the cast of Thunderbolts* will apparently feature, too. This would make a lot of sense, seeing as the dysfunctional dynamic of the anti-hero team makes them the obvious equivalents of the Guardians in Avengers: Infinity War.
Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch)
What’s more eyebrow-raising is the fact that Production Weekly also have Elizabeth Olsen listed among the cast. So far, Marvel has been doing its darndest to leave the exact fate of Wanda Maximoff up in the air, with even WandaVision spin-off Agatha All Along hedging its bets. With the window for a potential Scarlet Witch film narrowing, it seems Olsen’s grand comeback could occur in Doomsday itself.
Ana De Armas (???)
The most unexpected detail to come from Production Weekly, however, has to be the reference to Ana De Armas being “mentioned for a role” — no, I don’t know what that means either. Clearly, she’s not locked in just yet, but it would make sense for Chris Evans’ old pal and two-time former co-star to join him in Doomsday. Could De Armas be playing a key new character, or are we looking at another “Peter Dinklage pops up in Infinity War and is never seen again” sitch here?