As you probably know, the cast for Avengers: Doomsday was announced this Wednesday, March 26, via a nearly six hour long livestream in which names were very slowly revealed. Some of the names were more surprising than others, but there were some very notable omissions including Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Chris Evans’ Captain America, all of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, and more. In attendance, however, was nearly entire main cast of Thunderbolts*. The only person missing from the list from Thunderbolts* is Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster. Check out the list below.
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Vanessa Kirby - Invisible Woman
Anthony Mackie - Captain America
Sebastian Stan - Bucky
Letitia Wright - Black Panther
Paul Rudd - Ant-Man
Wyatt Russell - U.S. Agent
Tenoch Huerta Mejia - Namor
Ebon Moss-Bachrach - The Thing
Simu Liu - Shang-Chi
Florence Pugh - Yelena Belova
Kelsey Grammer - Beast
Lewis Pullman - The Sentry
Danny Ramirez - The Falcon
Joseph Quinn - Human Torch
David Harbour - Red Guardian
Winston Duke - M'Baku
Hannah John-Kamen - Ghost
Tom Hiddleston - Loki
Patrick Stewart - Professor X
Ian McKellen - Magneto
Alan Cumming - Nightcrawler
Rebecca Romijn - Mystique
James Marsden - Cyclops
Channing Tatum - Gambit
Pedro Pascal - Mister Fantastic
Robert Downey Jr. - Doctor Doom
We don’t know yet why Taskmaster was omitted from the film. Maybe she dies in Thunderbolts*, but what we do know is that this is not the full cast list. Robert Downey Jr., who seems to be having an absolute blast, and Marvel teased on Instagram that the list is still not complete. The current list is twenty seven characters long meaning the full cast will be absolutely massive.
After it was pretty clear that the list wasn’t complete, there has been a lot of speculation about who will be announced next. There’s also been speculation about why Marvel chose to announce the specific names on the list. Some of the more cynical fans have pointed out that almost every character appearing in Thunderbolts* is on the list and have said that the announcement was no more than an ad for the upcoming movie.
The timing of the announcement is definitely perfect for attempting to build hype for the Thunderbolts* movie. However, is that really a bad thing?
In an interconnected cinematic universe as complex as the MCU, that’s kind of their thing. In fact, one of the biggest complaints about the Multiverse Saga is that it doesn’t seem as interconnected as what came before it, as if there is no larger plan. If anything, the fact that the Thunderbolts are going to show up in Avengers: Doomsday, indicates that a larger plan is coming to fruition. Obviously, the Multiverse Saga has suffered some setbacks, but there seems to be a plan now.
Stating that the Doomsday casting announcements really were only done to try and build hype for Thunderbolts* is simply a cynical view of the situation. If anything, it's smart marketing. While there's definitely some interest in the film, just like anything the MCU brings with it, it centers around some of the universe's less popular characters other than Bucky Barnes. You don't really see any kids dressing up as Red Guardian or Taskmaster at Halloween, John Walker isn't on any t-shirts, and Ghost isn't mainlining any comic sales. For people other than die hard MCU fans, knowing that Thunderbolts* isn't just a one and done, inconsequential entry into the universe may put them in theaters.
As Thunderbolts* comes out in just a bit over a month, now is the perfect time for Marvel to let fans know that Thunderbolts* plays into Avengers: Doomsday.
What are your thoughts on the Thunderbolts being in Doomsday? What role do you think they'll play? Let us know in the comments!