(Warning: A potential Thunderbolts* spoiler might be found below…)
The MCU is in need of resuscitation. That’s no secret (after all, Captain America: Brave New World might break even at best), and Kevin Feige is betting on a few pick-me-ups in the form of Thunderbolts* (this group is going to deliver MCU’s version of The Suicide Squad, which is not a bad thing) in May and Fantastic Four: First Steps in July. Do we need Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic and The Bear‘s Ebon Moss-Bachrach as a rocky-crotched hero? Perhaps not, but comic book fans aren’t complaining yet, perhaps because mentally erasing those aughts movies is an ongoing endeavor.
Then there will be the next “big one,” or at least Marvel Studios projects as much for the vast ensemble, in Avengers: Doomsday. Disney is getting the gang, or rather gangs, back together with a cast list that must cost so many millions. This week, their empty chairs took over Marvel’s social media, and they’re potentially going to need a larger CGI battleground:
– Robert Downey Jr. (as Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom)
– Chris Hemsworth (as Thor)
– Sebastian Stan (as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier)
– Anthony Mackie (as Sam Wilson/Captain America)
– Florence Pugh (as Yelena Belova/Black Widow)
– Pedro Pascal (as Dr. Reed Nathaniel Richards/Mr. Fantastic)
– Lewis Pullman (as Bob/The Sentry)
– Simu Liu (as Shang-Chi)
– Wyatt Russell (as John Walker/US Agent)
– Tom Hiddleston (as Loki, or Lokis)
– Vanessa Kirby (as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman)
– Ebon Moss-Bachrach (as Ben Grimm/The Thing)
– Letitia Wright (as Shuri/Black Panther)
– David Harbour (as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian)
– Winston Duke (as M’Baku)
– Danny Ramirez (as Joaquin Torres/Falcon)
– Joseph Quinn (as Johnny Storm)
– Tenoch Huerta Mejia (as Namor)
– Kelsey Grammar (as Beast)
– Hannah John-Kamen (as Ava Starr/Ghost),
– Paul Rudd (as Scott Lang/Ant-Man)
– Patrick Stewart (as Professor X)
– Ian McKellen (as Magneto)
– Alan Cumming (as Nightcrawler)
– Rebecca Romijn (as Mystique)
– Channing Tatum (as Gambit)
– James Marsden (as Cyclops)
That’s plenty. Too much, really. Still, some names are arguably “missing” from this list, and Marvel Studios hasn’t elaborated, but we can take some semi-educated guesses at why:
Deadpool and Wolverine: Although these frenemies survived last year’s same-named movie together, it doesn’t make sense for them to surface in Doomsday. For one thing, Deadpool is the most high-maintenance, attention-hogging character who has ever (in the comics) joined an Avengers team. He precariously (and gloriously) teeters on the verge of being too much, even in his solo movies, and the Merc With The Mouth would only pull focus and distract from Doomsday. He’s frankly incapable of not being front and center, and Ryan Reynolds further suggested that he would enjoy pulling back to spend time with his fam. Surely we’ll see him again someday, when the MCU really needs another box office hit. As for Wolverine? Cut the dude a break. He’s probably exhausted from putting up with Deadpool.
Taskmaster: In Black Widow, the MCU botched what could have been a cool, borderline-undefeatable villain that can mimic the fighting moves of former opponents. The character’s onscreen debut was such a let down that it seems clear that Thunderbolts* will consider Taskmaster an easy character to dispose of before that movie ends. And because audiences didn’t connect emotionally with changes from the comics to Taskmaster, it was no real shock that Olga Kurylenko’s Antonia Dreykov did not surface in a Doomsday chair.
Spider-Man: Who doesn’t love Peter Parker? C’mon. However, Spidey’s next semi-solo outing, currently known as Spider-Man 4, is due to arrive in July 2026 after being pushed back, and we can only assume that this production is so all-consuming that both Kevin Feige and Sony agree that the MCU doesn’t 100% need Tom Holland swinging in for the next ultimate battle.
Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, and Captain Marvel: Don’t count out a future return from Benedict Cumberbatch. In all likelihood, Dr. Steven Strange will resurface in Avengers: Secret Wars, possibly even in a Doomsday credits scene. Elizabeth Olsen, however, has repeatedly told reporters that Wanda Maximoff isn’t, to her knowledge, a part of the next few Avengers movies, and after The Marvels‘ box-office implosion, it seems likely that Carol Danvers is taking a breather from the spotlight while saving other worlds.
Steve Rogers/Captain America: Dude is retired from superhero days, despite the Internet’s dreams otherwise. Also, please let Chris Evans move on.
Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow: Likewise, Scarlett Johansson has been forthright about Natasha going out while saving the world. Scarlett even dropped a “let it go” while looking forward to tangling with dinosaurs in the next Jurassic World movie.
In summary, comic book fans can still relax and look forward to dozens of heroes and villains in the next MCU movies. Now, here’s those release dates:
– Thunderbolts*: May 2, 2024
– Fantastic Four: First Steps: July 25, 2025
– Avengers: Doomsday: May 1, 2026
– Avengers: Secret Wars: May 7, 2027
