March 26th, 2025 will forever be known as the beginning to the countdown til Doomsday. Don’t worry, the end of the world is not upon us. But, Marvel Studios held a special announcement livestream to reveal the cast of Avengers: Doomsday.
Avengers: Doomsday is going to be the culmination of the current phase of movies slated to hit theaters tentatively slated for May 1st, 2026. There is a lot of time between then and now, but Marvel has marked today as the start of the end.
Back at San Diego ComiCon, we were given our first announcement in the new direction of the franchise since the implosion of the Kang Dynasty. The announcement there, that the iconic Robert Downey Jr. would return to the MCU. Only this time he would be playing Doctor Doom.
Since that day, that was all we knew about the movie. There have been plot details and rumors that have surfaced, but as for the cast, RDJ was the only announced name. Until now.
Marvel started the stream at 11 am EDT on YouTube and Instagram live. I actually stumbled upon the stream myself. I had not been checking for this announcement. But once I figured out what was happening, I was locked in.
This livestream lasted a full five hours. It was a unique experience, because there were no verbal announcements, but there were a processional pf director’s chairs set up with the names of each actor emblazoned on the back.
The Names announced go as followed in order of appearance of their chairs:
Chris Hemsworth
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 Cuming
Rebecca Romijn
James Marsden
Channing Tatum
Pedro Pascal
and finally entering the room and taking his seat at the end of the line. Robert Downy Jr.
This cast is stacked beyond compare. But, that is how these big culmination movies go. We throw everyone we have at the screen. Even though we know the set of movies that we were going to be bringing together. Marvel was able to still surprise us with some unexpected returns.
Before I get to the obvious, I want to talk about the cast that are going to be coming out of the slated movies we know about. I love that we will be bringing in the Fantastic Four into the fight. The whole story has to deal with incursions and they will be smack dab in the middle of that. I am excited to see Fantastic Four: First Steps, I wonder how the movie will set us up for Doomsday.
One of the movies that started the setup of the current phase, Captain America: Brave New World, was a bit underwhelming in its attempt at hyping up this new phase. But as for the characters that are slated to return, I am happy to see Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America) and Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres/Falcon).
The next slated cast will jump into the fray with Captain America and Falcon. The Thunderbolts* movie will be hitting theaters May 2nd, 2025. They have the most actors joining Doomsday. Florence Pugh (Yelena/Black Widow), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier), Wyatt Russell (John Walker/ US Agent), David Harbour (Alexei Shostakov/ Red Guardian), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr/Ghost), Lewis Pullman (Bob/The Sentry/The Void). There is one name notably missing from this, and that’s Olga Kurylenko (Antonia Dreykov/ Taskmaster). I do not know what that means, but it doesn’t look good in my eyes. The Thunderbolts are the Suicide Squad of the Marvel Universe. So all I need to say to Taskmaster is…
As well, we are also seeing the return of a few characters that I am super happy to see we are still giving some shine and love. Letitia Wright (Shuri/ Black Panther), Winston Duke (M’Baku), Tenoch Huerta Mejia (Na’mor), Simu Liu (Shang Chi), and Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/ Ant Man). I love to see the characters that we have invested in are still within the narrative. I hate how little characters like Shang Chi or M’Baku are used. I also want to see what Ant-Man has been up to since Quantumania.
We have been avoiding the obvious. The biggest surprise from this cast announcement was the return of the original cast of Fox’s X-men. Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier/Professor X), Ian McKellen(Erik/Magneto), James Marsden (Scott Summers/ Cylclops), Rebecca Romijn (Raven/Mystique), Kelsey Grammer (Hank McCoy/ Beast), Alan Cumings (Kirk Vaughner/ NightCrawler). That sent the internet into a frenzy. They have been teasing and sprinkling mutants in for some time now. So this is a joyous announcement to see the return of these characters.
Deadpool and Wolverine set the stage for integrating Fox characters within the MCU. It even gives us Channing Tatum’s Gambit, who was teased to have left limbo at the end of the movie. We now see where he ends up. But, there are still some missing names.
I can’t help but wonder where a few characters are? Such as Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel. Riri Williams/ IronHeart, Kate Bishop, and so many others. Except Katie from Shang Chi, we don’t need Awkwafina in this movie at all. But even with the X-Men cast, where is Halle Berry’s Storm? Where are Jean Grey, Wolverine and Colossus? Maybe they still have some surprises to go.
I am hyped to see more updates now that Avengers: Doomsday is now in production. I know Marvel is usually tight-lipped when it comes to this. But we all know there will be leaks, stills and other information that will find its way to the internet.
You can still watch the whole announcement on YouTube. But, if you do not have five hours to kill, they have released a condensed version that announces the cast. I will update you guys as more information comes out and if I am able to cover it.
Leave your thoughts about the event in the comments below.
THE BLOCK 