Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are expected to feature some big cameos, but Marvel Studios and the Russo Brothers need to be careful not to turn both movies into Multiversal cameo-fests.
Deadpool and Wolverine are expected to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, as is Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man. We're sure there will be a few additional surprises, but it might not hurt to rein in expectations just in case some familiar faces from the past aren't enlisted for either movie.
For what it's worth, The Cosmic Circus has shared an Avengers: Secret Wars update today, writing, "Only Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are reportedly appearing in these movies in terms of Legacy characters at the moment. I have heard Nicolas Cage's Ghost Rider and Ben Affleck's Daredevil thrown around, though I’m not entirely sure if there has been any progress on that front."
Both Cage and Affleck were eyed for roles in 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine, which was confirmed by concept art and filmmaker Shawn Levy. The returns of Maguire and Garfield as their respective Spider-Man Variants is sure to be welcomed, though.
Still, Marvel Studios focusing on its current lineup of characters would be no bad thing, even as rumours swirl that Mahershala Ali's Blade will be a lead character in Avengers: Secret Wars (setting him up for a leading role in the next Saga).
Back to Avengers: Doomsday, and when it comes to exploring alternate realities, the movie may be surprisingly restrained on that front. The site's Alex Perez explains, "From what I have been informed, that idea is no longer happening. At the moment, there are 6 universes that we will see in Avengers: Doomsday."
"Those are: Main MCU, Fantastic Four, X-Men Universe, Doom’s Original Universe, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man Universe, and a pocket dimension (though I might be describing that last one incorrectly; it’s basically 'the universe that’s hidden away')."
That is intriguing, but it also seems to confirm that there will be no return to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' Earth-838. There was a time when we heard that the surviving members of the Illuminati—including Tom Cruise's Iron Man—might come looking for revenge. If that was a thing, it was likely abandoned when Avengers: The Kang Dynasty became Avengers: Doomsday.
While fans feel like they know what's coming in the next Avengers movies, it's down to the Russos to find ways to surprise fans, delivering more than a direct adaptation of the Secret Wars comic (and avoiding repeating the Infinity War/Endgame formula).
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.