We have seen a lot of friendships pushed to (and past in some cases) their limits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the years, and Marvel Entertainment has now shared a series of posts highlighting some of the franchise's major characters rifts - and eventual reconciliations.
The images feature Nebula and Gamora, Steven Rogers and Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, Thor and Loki, Maria Rambeau and Carol Danvers, Tony Stark and Steve, Natasha and Yelena Belova, Rocket and Groot, Sam Wilson and Bucky, and Tony and James Rhodes.
Why is Marvel sharing these posts? Despite some speculation that it might have something to do with the upcoming Avengers movies, this appears to be more of a tribute to Universal's Wicked: For Good, which features the song "For Good" with lyrics, "But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you."
Even so, most of these characters are expected to return for either Doomsday or Secret Wars, so the studio may also be using the opportunity to refresh fans' memories about the key relationships Earth's Mightiest Heroes (and former villains) have formed.
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were recently hit with significant delays, with Doomsday now set to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026, and Secret Wars positioned for December 17, 2027.
Both movies will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
You can check out the full (for now) Doomsday cast list below.
• Paul Rudd as Ant-Man
• Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
• Tom Hiddleston as Loki
• Lewis Pullman as Sentry
• Florence Pugh as Yelena
• Danny Ramirez as Falcon
• Ian McKellen as Magneto
• Sebastian Stan as Bucky
• Winston Duke as M’Baku
• Chris Hemsworth as Thor
• Kelsey Grammer as Beast
• James Marsden as Cyclops
• Channing Tatum as Gambit
• Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent
• Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm
• Rebecca Romijn as Mystique
• Patrick Stewart as Professor X
• Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler
• Letitia Wright as Black Panther
• Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor
• Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards
• Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost
• Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm
• David Harbour as Red Guardian
• Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom
• Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing
• Anthony Mackie as Captain America