Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter quickly became a fan favourite after appearing in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, and Marvel Studios was understandably eager to bring the British actor back into the fold.
That started with a fun "One-Shot" short and after a cameo in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel Television launched the Agent Carter TV series (the only one of that studio's shows Marvel Studios executives were actively involved with).
Years later, Peggy was made the face of Marvel Animation's What If...? as a Variant of the character who took the Super Soldier Serum and became "Captain Carter." She similarly struck a chord with fans, so her live-action debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was cause for celebration. Until it wasn't.
The hero was killed in short order, and confusingly, the Captain Carter who died at the Scarlet Witch's hands was revealed to be another very similar Variant and, ultimately, a waste of what had been a long-awaited debut for the What If...? lead. After all, did the Captain not deserve better than being sliced in half by her shield?
The trades have reported that both Chris Evans and Atwell will return in Avengers: Doomsday, though neither of their names was featured in March's lengthy cast reveal.
Talking to Den of Geek about her role in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, Atwell said she "would love' to suit up as Captain Carter in either of the upcoming Avengers movies (the second being Secret Wars).
"There are so many things that she could do, there’s so much more I feel I can bring to a character because I’ve developed as time’s gone on," Atwell explained. "What’s so great about having time behind you and having had a 20-year career so far is the development of skill, and I think there’s so much more that Peggy can do. She’s very much an underserved character."
"When she says ‘I know my value and everyone else’s opinion doesn’t really matter,’ it’s because she hasn’t been given the platform that she knows she deserves and that she’s really capable of doing in the world," the actor continued. "And so I just think there is just so much more that she can do, and I think she speaks to a modern time, so to be able to take her to that next level as Captain Carter would be phenomenal. Especially with all my Mission: Impossible training. I am ready, let’s go!"
Avengers: Doomsday could redeem the Multiverse Saga's most disappointing cameo (well, aside from John Krasinski's Mister Fantastic being turned into spaghetti), though it would likely need to be yet another Peggy Carter Variant, seeing as the Captain died in What If...?'s season 3 finale.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on May 1 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on May 7, 2027.