Marvel’sAvengers: Doomsdaycast announcement confirms the official return of twenty-sevenMCUcharacters, but there are at least another thirty major heroes whose absence is quite surprising. More than seventeen years of MCU history and three phases' worth of multiverse stories provideAvengers: Doomsday’s plot and castwith plenty of characters to play with. However, Marvel Studios' plans forAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warswill likely subvert expectations, starting with both movies' official cast.
DuringMarvel Studios’Avengers: Doomsdaycast announcement,Marvel Studiosconfirmed the appearance of entire teams like the Fantastic Four and the Thunderbolts, as well as the unexpected return of several mutant characters from Fox’s originalX-Mencast, includingPatrick Stewart’s Professor X and Ian McKellen’s Magneto. Shockingly, though,many key MCU heroes were notably absent in the announcement, including a few original Avengers and multiple multiversal variants who would seem essential forAvengers: Doomsday’s multiversal plot:
Chris Evans
Chris Evans Could Return As Captain America Or Another Character
After Marvel announced Robert Downey Jr.’s return as Doctor Doom inAvengers: Doomsday,theories about Chris Evans' MCU return started to flood the internet. Similarly to Downey, Evans could play a brand-new MCU character inAvengers: Doomsday— possibly a villain. Otherwise,Chris Evans could still return as the original Steve Rogers, who was last seen passing on the Captain America mantle to Sam Wilson inAvengers: Endgame. Since then, the MCU has avoided confirming whether Steve Rogers died or if he’s still enjoying his retirement peacefully.
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo’s Smart Hulk Isn’t Busy At The Moment In The MCU
Mark Ruffalo’s Smart Hulk took a brief trip to Sakaar to meet his son Skaar inShe-Hulk: Attorney At Law’s finale. Smart Hulk returned to Earth with Skaar, and he reunited with Jennifer Walters in record time.At this point in the MCU’s timeline, Smart Hulk is completely available for an Avengers mission. Yet, Mark Ruffalo is one of the biggest names that weren’t included in Marvel Studios’Avengers: Doomsdaycast announcement.
Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye May Be Enjoying His Long-Awaited Retirement
Unlike Steve Rogers, Clint Barton was taken out of retirement afterAvengers: Endgame. InHawkeye, Barton helped Kate Bishop defeat Wilson Fisk and find the truth about her mother. Having passed on the Hawkeye torch to Kate, Clint Barton has nothing else on his plate at this point.Joining the Avengers to fight Doctor Doom may not seem too appealing for the original Hawkeye, so it makes sense for him to skipAvengers: Doomsday.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson Likely Won’t Return In A Similar Fashion To Robert Downey Jr.
Scarlett Johansson was probably the least likelyAvengersstar to return in Phase 6 before Marvel’sAvengers: Doosmdaycast announcement. Natasha Romanoff met a definitive end inAvengers: Endgame, Marvel gave the character a final farewell inBlack Widow, and Johansson had a dispute with Disney overBlack Widow’s distribution.Scarlett Johansson has since reconciled with Disney and Marvel, but there have been no hints at her return in any upcoming MCU project.
Hayley Atwell
Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter Variants Have Appeared In Multiple Multiverse Saga Projects
There have been at least three Peggy Carter variants in the MCU: the Peggy Carter Steve Rogers fell in love with, Earth-838’s live-action Captain Carter, andWhat If…?’s universe-hopping Captain Carter.What If…?’s Captain Carter seems like a good candidate for a role inAvengers: Doomsday, where her experience as a multiversal guardian could help the Avengers in their fight against Doctor Doom. However, none of Peggy Carter’s variants seem to be making an appearance inAvengers: Doomsday.
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Seemed Ready To Join The Avengers In Phase 5
Hugh Jackman’s new Wolverine variant rekindled his will to fight and befriended Wade Wilson inDeadpool & Wolverine. InDeadpool & Wolverine’s ending, Jackman’s Logan finds a new home on Earth-10005, where he’s likely ready to take on any villain alongside Deadpool, Colossus, X-23, and other inhabitants of Deadpool’s home reality. Surprisingly, though,many of Fox’sX-Menmovie characters will return inAvengers: Doosmday, but Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine won’t be one of them, despite his popularity.
Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool Tried To Join The Avengers Before Avengers: Doomsday
Similarly to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool seemed eager to continue fighting afterDeadpool & Wolverine’s third act. In fact, one of the motivations that led Wade Wilson to find a Wolverine variant to fight Cassandra Nova was his failed attempt to join the Avengers. Considering Happy Hogan rejected Wade Wilson’s application, it would seem logical for the Avengers to welcome Deadpool inAvengers: Doomsday. However,it’s possible that Doctor Doom will catch the Avengers off-guard before they have a chance to contact Deadpool on Earth-10005.
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner’s Elektra Should Have Escaped The Void
Jennifer Garner’s Elektra fought alongside Deadpool, Wolverine, and their ragtag team of pruned variants in the Void inDeadpool & Wolverine. Garner’s Elektra survived Cassandra Nova and Alioth, yet she was nowhere to be seen at the end ofDeadpool & Wolverine, where Wade Wilson and Logan reunited with X-23 on Earth-10005.Presumably, Deadpool and Wolverine got the TVA to extract Elektra to the Void as well, so her current whereabouts are unknown.
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes' Blade Is Still Somewhere Out There
Similarly to Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Wesley Snipes' Blade probably made it out of the Void after the events ofDeadpool & Wolverine, but his whereabouts are a mystery. ConsideringChanning Tatum’s Gambit will return inAvengers: Doomsday, the MCU might temporarilly ignore or barely mention Blade and Elektra’s current status. Otherwise,Elektra and Blade might only made a cameo inAvengers: Doomsday, which would explain why they didn’t get their own chair in Marvel’sAvengers: Doomsdaycast announcement.
Dafne Keen
Dafne Keen’s Laura Kinney A.K.A. X-23 Might Have A Cameo Role In Avengers: Doomsday
The final member ofDeadpool & Wolverine’s Void resistance team not to be included in Marvel Studios’Avengers: Doomsdaycast announcement is Dafne Keen’s Laura Kinney a.k.a. X-23.Deadpool & Wolverineconfirmed the TVA got X-23 out of the Void and allowed her to stay with Wade Wilson and Logan on Earth-10005, butLaura Kinney may not be aware of Doctor Doom’s evil plans inAvengers: Doomsday.Still, the fact that Channing Tatum’s Gambit is the onlyDeadpool & Wolverinehero to be confirmed forAvengers: Doomsdayraises a few questions.
