When Marvel Studios pulled back the curtain on Avengers: Doomsday's cast in March, it generated a huge amount of excitement. However, fans were also left to question why so many obvious additions to the movie were missing.
Since then, the Hollywood trades have confirmed Ryan Reynolds' return as Deadpool, while rumours about appearances from Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire), and a new Black Panther (possibly F1: The Movie star Damson Idris) continue to swirl.
A few actors, including Brie Larson, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Chris Pratt, have hinted at their respective returns. The first teaser for Avengers: Doomsday, meanwhile, confirmed that Chris Evans is back as Steve Rogers.
Now, we may be able to add another MCU veteran to the movie's cast. Earlier this year, Jeremy Renner revealed that he'd turned down Hawkeye Season 2 over a pay dispute with Disney. It seemed that the writing was on the wall when it came to his future as Clint Barton, but the actor's stance on his Marvel future has softened in recent months.
Renner has shared Avengers: Doomsday's teaser on Instagram, leading to speculation that he's hinting at his involvement with the movie. While the Avengers: Endgame star may just be supporting his former employer, Renner also reposted the movie's first poster, something only confirmed cast members have done on social media so far.
Renner has also played coy in interviews about the next Avengers movies. "No. No," he said. "If they want to do [replace me with the Multiverse], they can go ahead by all means and do that [Laughs]. I'm pretty busy myself."
The actor was also asked about that pay dispute and confirmed it wasn't "because of the snow plow incident." Renner explained, "They wanted to do Season 2, and they offered the amount to do [it]. Yeah, of course, I want to do it, but it's going to take a lot of physical work to get back into it and also just the timing because it would take a little bit more time for me physically to do the role."
"Maybe I wasn't ready last year," he added, leaving the door open to an MCU return. "Maybe it will happen in a year or two to come. I was still in recovery."
Something tells us that Hawkeye will be among those who assemble in Avengers: Doomsday, even if it's just for a cameo...
Avengers: Doomsday officially stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make their Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans is also officially confirmed to reprise his role as Steve Rogers. The Hollywood trades have reported that Hayley Atwell and Ryan Reynolds will appear as Peggy Carter and Deadpool, respectively.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron is also working on the script.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.