"Doomsday's Missing Avengers Hint at Secret Wars and X-Men Revelations"

Exciting news for Marvel fans: Avengers: Doomsday is now officially in production. Marvel Studios recently unveiled a live stream cast announcement that left fans buzzing. The reveal included a surprising number of X-Men actors, with several major characters missing entirely. The announcement was a marathon, clocking in at over five hours, but as fans process the extensive list of reveals, one burning question emerges: Where are all the Avengers in this new "Avengers" movie?

The video confirmed 27 characters, yet only a handful are official Avengers members. The majority of the cast comprises actors from the Fox X-Men franchise, the Thunderbolts, and the Fantastic Four. This unusual lineup prompts speculation about the plot of both Avengers: Doomsday and the upcoming Secret Wars. Let's dive deeper into 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

Of the characters announced, only Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, and Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man are traditionally associated with the Avengers in both the comics and the MCU. Danny Ramirez’s Falcon and Letitia Wright’s Black Panther are likely to join the Avengers, though Joaquin Torres and Shuri aren't typically part of the team. Other characters like Namor and the Fantastic Four have occasionally been Avengers in the comics but aren't central to the team's narrative.

So, where are 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 may lie with the Thunderbolts* and the intriguing asterisk that has sparked numerous fan theories. While some international posters suggest the asterisk means "Avengers are not available," this could simply be a clever marketing tactic.

Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, Ghost, U.S. Agent, and the Sentry are all confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday. Why focus on this team, which, aside from the Sentry, isn't particularly powerful and isn't traditionally considered Avengers? The MCU seems to be setting up a significant shift. With the Thunderbolts playing a key role in Doomsday, the asterisk might hint at them becoming the New Avengers by the film's end. In the trailers, Red Guardian is the only one who seems to embrace the "Thunderbolts" moniker, while Bucky suggests they need a different name. Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine's purchase of Avengers Tower and her comments in the trailer about the lack of Avengers further suggest that the Thunderbolts are poised to take over as the MCU's primary superhero team.

This transition to the New Avengers makes sense with the Sentry's prominent role and the introduction of his evil counterpart, the Void, likely as the film’s main antagonist. The Sentry was reintroduced to the Marvel universe in 2005 as part of Brian Michael Bendis’ New Avengers comic, providing a fitting narrative backdrop for this shift.

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

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Once established in the MCU, the Thunderbolts could be recruited to form a new Avengers roster, potentially led by Sam Wilson’s Captain America. This aligns with a plot point from Captain America: Brave New World, where President Ross asks Sam to help rebuild the team. Without access to many traditional Avengers, Sam might have to rely on the Thunderbolts, putting the team at a disadvantage when facing Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom.

Are the X-Men Doomed in Avengers: Doomsday?

A major goal for Avengers: Doomsday is to establish Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom as a formidable villain. Since Doom is absent from the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, where Galactus takes the villainous spotlight (though a cameo might occur in a post-credits scene), Doomsday must set the stage for Doom as the ultimate antagonist of the Multiverse Saga. One way to achieve this is by having Doom eliminate several beloved characters, mirroring Thanos' snap in Infinity War. Given the confirmed characters, the Fox X-Men seem most at risk.

Eliminating the Fox X-Men would not only create a dramatic "you bastard!" moment for Doom but also free up resources for the traditional MCU cast to return in Secret Wars. With Incursions—a central plot point from the 2015 Secret Wars comic—already mentioned in Multiverse of Madness, witnessing an Incursion firsthand could set the stage for the high stakes in Secret Wars. Destroying the Fox X-Men universe would serve as a perfect precursor to this.

Characters like Spider-Man, Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, and others returning to confront Doom and avenge the lost universe would make for a thrilling conclusion to the Multiverse Saga. This approach could help Marvel Studios recapture the excitement of Endgame, which they've been trying and failing to replicate in Phases 4 and 5. We'll have to wait until May 1, 2026, to see if this theory holds true, but for now, it's the most compelling explanation for the absence of many Avengers in the Doomsday cast.