Rumors and reports have been flying by of many characters and actors making appearances in Avengers: Doomsday.There’s been so much information recently that it’s been very hard to keep track. So, who has been confirmed to appear, whose appearance is reported, and what’s just rumors?
For the purpose of this article, I will only use the word “confirmed” when a studio, studio executive, or actor portraying the character has said a character will appear. I will only use the word “reported” if reporting agencies have reported it, but it has not been confirmed. “Rumored” will only be used if no one is reporting from a credible source that a character is returning, but there are rumors circulating.
Robert Downey Jr as Doom - Confirmed
We all know this one. Doom was very famously confirmed to be played by Robert Downey Junior at Comic Con. I doubt you haven’t seen the video, so I won’t post it here, but, if you haven't, it's very easy to find. This is old news so we won’t spend a lot of time here.
Chris Evans, Unknown Role - Reported but Denied
The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline, and CBM have all reported that Chris Evans is returning to Marvel for Avengers: Doomsday. However, this news has not been confirmed by Marvel or Evans. It is unknown what role Evans will be playing, but it would make sense for him to play Captain America once again. There’s been speculation that he could play an evil version of the character as well.
UPDATE: Chris Evans has said he is “happily retired” from Marvel and will not be returning for Avengers: Doomsday. His full quote from Esquire reads, “That’s not true, though. This always happens. I mean, it happens every couple years — ever since Endgame. I’ve just stopped responding to it. Yeah, no — happily retired!” However, I’m not sure if I buy it. Obviously, he is supposed to deny that he is in a movie if his role is a secret. We’ll only know for sure when the movie releases.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man - Rumored
Surprisingly, major news networks are only reporting that there are rumors of Spider-Man’s return in Avengers: Doomsday. However, it would be shocking if Spidey didn’t make an appearance in a movie that features an evil person wearing his mentor and father figure’s face. It feels quite likely that he will return, but, technically, this is only a rumor.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange - Both Confirmed and Denied, Confusingly
Despite several websites citing a Variety article as confirmation that Cumberbatch would return as Strange, the only agency to actually have this information is one I had never heard of called TVGroove. During Cumberbatch’s visit to Tokyo for the Tokyo Comic Con, TVGroove interviewed him and he said the following:
“I’m really excited not only to work with the Russo brothers again, but also to have Robert Downey Jr. returning as Doctor Doom.” You can read the interview here.
UPDATE: Benedict Cumberbatch spoke to Variety and confirmed he would not actually be in Avengers: Doomsday saying, “f*ck it” to whether or not that is a spoiler, then spoke to Business Insider to say, "I got that wrong, I am in the next one. Don't ever believe anything I say." Truly, who knows with this one. Cumberbatch could just be confirming and denying his presence in the movie to keep it confusingly ambiguous. One or the other has to be true, so we’ll ultimately just have to wait and see when the movie comes out.
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson - Confirmed
Anthony Mackie himself confirmed the news that he will be returning for Avengers: Doomsday. In Empire Magazine, Mackie confirmed that he will be in the movie by saying he was excited to work with the Russos brothers again. He didn’t say the words “I am in the next Avengers movie”, but it’s still a confirmation. How exaclty his character will play into the story is unknown, but there's been a lot of speculation that he'll be in the process of forming an Avengers team in Captain America: Brave New World
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter - Reported
Deadline reported here that Hayley Atwell will be returning as Peggy Carter. There is no official word from Atwell or Marvel, so I’m categorizing this as reported, not confirmed. There are no details confirmed at all, but there’s a chance she could return as her superhero persona.
Pascal, Kirby, Quinn and Moss-Bachrach as The Fantastic Four - Confirmed
At the Disney APAC Showcase, Feige was briefly interviewed by Deadline which you can read here and confirmed the Fantastic Four will be in “...the next Avengers movies.” This isn’t surprising at all given the importance of the characters in continuing the success of the MCU. On top of that, Doom is a villain widely associated with the Fantastic Four as Victor Von Doom is usually depicted as being very close with Reed Richards.
UPDATE: Scooper @MyTimeToShineH has said that the Fantastic Four are actually leading the film and the Earth-516 Avengers will be taking a bit of a back seat.
UPDATE: Reynolds and Jackman as Deadpool and Wolverine - Rumored
Another Hollywood insider/scooper, Daniel Richtman, has claimed Deadpool and Wolverine will share the screen once again in Avengers: Doomsday. This makes a lot of sense especially as Feige has said Deadpool and Wolverine was almost as important to Doomsday and Secret Wars as Infinity War was to Endgame. At the time, I imagined he was referring to the concept of Anchor Beings and how that plays into the next two Avengers films, but if the two leading characters are in the movie, it would make even more sense.
UPDATE: Channing Tatum as Gambit, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, and Kelsey Grammar as Beast - Rumored
Channing Tatum was excellent as Gambit in Deadpool and Wolverine and fans are dying to see him return. Kelsey Grammar and Patrick Stewart are legendary in their respective roles, and it would make a lot of sense for all three of these characters and actors to make their return. Alex Perez is the person to be sharing these rumors, but they are indeed just rumors. There is no official word on the return of these characters whatsoever.
Unknown as X-Men Characters - Not Technically Confirmed but Almost
This one is relatively vague. During the summer of 2024, “the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of Mutants and of the X-Men.” Doomsday very clearly leads into Secret Wars in some way, and it certainly does seem like Feige is hinting at X-Men appearances in both films, but this isn't technically a confirmation. No specific X-Men characters at all are confirmed to appear in Doomsday, but Feige did say Deadpool & Wolverine was very important to the next Avengers movies. He hasn’t said the X-Men will be in either movie, but it does seem likely.
Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch - Rumored
Tons of rumors have been circulating surrounding the Scarlet Witch. A few days ago, a production list leaked for Avengers: Doomsday that had Olsen's name on it, and many others, but only so much credence can be given to this list. It's entirely possible that it's fake. Every news outlet that is reporting she will be in the film is reporting it based on the list, so I’m classifying it as a rumor.
Charlie Cox as Daredevil - Rumored, Sort Of
Charlie Cox's gym DFRNT Health and Fitness posted in Instagram a photo of Charlie, his wife, and some trainers. The caption read "Charlie is currently training for his role in the upcoming @marvel Avengers movie where he will play @daredevil.” Interestingly, the caption has since been changed. Now, it is entirely possible that they were confused about his role, but it feels fairly likely they didn't just accidentally throw the word Avengers in there then change the caption. As this is what news agencies are reporting on, you could consider this one "reported" but I'm going to classify it as rumored.
UPDATE: Unknown Actor as Ghost Rider - Rumored
Apocalyptic Horseman, a notorious Hollywood scooper on X, has said Ghost Rider will appear in Avengers: Doomsday. The scooper says Ghost Rider will have a “big role” but has no idea about a solo series or a Disney+ series. That’s one hundred percent of the information we have on The Spirit of Vengeance at the moment. I would take this one with a grain of salt due to the lack of information.
UPDATE: Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts/Rescue - Rumored
Another rumor from @MyTimeToShineH says that Pepper Potts will return to the MCU and actually suit up as Rescue. I find this one unlikely as Gwyneth Paltrow was pretty clearly done with playing Marvel characters, but I’m sure that Disney paycheck is always daunting. It certainly could make for a great moment to see Pepper go toe to toe with a multiversal variant of her deceased husband, so that might be the angle the Russo brothers are taking with this one.
It is entirely possible that all of these reported and rumored characters could appear in Avenger: Doomsday. In fact, there are rumors we may see even more characters like Bucky Barnes, which feels likely, the rest of the Thunderbolts, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Gambit, Quicksilver and more.
Hopefully, this article has cleared up who is, as of now, confirmed to be in Avengers: Doomsday and who is simply reported or rumored. Let me know what you think!