Avengers: Secret Wars is expected to be the biggest movie the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever had, and based on how many teams will be part of the Avengers film that releases before it, it seems like Secret Wars‘ story could make for plenty of superhero squads. Recently, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed at CinemaCon, where ScreenRant was in attendance, that the Avengers, the Wakandans, the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts, and the original X-Men would be part of Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast.

According to Feige, all the teams will fight Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers movie. The MCU boss also confirmed that more names will be added to the film after Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast announcement left out major players. While some exciting teams will be part of the film, quite a few major squads are missing, which means they could show up in Avengers: Secret Wars instead.

10

The Prequel X-Men

Another Version Of The X-Men Joins The MCU Beforehand

The X-Men were the major surprise of Avengers: Doomsday‘s cast announcement. While it was expected that some players of the team would appear due to how The Marvels‘ post-credits scene set up an X-Men universe with Kelsey Grammer’s Beast to be explored, the MCU surpᴀssed expectations. Many of Fox’s original X-Men stars will be returning for the next Avengers movie, but no actor from the younger timeline was announced.

Marvel Studios has the opportunity to honor both versions of the X-Men movie franchise. While Avengers: Doomsday could focus on the original Fox X-Men cast, Avengers: Secret Wars could bring back Michael Fᴀssbender’s Magneto, James McAvoy’s Charles Xavier, and more characters from the younger X-Men continuity. Doing so would be easy, as past Marvel movies have already used time travel, and the prequel X-Men team could also come from a different universe.

9

The Council Of Reeds

The Multiverse Saga Has Teased The Team’s Possible Debut

An exciting team that would make a lot of sense for Avengers: Secret Wars is the Council of Reeds. The MCU’s first version of Mr. Fantastic was the variant played by John Krasinski in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He was killed by the Scarlet Witch, with Pedro Pascal now set to debut soon as Earth-616’s Reed in the long-awaited The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The trailers for the MCU movie have shown that Reed will be looking into alternate universes, which could lead to him finding his variants and crafting the Council of Reeds to think of a solution to take down Doctor Doom. This would allow Marvel to bring back Krasinski as a new Mr. Fantastic variant, as well as past Reed Richards actors Ioan Gruffudd from the 2000s Fantastic Four films and Miles Teller from the 2015 reboot.

8

The Young Avengers

Ms. Marvel Is Slowly Putting Her Team Together

The MCU’s Multiverse Saga has introduced several characters in a short time. That has led to many of them not having a set project to return in. Among those characters are many young MCU heroes who seem poised to team up in the near future, though a movie or Disney+ show for the team has yet to be announced. That team is the Young Avengers, and Marvel recently took a big step toward its debut.

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In one of The Marvels‘ post-credits scenes, Ms. Marvel recruited Kate Bishop for the new team she was starting. Kamala Khan also mentioned that Ant-Man’s daughter, Cᴀssie Lang, would be the team’s next recruit. Recently, Daredevil: Born Again revealed that Ms. Marvel was in California, likely to go to Cᴀssie’s home in San Francisco. Avengers: Secret Wars could be the project where the Young Avengers finally come together.

7

The Guardians Of The Galaxy

The Cosmic Team Has A New Roster For The MCU To Explore

James Gunn left the MCU after delivering one of the best movies in the franchise. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was an emotional affair that served as the perfect farewell for the original iteration of the MCU’s premiere cosmic team. The film also debuted the new Guardians of the Galaxy, which has Rocket Raccoon staying on as the team’s new leader and sees Groot return alongside new additions.

With Gunn out and there not being a Guardians of the Galaxy movie in the works, it is possible that the team’s role from now on will be as a supporting squad in major MCU events and other characters’ movies. Since the Guardians of the Galaxy have yet to be announced for Avengers: Doomsday, there is a chance the team could sit out the film due to its huge cast list, returning to help in the Multiverse Saga’s finale.

6

The Original Avengers

The MCU’s First Team Could Return To Save The Multiverse

If there is one team that has yet to be announced for the MCU’s two upcoming Avengers movies and that should appear, it is the franchise’s original Avengers roster. Half of the characters are still in the MCU, with Thor, the Hulk, and Hawkeye still active and even training new heroes. Of them, only Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday. However, the door is open for the team to reunite in Secret Wars.

Robert Downey Jr. will already be in the movie as Doctor Doom, so pulling double duty as Iron Man would not be impossible. Chris Evans is rumored to be back as Captain America in both Avengers movies. Finally, Scarlett Johansson is working with Marvel again as an executive producer on Thunderbolts*. All the pieces are there for the original Avengers to team up one final time to take down Doctor Doom and possibly reboot the franchise.

5

The Inhumans

Marvel Studios Has Shown How To Redeem The Team

The Inhumans’ inclusion in Avengers: Secret Wars could lead to Marvel redeeming the team. While the MCU largely dominates the live-action Marvel releases of the past couple of decades, some projects outside the shared universe were released to very different results. The Inhumans series was panned by critics and the audience, having few redeeming qualities. However, Marvel Studios showed that it could turn public opinion on them around.

Anson Mount reprised his role as Black Bolt with a comic book-accurate suit in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The MCU could do the same for the rest of the Inhumans, tapping into the team’s powerful characters and its rich mythology to expand Avengers: Secret Wars‘ scope. Even if the Inhumans only returned in a small role, the mere fact that they could look comic book-accurate and have exciting action scenes would be enough to help redeem them.

4

The Defenders

A Street-Level Team To Offer The Avengers Movie Variety

This team does not need redeeming, but a fresh start. Charlie Cox’s Daredevil has had multiple appearances in other characters’ movies and TV shows since returning. Recently, the MCU debuted Daredevil: Born Again, which once again showed how Matt Murdock can be one of the faces of the franchise. With the series honoring Netflix’s The Defenders Saga, the door is open for the rest of the Defenders to come back.

Daredevil: Born Again season 2 could add at least one more member to the team before Avengers: Secret Wars comes around with the final pieces. Daredevil and the Punisher are already under Marvel Studios, leaving only Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage without a set project to return. The Defenders would give the Avengers movie its own street-level team to take on a different kind of threat.

3

The MCU’s Illuminati

A Prior Version Of The Team Already Debuted In The Franchise

The Illuminati were introduced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The team hailed from Earth-838 and had powerful members, such as John Krasinski’s Reed Richards, Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier, Anson Mount’s Black Bolt, and more. However, the Illuminati were killed. With the team ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, Doctor Strange could take his knowledge of them and their role to create the Earth-616 version of the Illuminati, making room for a morally ambiguous MCU team.

Namor plays a key role in the Illuminati’s story in Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars. With the character confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday, it seems like the MCU could be setting up the new Illuminati to destroy other universes to keep theirs safe, just as the comic book team did. Avengers: Secret Wars could follow a moral debate among the Illuminati’s members, leading to the creation of the Cabal, a darker version of the team.

2

The Eternals

The MCU Can Bring Back The Forgotten Team

Eternals underperformed at the box office and was not a hit with critics or the audience. The MCU movie had many moving parts, with one of its problems being the sheer number of main characters it had to introduce, develop, and make fans care about. Currently, Marvel has no plans to bring back the team, but with so much power between the Eternals and how big of a threat the Avengers will face, Secret Wars could be the project to do so.

Doctor Doom could even brainwash some of the Eternals to do his bidding, as the MCU has already shown how big of a threat they can be when on the wrong side, as was the case for Richard Madden’s Ikaris. Avengers: Secret Wars will be the MCU’s biggest event to date. There is no better way to try to get the audience to connect with the Eternals than to have the team help the Avengers succeed in the movie.

1

The Resistance

One OfThe Latest Teams To Debut In The MCU

Finally, bringing back the main superhero team of the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time just makes sense financially for the MCU. Adding to that, the Void’s Resistance from ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine has plenty of experience with multiverse situations, as the heroes who make up the team come from different live-action Marvel franchises. With Channing Tatum’s Gambit returning in Avengers: Doomsday, the Resistance’s Secret Wars return would fit.

The Resistance could initially appear as each hero tries to save their universe from incursions in Avengers: Secret Wars. After that, they could team up, led by Ryan Reynolds’ ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, to help the Avengers stop Doctor Doom and save the multiverse. After successfully taking down a multiversal tyrant like Cᴀssandra Nova, the team would not bow down to Victor von Doom in Avengers: Secret Wars.

All Announced Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

  Release Date

  
  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

  Release Date

  
  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Spider-Man: Brand New Day

  Release Date

  
  July 31, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date

  
  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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