Doomsday's Avengers Absence Hints at Secret Wars, X-Men

Exciting news for Marvel fans: Avengers: Doomsday is now officially in production. Marvel Studios recently held a live-streamed cast announcement for the upcoming film, which left fans buzzing with excitement and speculation. The announcement featured an unexpected lineup of X-Men actors, some surprising character omissions, and took a whopping five and a half hours. As fans digest the reveals, one major question looms large: Where are all the Avengers in this new "Avengers" movie?

The video confirmed 27 characters, but only a few are traditional Avengers members. Instead, the roster is dominated by actors from the Fox X-Men franchise, along with members of the Thunderbolts and the Fantastic Four. This leaves us with a scant number of official Avengers. Analyzing both the in-universe and real-world implications of this casting choice might provide significant clues about the plots of both Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Let's dive deeper into this.

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, either in 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 likely to join the Avengers, even though Joaquin Torres and Shuri aren't typically part of the team. Additionally, characters like Namor or the Fantastic Four have occasionally been 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 connected to the Thunderbolts*, and the mysterious asterisk that has sparked numerous fan theories. While some international posters suggest the asterisk means “Avengers are not available,” this could simply be a marketing tactic.

Confirmed members of Avengers: Doomsday include Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova, Red Guardian, Ghost, U.S. Agent, and the Sentry. Why the emphasis on a team of less powerful characters, with the notable exception of the Sentry, who aren't usually considered Avengers? It appears the MCU is setting up a significant shift. With the Thunderbolts playing a major role in Doomsday, the asterisk might indicate that they will be known as the New Avengers by the film's end. In the trailers, Red Guardian is the only one who seems to favor the "Thunderbolts" moniker, while Bucky insists they "can't call ourselves that." This could be a running gag throughout the movie. Moreover, with Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine purchasing Avengers Tower and her comments on the absence of Avengers in the trailer, it's clear that the Thunderbolts are poised to take over the Avengers' role as the MCU's primary superhero team.

If the Thunderbolts are rebranded as the New Avengers by the film's conclusion, it makes sense given the Sentry's central role and his evil counterpart, the Void, likely being the main antagonist. The Sentry was first introduced in a self-titled miniseries in 2000 and reincorporated into the Marvel Universe in 2005 as part of 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 be recruited to form a new Avengers roster, potentially 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 Sam doesn’t have access to many traditional Avengers, he might have to rely on the less powerful Thunderbolts, putting the team at a disadvantage when facing Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom.

Are the X-Men Doomed in Avengers: Doomsday?

One of Doomsday's main goals is to establish Robert Downey, Jr.'s Doctor Doom as a formidable threat. Since Doom is absent from the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, where Galactus will take the villain role (though a cameo might still occur in a post-credits scene), Doomsday needs to set the stage for Doom as the ultimate antagonist of the Multiverse Saga. What better way to do this than having Doom eliminate several major characters that fans thought were safe? Similar to how Thanos snapped away half of all life in Infinity War, Doctor Doom may be set to eliminate a significant portion of Doomsday's cast, with the Fox X-Men seeming most vulnerable.

Wiping out the Fox X-Men would not only serve as a shocking moment for Doom but also free up space and budget for the return of more traditional MCU characters in Secret Wars. We know Secret Wars is on the horizon, and Incursions—multiple universes colliding and causing widespread destruction—have been mentioned in Multiverse of Madness. Seeing an Incursion firsthand is the best way to set the stakes for Secret Wars, meaning an entire universe will likely be destroyed by Doctor Doom. The destruction of the Fox X-Men universe makes the most sense. This would allow characters like Spider-Man, Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, and others to return in Secret Wars to confront Doom and avenge the destroyed universe, creating a triumphant finale to the Multiverse Saga. This approach could help Marvel Studios match the excitement of Endgame's epic conclusion, which they have 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, but for now, it seems the most plausible explanation for the limited number of Avengers in Doomsday's cast.