Avengers: Doomsday has assembled an impressive cast, though the names missing from that ensemble are, in many ways, far more intriguing than those who were confirmed to appear during March's lengthy chair reveal video.
Are we really getting an Avengers movie without characters like the Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Jean Grey, and Captain Marvel? As of now, the Avengers: Doomsday cast features mostly actors who have starred in MCU movies that have underperformed, like Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and to a lesser extent, The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Will Brie Larson's Carol Danvers, who took centre stage in 2019's $1 billion hit Captain Marvel, be there to help turn the tide against Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom?
In a recent Instagram Story, the actress revealed that she'd voted in the midterm elections in the U.S., but was covering a blonde wig with a hoodie (and made a point of captioning her post with "ignore the wig").
This has immediately set off Avengers: Doomsday speculation, and that does look a lot like the kind of hair that Captain Marvel would be rocking. Recently, it was rumoured that the movie will feature scenes with Carol and Monica Rambeau, likely when the Avengers head to Earth-10005 and find themselves squaring off with the X-Men and some Doom-controlled Sentinels.
Since 2019's Avengers: Endgame, Larson has appeared as Captain Marvel in The Marvels and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' post-credits scene (where it was firmly established that she's part of a group of heroes alongside Bruce Banner and Wong).
"I think there is still so much inside of Carol," Larson said of the character's MCU future during The Marvels' press tour. "I feel like getting to be on this team just cracked her open in a way that she hadn't been and I really loved that for her."
"I don't want Marvel to come for me," the Oscar-winner continued, "but there is something. There is definitely something, to answer your question, that I would want to say, but I am not going to so."
We're still hoping for a second cast reveal, but with Avengers: Doomsday still well over a year away, that might not be heading our way for a while yet.
Avengers: Doomsday officially 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, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and Ryan Reynolds are also set to appear, according to reports from the trades (if we listed the rumoured cast members here, we'd run out of space).
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.