Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel Studios may have already revealed a massive lineup for Avengers: Doomsday (2026), but fans shouldn’t assume everyone coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next major crossover has been named.
In fact, Marvel is officially growing the cast beyond the names already announced.
After months of rumors surrounding potential returning heroes, surprise appearances, and characters seemingly missing from the original lineup, directors Anthony and Joe Russo have offered a major clue about what Marvel has planned.
And one thing now appears certain: We still don’t know the full Avengers: Doomsday (2026) cast.
With Marvel keeping additional names behind the curtain, the door is suddenly wide open for several major MCU veterans and familiar faces to join the fight.
Endgame: Encore Reveals More Connections
Marvel originally unveiled much of the Avengers: Doomsday (2026) cast through an hours-long livestream in March 2025.
The unusual announcement slowly revealed chairs featuring the names of actors joining the movie, eventually building an enormous ensemble spanning multiple corners of the Marvel universe.
Still, several notable names were missing.
One of the biggest was Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), who has been part of the MCU since The Avengers (2012) and played an important role in the Russo brothers’ Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Now, Marvel may have effectively answered questions about his absence.
Avengers: Endgame Encore (2026) arrived in theaters with additional footage connected to Avengers: Doomsday (2026). One scene shows Bruce Banner encountering Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.).
That certainly appears to indicate Ruffalo’s return in Doomsday, despite Marvel omitting his name from the original cast announcement.
And the Russos have now made it clear that fans should expect more.
The Russo Brothers Aren’t Hiding It Anymore
Anthony and Joe Russo addressed the new material and what it could mean for the upcoming movie.
“The pattern that you’re sensing is real,” Anthony Russo said while discussing the Ruffalo scene. “We have absolutely not announced the entire cast. There is more to come.”
That confirmation completely changes how fans view the original cast reveal.
Rather than treating the March 2025 announcement as Marvel’s definitive lineup, it now appears to have been only part of the picture.
There was another potentially important addition in Avengers: Endgame Encore (2026).
The rerelease includes an extended version of the scene in which Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) dance together. However, this version adds another unexpected wrinkle when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) arrives and knocks on their door.
With Doomsday expected to dive deep into Marvel’s Multiverse Saga, these new scenes give Marvel plenty of ways to bring familiar characters back into the story.
Who Could Join the ‘Doomsday’ Lineup?
That brings us to the biggest question: Who else could Marvel be hiding?
Hulk now looks like one of the strongest possibilities because Marvel has directly connected Banner with Doom in the new footage.
Beyond him, however, the possibilities become much more speculative.
Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) remains one of the biggest names fans could potentially see return, particularly after Marvel embraced legacy characters in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) are also possibilities following Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which brought both characters directly into Marvel’s larger Multiverse story.
There are also several established MCU heroes missing from the announced lineup.
Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) could all potentially factor into the movie. Their involvement hasn’t been confirmed, so fans should treat those names as speculation for now.
Still, the Russo brothers confirming that Marvel deliberately hasn’t revealed everyone makes those omissions much harder to ignore.
Marvel Has Already Assembled a Huge Cast
Even without those potential additions, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) already has one of Marvel’s largest casts.
The announced lineup includes Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Anthony Mackie), Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Shuri (Letitia Wright), Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Red Guardian (David Harbour), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and M’Baku (Winston Duke).
Marvel is also bringing the Fantastic Four into the crossover, including Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
The X-Men side of the lineup includes Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellen), Cyclops (James Marsden), Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), Gambit (Channing Tatum), and Beast (Kelsey Grammer).
At the center of everything will be Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.), marking Downey’s major MCU return after years spent playing Tony Stark/Iron Man.
And this is still not the complete cast list.
Marvel Still Has Cards Left to Play
Marvel could have treated its enormous 2025 cast announcement as the final word on Avengers: Doomsday (2026).
Instead, the studio appears to have intentionally kept some major surprises in reserve.
The new Bruce Banner footage provides the clearest evidence yet, while the Russo brothers have now directly confirmed that more cast members remain unannounced.
That doesn’t guarantee every rumored hero will appear. Maguire, Reynolds, Jackman, Renner, Cumberbatch, and Olsen remain speculative unless Marvel confirms their involvement.
But the conversation around those missing characters just became much more interesting.
Marvel has already assembled an enormous group of Avengers, Fantastic Four members, X-Men, and other heroes for Avengers: Doomsday (2026).
And apparently, it still isn’t done.
