By Ariana Fromm
On March 26, Marvel grabbed the world’s attention by going live on Instagram. The live stream revealed a new casting chair every 10-15 minutes for who will be in the Avengers: Doomsday movie, and so far, it seems like it will be filled with an A-list cast as 27 names were revealed. The livestream broke a record for the studio, having over 275 million views and 3.1 million social mentions.
The new Avengers: Doomsday (2026), directed by the Russo brothers, will be the latest Avengers movie, with Endgame being the last one that came out in 2019.
The Russo brothers decided to return because they wanted to “bring the focused narrative back,” according to an interview with ComicBook, as they believed Marvel was kind of all over the place after the Infinity Saga.
This Avengers film will be somewhat of a “boiling pot” as characters from different universes will be coming together to fight against Dr. Doom, who will be played by Robert Downey Jr., who was last seen in Endgame, sacrificing himself to save the world against Thanos.
When Downey was cast in the movie, some had mixed reactions to the thought of him coming back, as it could ruin the emotional impact derived from Tony Stark’s sacrifice, while others believed his being in the movie could add a certain twist to the plot, as so many characters in Marvel have built a relationship with Stark.
“I’m most excited for Robert Downey Jr., even if he’s not returning as his iconic character, Iron Man,” said Gabrielle Huffman, a junior majoring in visual arts and minoring in film at The University of Tampa. “I’m just happy to see him back on the big screen in a Marvel movie. I think he’s an amazing actor.”
Besides Downey, actors such as Kelsey Grammer, Rebecca Romijn, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen are among some of the legendary actors making their Marvel return. These actors played Beast, Mystique, Charles Xavier, and Magneto in the original X-Men movies. With some of these actors returning, it has sparked excitement in fans who have followed Marvel for years. Even though there have been other Marvel movies with crossovers — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) — that was on a smaller level.
With the upcoming Avengers movie, it looks like there will be bigger crossovers with characters from The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) showing up as well. With all of these characters coming into place, it seems like there is a possibility of an Avengers vs X-Men part of the film until they find out about Doctor Doom.
“I’m looking forward to finding out how we end up in a universe with the F4, X-Men, and existing 616 characters all in one place,” said Jeff Solomon, an avid Marvel fan. “The two chairs during the reveal which gave me the biggest goosebumps were Stewart and McKellen. I’m glad we meet them at least one more time, and they’re not getting any younger.”
Another character that will be interesting to see is Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. He is a different variant from Loki, who died in Infinity War (2018), as he was picked up from the Time Variance Authority during the first Avengers movie during the whole time heist scene in Endgame. Now, Loki is the God of Time, holding different timelines together. With his new position, he can have some type of play in the movie. It would also be interesting to see the dynamic between Loki and Thor since Thor saw his brother die.
“I’m in the camp of those who believe it will be a race to see who gets to Loki first,” Solomon said. “Since he is now holding the multiverse together, him being overtaken by Doom can be the gateway to God Emperor Doom in Battleworld.”
Originally, this movie was called Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, with Kang as the main antagonist. However, due to legal troubles with Jonathan Majors, who would play Kang, Majors was fired, and Marvel had to reshuffle their deck and come up with the Doctor Doom storyline.
James Powell, another avid Marvel fan, said that it’s no secret that we’re seeing less of Majors, but he is excited for Downey’s Doctor Doom.
“That’s a solid choice. Doom’s that morally gray character, a bit like Magneto — looking out for himself, but still stepping up when the stakes are high,” said Powell.
As Marvel continues to grow, fans are excitedly waiting for how Avengers: Doomsday will shape the future of the franchise. With many characters from different universes coming together, the potential for different storylines is vast.
“My hope is for it to act as a love letter to the past and also to act as a passing of the torch,” Solomon said. “Introducing newer actors to continue going forward with a soft reboot (really a continuation) of a prime timeline with all of the characters in one universe.”
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Marvel Studios Inc Logo. Photo courtesy of Hyva 007, CC By-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
