Rumors have swelled over the last 24 hours about an imminent Marvel Studios announcement. Not even the trades were given the embargoed story early before Marvel Studios and Walt Disney announced it with a 5-hour live stream of every actor in the film (via YouTube). The massive cast includes characters from all the phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also included legacy actors from past Marvel films like the X-Men of the early 2000s. The announcement also featured the start of production of Avengers: Doomsday in the United Kingdom under the working title For All Time Productions UK.
The Russo Brothers were announced last SDCC as the returning directors with a screenplay by Stephen McFeely (Avengers: Endgame). When it was still Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, previous drafts were written by Jeff Loveness (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) and Michael Waldron (Loki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Kevin Feige will once again produce the film for Marvel Studios.
The announcement featured the first behind-the-scenes photo for the massive multiversal ensemble film featuring the cast chairs. The announcement also included a cast of over 25 actors (though some could have been omitted), such as original Avengers cast members Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, and Paul Rudd as Ant-Man. As well as the return of Sebastain Stan as Bucky Barnes, Letita Wright as Shuri, and Winston Duke as M’Baku. Tom Hiddleston will also appear as “God of Time” Loki.
Several new heroes were also introduced throughout Phase 4 that will appear, such as Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor, Florence Pugh as Black Widow, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Lewis Pullman as Sentry, and Danny Ramirez as Falcon.
The MCU Fantastic Four cast was also announced to return for the crossover film at SDCC last summer. That cast includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing. Reed Richards is now the smartest man in the MCU, following the death of Tony Stark in the events of Avengers: Endgame.
The biggest announcements that surprised many fans was the inclusion of many legacy actors from previous Fox X-Men Universe films, like Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, James Marsden as Cyclops, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, and Rebecca Romijn as Mystique. As well as Channing Tatum returning as Gambit after his highly praised cameo appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine.
They will all come together to battle Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on May 1st, 2026
