Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige recently explained how Avengers: Doomsday will star at least five superhero teams, including the one in Thunderbolts*, which should help to cement it as one of the MCU’s biggest movies. This was a confirmation of what many suspected when Marvel Studios’ surprise live stream revealed a cavalcade of confirmed cast members whose Marvel movie characters are typically part of distinct teams, except for one notable cohort. The five-hour-long stream shook the MCU fandom to its core as it revealed such returning actors as Alan Cumming, who hasn’t starred in a Marvel movie since 2003’s X2.

Arguably just as surprising as the appearance of such names was the absence of others. Fans were initially perturbed by the absence of such names as Mark Ruffalo, though it has since been clarified by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige that more names are to be added. Nevertheless, of the names that have been announced so far, and Kevin Feige’s confirmation of the teams, these are the ones that are officially due to star in Avengers: Doomsday thus far.

The Avengers

5 Members Confirmed

The Avengers haven’t ᴀssembled since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which featured the deaths of two of its founding members, Black Widow and Iron Man, and the retirement of its leader, Captain America. Their absence has reverberated throughout the MCU’s Multiverse Saga, often making the MCU feel rudderless, and was addressed in-universe in the MCU’s first two movies in 2025. Captain America: Brave New World saw now-disgraced President Thaddeus Ross tasking Sam Wilson with ᴀssembling a new team, which the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene confirmed that he followed through with despite initially balking at the idea.

Although Captain America: Brave New World ended with Captain America and Falcon as the only surefire members and founders of the newly formed Avengers, it is safe to ᴀssume that erstwhile Avengers members will rejoin the team. Thor may be off-world by the time Avengers: Doomsday rolls around, with no clear sign that he will appear in an upcoming MCU movie between now and May 2025. Nevertheless, as founding members of the original team, it stands to reason that both he and Bruce Banner will rejoin in its newest iteration.

As yet, none of the actors portraying Young Avengers candidates, such as Iman Vellani or Hailee Steinfeld, have been confirmed to star in Avengers: Doomsday. They are likely, however, to be modeled off of the Avengers, with direct parallels to original Avengers members like Kate Bishop mirroring Hawkeye and Wiccan mirroring his mother, the Scarlet Witch. Additionally, if the MCU faithfully adapts the comics, then the core Avengers member Vision (now White Vision) might play a crucial role in forming the Young Avengers team.

The New Avengers

6 Members Confirmed

The end of Thunderbolts* thankfully clarified the meaning of the тιтular asterisk as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine declared the team that saved New York from the wrath of the void to be the New Avengers. It was a shrewd move from de Fontaine after her failed attempt to replace the Avengers with a single enтιтy, the Sentry, brought the team together in the first place. The Thunderbolts* post-credits scene then confirmed that this band of misfits has fully embraced their new roles and even calls the old Avengers tower their base of operations.

The Thunderbolts* post-credits scene also confirms that the New Avengers are now at odds with Sam Wilson’s Avengers, with Wilson reportedly copyrighting the Avengers name. This should make for an interesting dynamic when Avengers: Doomsday releases, especially given that Wilson will head up the most powerful of the two teams. Then again, the New Avengers offer a viable alternative for potential new members who may not want to join Captain America’s team.

War Machine, for example, might feel more affinity towards the government-sanctioned New Avengers given his close working relationship with the US government. He may additionally feel less inclined to join the team of one of his opponents in Captain America: Civil War. Additionally, New York-based superheroes like the Defenders might feel more at home joining up with the team that operates in the heart of their city, should they also be announced as characters in Avengers: Doomsday.

The Fantastic Four

All 4 Members Confirmed

The four stars of The Fantastic Four: First Steps were all announced to star in Avengers: Doomsday in the first wave of the cast announcement. The Thunderbolts* post-credits scene showed the team’s distinctive spaceship entering Earth-616 for what might be the first time in a scene that could lead directly into the events of Avengers: Doomsday. Their arrival may put them at odds with the natives of Earth-616, especially if they bring an incursion and Doctor Doom with them.

The Fantastic Four will play a central role in Avengers: Doomsday. This is to be expected as the movie’s arch-villain, Doctor Doom, is traditionally the nemesis of the Fantastic Four first and foremost. While story details for The Fantastic Four: First Steps are still forthcoming, it is safe to say that the тιтular team survived its events to join the MCU’s main universe by the time Avengers: Doomsday is released. Although certain members of the Fantastic Four have been subsтιтuted in Marvel Comics before, it is highly unlikely that the current iteration of the team will change in Avengers: Doomsday.

The Wakandans

2 Wakandans Confirmed

Kevin Feige mentioned the Wakandans in the same list as the other teams due to arrive in Avengers Doomsday during a panel at 2025’s CinemaCon. Although the Wakandans are a nation rather than a team in the traditional sense of the word, Feige’s comments suggest that prominent Wakandan figures will be operating as a cohesive unit independent of teams like the Avengers, although they will likely ally with the superheroes of Earth-616 like T’Challa did with the last Avengers team. Although he is not Wakandan, Namor’s truce with the nation could also see him fight alongside them.

The Wakandans are likely to play a key role in amᴀssing troops to fight against the main threat of Avengers: Doomsday, as the other superhero teams don’t have armies at their beck and call. The combined forces of Wakanda and Talokan are possibly the most formidable armies that Earth could muster. They may also find themselves at loggerheads with the New Avengers as the team’s figurehead, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, takes issue with Wakanda’s protective approach to its stores of vibranium.

The X-Men

7 Members Confirmed

Many of the stars of Fox’s X-Men movies are confirmed to be reprising their roles in Avengers: Doomsday. Although Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and his team of X-Men are traditionally rivals of Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants, the no doubt cataclysmic events that will occur in Avengers: Doomsday will likely compel them to band together against a common threat like they did in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Although he was absent from all but one of the X-Men movies, Channing Tatum’s Gambit is also likely to take his traditional place alongside his fellow mutants in Avengers: Doomsday.

Kevin Feige stated at CinemaCon that these five superhero teams, including the X-Men, will be fighting Doctor Doom together. This seemingly flies in the face of suspicions that Avengers: Doomsday was going to adapt a classic Avengers vs. X-Men story, which many believed would have transpired as the inhabitants of Earth-616 and Earth-10005 strove to prevent the destruction of their universes via incursions. Instead, it remains to be seen how the X-Men of an entirely different universe will join the MCU to fight alongside the other superhero teams.

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

  Release Date

  
  May 1, 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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