Marvel Studios announced the Avengers: Doomsday cast in a five-hour reveal video released in March, but some huge names were missing from that list.
Kevin Feige has suggested that more announcements will be made in the future, and with Earth's Mightiest Heroes not set to assemble in theatres again until next December, we could be waiting a while. In the meantime, a few actors have been semi-confirmed for the movie, including Benedict Cumberbatch.
At the end of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the former Sorcerer Supreme travelled to the Dark Dimension alongside Clea to deal with an Incursion he'd supposedly caused. That dangling plot thread hasn't been resolved, leaving Avengers: Doomsday to deal with it.
Talking to Omelete, Cumberbatch was asked why he wasn't part of the movie's initial cast announcement. "I don’t know, maybe they didn’t have enough chairs," he joked, before the Brazilian outlet wondered whether Feige might be deliberately keeping Strange's role under wraps. "That’s exactly it," he stated, adding, "Call him!"
Earlier this year, Cumberbatch was asked about starring in Avengers: Doomsday, and initially said he wouldn't be in the movie. "Is that a spoiler? F*** it," he said. "The character [was] not aligning with this part of the story." He'd later backtrack on that by noting, "I got that wrong, I am in the next one. Don't ever believe anything I say."
The character's arc likely evolved as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty became Avengers: Doomsday, possibly explaining the confusion. There are still rumours that the mystery MCU movie between Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will be Doctor Strange 3, but time will tell on that front.
Next year will mark a decade since Cumberbatch first played Strange, and he's been a huge part of the MCU ever since. It's been widely reported that he'll be allied with Doctor Doom in the next Avengers movies, similar to what we saw in the Secret Wars comic book.
Avengers: Doomsday stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make their Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, and Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, and Ryan Reynolds are also set to appear, according to recent reports from the trades.
The Russo Brothers direct the movie from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron is also working on the script.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.