Summary
- More than 10 million fans tuned into a live stream revealing actors for Avengers: Doomsday.
- Major MCU actors like Robert Downey Jr. Are returning for the new film, alongside some other surprises.
- The film's star-studded cast includes Vanessa Kirby, Paul Rudd, and Kelsey Grammer, among others.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe may seem like it's on its last legs nowadays, but the fandom still knows how to show up for the franchise from time to time. That certainly was the case earlier today when more than 10 million people watched a live stream on X that did nothing more than reveal the names of actors confirmed to be in Avengers: Doomsday.
Although recent successes like Daredevil: Born Again and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man have to count for something, the MCU at large has been in a bit of trouble for a while now. Since 2019 dropped the three-way box office behemoth that was Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home (all within a four-month span), things have been decidedly mixed for the House of Ideas. For every Deadpool & Wolverine, you have a Marvels; for each Spider-Man: No Way Home, there is an Eternals. Instead of hunkering down post-Endgame and making sure each and every project was of the resolute quality most audiences had come to expect, Marvel Studios instead increased its production pipeline and started pumping out more content than ever. Now, with the MCU well and truly reeling, Marvel is pulling out all the stops for Avengers: Doomsday. The Russo Brothers—creative minds behind Infinity War and Endgame—are back in the director's chairs, Loki showrunner Michael Waldron has teamed up with MCU screenwriting legend Stephen McFeely for the script, and Robert Downey Jr. Has returned to the fold against all odds. The hype has been building, and it reached a fever pitch of sorts earlier today.
RUMOR: Controversial MCU Character Set For 'Significant' Avengers: Doomsday Role
A controversial member of the MCU's history could be making a "significant" appearance in Avengers: Doomsday.
At 11:01 AM EST, the Marvel Studios X account began live-streaming a weirdly long video panning across a row of foldable production chairs with actors' names on the back. Every twelve or so minutes, the video would pan right to confirm a new actor's name. Beginning with Chris Hemsworth, the interminable wait began as fans were forced to sit patiently simply to see which famous name would show up next.
The Avengers: Doomsday Cast Is About What You Would Expect
The stream wasn't exactly riveting entertainment, but it did provide some big names for fans to get excited about. Unsurprisingly, major players like Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, and Letitia Wright were included in the reveal. Making Avengers: Doomsday without the Invisible Woman, Captain America, Ant-Man, and Black Panther was never going to happen. Stars of the upcoming Thunderbolts*—Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, and Wyatt Russell—also made the cut.
The most fun to be had was with the somewhat unexpected names. It's nice to see Shang-Chi's Simu Liu finally make his MCU return, for instance. Lewis Pullman being included is also a cool surprise, considering many fans have speculated that his version of the Sentry could meet his end in Thunderbolts*. Two of the most shocking names included have to be Tenoch Huerta Mejía and Kelsey Grammer. Fans of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Sub-Mariner will be happy to see Mejía return as Namor and diehard X-heads should be happy to see Grammer's name included after his scant cameo in The Marvels.
Every Actor Named in the Avengers: Doomsday Announcement (as of 4:14 PM Eastern)
- Vanessa Kirby
- Anthony Mackie
- Sebastian Stan
- Letitia Wright
- Paul Rudd
- Wyatt Russell
- Tenoch Huerta Mejia
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach
- Simu Liu
- Florence Pugh
- Kelsey Grammer
- Lewis Pullman
- Danny Ramirez
- Joseph Quinn
- David Harbour
- Winston Duke
- Hannah John-Kamen
- Tom Hiddleston
- Patrick Stewart
- Ian McKellen
- Alan Cumming
- Rebecca Romijn
- James Marsden
- Channing Tatum
- Pedro Pascal
Of course, Marvel isn't going to give all its secrets away, and there are sure to be more shocks when Avengers: Doomsday is actually released. Remember how many surprise cameos there were in Deadpool & Wolverine? You know Kevin Feige and company will be pulling out all the stops for the Avengers franchise as well.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to release in theaters on May 1, 2026.
Source: Marvel Studios/X