Marvel just dropped a bombshell teaser for Avengers: Doomsday, revealing the main cast and sending fans into a frenzy. While some surprises had jaws on the floor, the real shocker? The sheer number of X-Men showing up in the film. That’s right. The OGs are back. Cyclops, Magneto, Professor X—basically, if you loved watching Fox’s X-Men movies, this Avengers: Doomsday announcement probably felt like Christmas morning. But before you get too excited, there’s a catch: a lot of them probably aren’t making it out alive.
Avengers: Doomsday Teaser Breakdown: What’s Going On?
Marvel is pulling a Game of Thrones move here, and no, we’re not talking about a Starbucks cup in the background. This Avengers: Doomsday teaser had a very specific strategy: hype up returning characters, drop hints about the tone of the film, and leave out some major players who we already know are involved (we see you, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man).
The teaser also introduced a darker, more ominous twist on Alan Silvestri’s classic Avengers theme, blending in subtle notes from the X-Men and Fantastic Four scores. Oh, and Doctor Doom? He’s got his own chilling theme that borrows from Iron Man’s score—a poetic touch.
A List Of Marvel Characters Missing From Avengers: Doomsday
The 26th of March was a massive day for Marvel fans—or a painfully long one, depending on your patience for five-hour livestreams revealing Avengers: Doomsday cast members via chairs. While Robert Downey Jr.’s return was expected, the biggest surprise was that many other big names were noticeably absent from the reveal. Some of the most surprising omissions include:
- Chris Evans (Captain America)
- Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange)
- Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow)
- Tom Holland (Spider-Man)
- Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man)
- Andrew Garfield (Spider-Man)
- Dafne Keen (X-23)
- Hugh Jackman (Wolverine)
- Wesley Snipes (Blade)
- Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool)
- Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight)
- Halle Berry (Storm)
- Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter)
- Mark Ruffalo (Hulk)
- Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie)
- Mahershala Ali (Blade)
- Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk)
- Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye)
- Hailee Steinfeld (Kate Bishop)
- Kathryn Newton (Cassie Lang)
- Evangeline Lilly (Wasp)
- Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts)
- Jennifer Garner (Elektra)
- Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel)
- Famke Janssen (Jean Grey)
- Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch)
- Brie Larson (Captain Marvel)
- Don Cheadle (Rhodey)
- Harry Styles (Starfox)
- Charlize Theron (Clea)
- Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau)
- Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury)
- Paul Bettany (Vision)
- The Guardians of the Galaxy
- Charlie Cox (Daredevil)
- The Eternals
While some of these make sense, the absence of Spider-Man, Deadpool, and Hulk raises questions. That said, Marvel loves keeping secrets, so there’s still a chance some of these characters appear in some form. Benedict Cumberbatch already confirmed that Doctor Strange will skip Avengers: Doomsday but show up in Secret Wars instead.
What This Could Mean For The Doomsday Story
The abundance of X-Men characters on the confirmed cast list fuels theories that Avengers: Doomsday takes place in an alternate timeline or even the past. This could explain the reduced presence of newer Avengers and why time travel might be involved. The inclusion of Winston Duke’s M’Baku and Letitia Wright’s Shuri hints at Wakanda playing a role—possibly confirming leaks about a new T’Challa or Black Panther actor debuting.
20th Century Fox X-Men’s Unexpected Return
Fans will be thrilled to see James Marsden’s Cyclops return, especially since he was absent from Deadpool & Wolverine. Patrick Stewart’s Professor X is also back, proving once again that no matter how many times he dies, he always comes back. Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique is another surprise addition, while Halle Berry’s Storm and Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey are missing from the Avengers: Doomsday casting list.
Other Big Absences
Beyond the X-Men, there are plenty of other no-shows:
- All of The Marvels (Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Spectrum, Binary, and Nick Fury)
- All of the Eternals (Sersi, Kingo, Sprite, Phastos, Makkari, Druig, Thena)
- All the magic users (Wong, Clea, Scarlet Witch, Agatha Harkness)
- All Disney+ heroes (Daredevil, Punisher, Vision, Moon Knight, Echo, She-Hulk, Agent Mobius, the TVA)
- Most of Ant-Man’s crew (Only Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang appears; no Hope Van Dyne, Hank Pym, or Janet Van Dyne)
- No Young Avengers (Ms. Marvel, Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Skaar, Eli Bradley, possibly Iron Lad and T’Challa’s son)
With so many key players missing, it’s clear Marvel is holding its cards close to the chest. The real surprises are yet to come, and knowing the MCU, they’ll probably be massive.
Is Avengers: Doomsday Basically Avengers vs. X-Men in Disguise?
For a while now, Marvel has teased Avengers: Doomsday as the Infinity War-style lead-up to Secret Wars. Initially, it seemed like an adaptation of Jonathan Hickman’s Time Runs Out storyline, setting the stage for an all-out multiversal war. But after seeing this teaser, fans are asking a different question: is this really the Avengers vs. X-Men that was teased a while back?
With so many classic X-Men suddenly in play, it feels like Marvel might be using Doomsday to thin the mutant herd before a full-on Secret Wars showdown.
Who’s Back In Avengers 5?
The teaser revealed a huge lineup, including Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, still off doing God things. Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm will appear alongside the rest of the Fantastic Four, whose universe may or may not get wiped out before they escape to the MCU. Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards was conveniently introduced right before Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom.
What’s the Endgame Here?
Marvel is clearly setting up a high-stakes, multiversal bloodbath. Expect Avengers: Doomsday to serve as a major reset, wiping out older versions of characters and introducing new ones in time for Secret Wars. What means fan-favorite mutants (and possibly some Avengers) will likely meet their end in Doomsday, only for Marvel to pull in new multiversal variants for the Secret Wars showdown. If you thought Infinity War had some devastating deaths, brace yourself—this could be on another level.
Our guess is that Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Ian McKellen’s Magneto, Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique, Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler and Kelsey Grammer’s Beast will all bite the bullet, while James Marsden’s Cyclops and Channing Tatum’s Gambit survive. How long could some of those aging actors still play these roles? Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier has already died multiple times in the Marvel films (in X-Men: The Last Stand, in Logan and then in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). It’ll be surprising if he makes it out alive here.
It’ll be interesting to see how Loki, Shang-Chi, Namor, and Sentry fit into this story.
The Big Picture
Avengers: Doomsday isn’t just another Avengers movie. It’s a calculated move to bridge the gap between Marvel’s past and future, setting the stage for Secret Wars in a way that feels both nostalgic and catastrophic. Kevin Feige has a lot of correcting to do, especially since a lot of fans are falling out of love with the MCU recently. What the franchise needs is a hard reset to the way things were before Avengers: Endgame.
Get ready, Marvel fans. This is just the beginning.
