The Apparent Lack of Actual Avengers in Doomsday May Give Us Big Secret Wars (and X-Men) Hints

Exciting news for Marvel enthusiasts: Avengers: Doomsday is now officially in production. Marvel Studios surprised fans with a live stream cast announcement for the new film, revealing a cast that includes several X-Men actors and notably missing entirely some fan-favorite Avengers. The announcement stream lasted an astonishing five and a half hours, leaving the Marvel community buzzing with speculation. As fans process these reveals, one burning question stands out: Where are all the Avengers in this new "Avengers" movie?

The video confirmed 27 characters, but surprisingly, only a few are official Avengers members. The roster is dominated by actors from the Fox X-Men franchise, the Thunderbolts, and the Fantastic Four, leaving us with a minimal presence of traditional Avengers. Delving into both the in-universe and real-world implications of this casting choice could provide significant clues about the plot for both Avengers: Doomsday and the upcoming Secret Wars. Let's dive in and explore what this could mean.

The Most Surprising Avengers and Marvel Characters Not Announced for Doomsday

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Why the Thunderbolts Are More Important to Doomsday Than We Thought

The only characters from the announcement traditionally linked to the Avengers in either the comics or the MCU are Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, and Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man. Danny Ramirez’s Falcon and Letitia Wright’s Black Panther are also likely to be Avengers, although their versions, Joaquin Torres and Shuri, aren't typically part of the team. Some characters like Namor or the Fantastic Four have occasionally joined the Avengers in the comics but aren't central to the team's history.

So, where are key Avengers like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel, Don Cheadle’s War Machine, and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange? The answer might be found in the Thunderbolts* and the intriguing asterisk that has sparked fan theories for months. (Some international posters suggest the asterisk might indicate "Avengers are not available," but this could be just a clever marketing tactic.)

Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, Ghost, U.S. Agent, and the Sentry are confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday. The focus on these characters, who aren't traditionally powerful Avengers (except for the Sentry), raises questions. The MCU seems to be setting up the Thunderbolts for a significant role. The asterisk in the title hints that by the end of the film, they might be dubbed the New Avengers. In the trailers, Red Guardian appears to be the only one fond of the "Thunderbolts" moniker, with Bucky insisting they "can’t call ourselves that." The lack of a team name could be a humorous subplot, but Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine's purchase of Avengers Tower and her comments on the absence of Avengers in the trailer suggest the Thunderbolts are poised to step into the Avengers' shoes as the MCU's primary superhero team.

The Thunderbolts becoming the New Avengers would fit with the Sentry's prominence and the introduction of his evil counterpart, the Void, as the film's main antagonist. The Sentry was first introduced in a 2000 miniseries but was reintroduced into the Marvel universe in 2005 through Brian Michael Bendis’ New Avengers comic.

The Thunderbolts: The Tumultuous History of Marvel's Twisted Super-Team

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Once established in the MCU, the Thunderbolts could then be recruited to form a proper Avengers roster, likely led by Sam Wilson’s Captain America. Recall that in Captain America: Brave New World, President Ross asked Sam to help rebuild the team. Since Cap doesn’t have access to many traditional Avengers, he might have to rely on the less powerful Thunderbolts, putting the team at a disadvantage in their initial battle against Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom.

Are the X-Men Doomed in Avengers: Doomsday?

Another significant aspect of Avengers: Doomsday is establishing Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom as a formidable threat. With Doom seemingly absent from the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, where Galactus takes on the villain role (though a Doom cameo might appear in a post-credits scene), Avengers: Doomsday needs to set the stage for Doom as the ultimate antagonist of the Multiverse Saga. And what better way to do that than by having Doom eliminate several major characters that fans thought were safe? Similar to how Thanos snapped away half of all life and many beloved characters in Infinity War, Doctor Doom may be ready to decimate a large portion of Doomsday's cast. Given the confirmed characters, the Fox X-Men seem most at risk.

Doctor Doom wiping out the Fox X-Men would not only serve as a shocking moment but also free up resources for the return of more traditional MCU characters in Secret Wars. We know that Secret Wars is on the horizon, and Incursions—a plot point involving multiple universes colliding and causing widespread destruction—have already been mentioned in Multiverse of Madness. Witnessing an Incursion firsthand would set the stage for the high stakes of Secret Wars, requiring an entire universe to be destroyed by Doctor Doom. Destroying the Fox X-Men universe makes the most sense. Like Infinity War temporarily removing newer characters to focus on the original six Avengers in Endgame, Doom's actions would allow for the return of characters like Spider-Man, Hulk, Scarlet Witch, and Captain Marvel to take the fight directly to Doom and avenge the destroyed universe. This could lead to a triumphant finale to the Multiverse Saga, potentially matching the excitement of Endgame, which Marvel Studios has been trying and failing to replicate in Phases 4 and 5. We won't know for sure until the film arrives on May 1, 2026, but this seems the most plausible explanation for the limited presence of Avengers in the Doomsday cast.