Summary
TheMarvel Cinematic Universemay 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 inAvengers: Doomsday.
Although recent successes likeDaredevil: Born AgainandYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Manhave to count for something, theMCUat large has been in a bit of trouble for a while now. Since 2019 dropped the three-way box office behemoth that wasCaptain Marvel,Avengers: Endgame, andSpider-Man: Far From Home(all within a four-month span), things have been decidedly mixed for the House of Ideas. For everyDeadpool & Wolverine, you have aMarvels; for eachSpider-Man: No Way Home, there is anEternals. Instead of hunkering down post-Endgameand 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 forAvengers: Doomsday. The Russo Brothers—creative minds behindInfinity WarandEndgame—are back in the director’s chairs,Lokishowrunner Michael Waldron has teamed up with MCU screenwriting legend Stephen McFeely for the script, andRobert Downey Jr. has returned to the foldagainst all odds. The hype has been building, and it reached a fever pitch of sorts earlier today.
At 11:01 AM EST, theMarvel Studios X accountbegan 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.
TheAvengers: DoomsdayCast 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. MakingAvengers: Doomsdaywithout the Invisible Woman, Captain America, Ant-Man, and Black Panther was never going to happen. Stars of the upcomingThunderbolts*—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 seeShang-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 inThunderbolts*. Two of the most shocking names included have to be Tenoch Huerta Mejía and Kelsey Grammer. Fans ofBlack 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 inThe Marvels.
Every Actor Named in the Avengers: Doomsday Announcement (as of 4:14 PM Eastern)
Of course, Marvel isn’t going to give all its secrets away, and there are sure to be more shocks whenAvengers: Doomsdayis actually released. Remember how manysurprise cameos there were inDeadpool & Wolverine? You know Kevin Feige and company will be pulling out all the stops for theAvengersfranchise as well.
Avengers: Doomsdayis set to release in theaters on July 06, 2025.
