It’s the 5 hours and 30 minutes casting announcement that left fans equally puzzled and thrilled.
Rather than introducing the stars of the upcoming Avengers movie on stage individually, Marvel chose to do a live social media event where they unveiled the cast through their on-set chairs. Each time, after every 15 minutes, the camera would move to another chair, exposing yet another actor’s identity.
Among those confirmed for
Avengers: Doomsday
– out on 1 May 2026, the first part of a diptych with
Avengers: Secret Wars
– Franchise stalwarts such as Chris Hemsworth playing Thor, Anthony Mackie portraying Captain America, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Simu Liu taking on the role of Shang-Chi, and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova were part of the cast. The lineup goes on—scroll down for the complete roster.
The most significant announcement was that actors from the 20th Century Fox/Marvel X-Men series are returning. Patrick Stewart (who played Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), James Marsden (Cyclops), and Kelsey Grammer (Beast) have all agreed to join this new grand adventure. Adding even more excitement to the mix of mutants, Channing Tatum, known previously for his role as Gambit, will also be part of this project.
Deadpool & Wolverine
– was also there. Well, his chair was.
Stewart, who is 84 years old, portrayed Professor X in the early 2000s X-Men movies produced by Fox and made a brief appearance in last year’s film.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
, with the 85-year-old Ian McKellen portraying his iconic rival Magneto. In the 2010s reboot of the X-Men film series, both these performers were replaced by younger counterparts, sparking significant fan theories regarding the franchise’s future trajectory.
Avengers: Doomsday
The primary idea revolves around setting up a clash between the Avengers and X-Men within the multiverse, where different groups of heroes will battle each other with the aim to protect their individual worlds.
The entire tiring chair-watch event—which brought back memories of HBO’s ill-conceived promotion where they asked viewers to sit through a live broadcast of an iceberg thawing just to announce the premiere date for Season Seven—concluded with Robert Downey Jr. perched on his seat, the ex-Iron Man star completing the scene.
revealed as portraying Doctor Doom in the previous year
He will pose the primary danger in both scenarios.
Doomsday
and
Secret Wars
, two of the pillars for Marvel’s forthcoming Phase 6 of its Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The unexpected casting announcements left fans surprised, evoking reactions of excitement, boredom, and confusion in equal measure. Many pointed out that the reveals were spoiling parts of the upcoming show.
Thunderbolts*
prior to its launch, considering that we currently know which characters will make it through.
One fan tweeted on X, ‘Is there truly still a justification for watching Thunderbolts at this stage?!?!” Another commented, ‘It’s thrilling but you’re ruining Thunderbolts!!’
Some devoted followers expressed dissatisfaction upon noticing that several of the top and highly expected acts were missing from the list revealed.
The names of Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), and even Tom Holland (Spider-Man) were not mentioned.
Nevertheless, Marvel and Disney might currently be holding onto these reveals, possibly scheduling another casting announcement nearer to the release date, or perhaps reserving them for Secret Wars.
Avengers: Doomsday
is scheduled for release in May 2026 and will mark the first ensemble film since the one released in 2019.
Avengers: Endgame
, which went on to become one of the top-grossing movies ever.
There’s a lot at stake because Marvel has been facing challenges in regaining its cultural prominence and box office success for some time now.
Endgame
There has been an ongoing sequence showcasing a focus on quantity rather than quality, characterized by a string of failures including
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
,
The Marvels
and the latest adventure,
Captain America: A Bold New Era
, as well as
The Kang fiasco that forced Marvel to revisit their plans.
.
The comeback of the Russo Brothers to helm both
Doomsday
and
Secret Wars
having previously directed highly acclaimed MCU projects like
Captain America: Winter Soldier
,
Captain America: Civil War
and both
Infinity War
and
Endgame
), along with Robert Downey Jr.’s mask change, has been viewed as
Signs indicating a studio is lacking creativity
And eager to return to their peak.
Only time will reveal if they succeed.
The complete cast was announced as follows:
- Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
- Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman)
- Anthony Mackie (Captain America)
- Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes)
- Letitia Wright (Black Panther)
- Paul Rudd (Ant-Man)
- Wyatt Russell (John Walker)
- Tenoch Huerta Mejía (Namor)
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing)
- Simu Liu (Shang-Chi)
- Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova)
- Kelsey Grammer (Beast)
- Lewis Pullman (Sentry)
- Danny Ramirez (Falcon)
- Joseph Quinn (Human Torch)
- David Harbour (Red Guardian)
- Winston Duke (M’Baku)
- Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost)
- Tom Hiddleston (Loki)
- Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier)
- Ian McKellen (Magneto)
- Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler)
- Rebecca Romijn (Mystique)
- James Marsden (Cyclops)
- Channing Tatum (Gambit)
- Pedro Pascal (Mister Fantastic)
- Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom
Marvel’s
Thunderbolts*
opens in theaters on May 2nd; Phase 6 begins this year with
The Fantastic Four: Initial Moves
on 25 July.
Doomsday
is due out on 1 May 2026 and
Secret Wars
on 7 May 2027.