Avengers: Doomsday is shrouded in secrecy, but based on the cast alone, it seems safe to say the Russo Brothers will put their own Multiversal spin on Avengers vs. X-Men (and that's just for starters...).
The prevailing theory is that, however this story plays out, it will end with Doctor Doom triumphant and ruling over a new reality: Battleworld. For more on that, Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic's Secret Wars is an essential read, but the short version is that Doom creates a patchwork world made up of remnants of those destroyed in Incursions.
That's why there's a New York City where Peter Parker is happily married to Mary Jane Watson (they have a daughter, who becomes a superhero in her own right) on the same world as "Greenland," a country inhabited and ruled over entirely by Hulks.
In case it wasn't obvious, anything close to that opens the door to a multitude of cameos, and scooper @MyTimeToShineH has just shared some intriguing insights.
At New York Comic Con, Charlie Cox was asked if his Daredevil could team up with Ben Affleck's Man Without Fear from the 2003 movie. The actor replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about," a pretty standard answer, albeit one that's gained some traction on social media.
Well, according to the insider, "The idea is to bring EVERYONE back in Secret Wars." In other words, the surprises and cameos in Avengers: Doomsday will pale in comparison to what's planned in 2027.
The plan may be to bring "everyone" back, but that doesn't mean they'll all agree. Still, in what's likely to be a final send-off for a lot of actors before the MCU is softly rebooted, it wouldn't shock us if people like Affleck, Nicolas Cage, and Tobey Maguire decide to suit up one final time for fans.
Who would you like to see return in Avengers: Secret Wars?
Avengers: Doomsday 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, and Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and Ryan Reynolds are also set to appear, according to recent reports from the trades.
The Russo Brothers direct the movie 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.