The cast of Avengers: Doomsday could be set to get yet another high-profile addition as Ryan Reynolds has all but confirmed the return of Deadpool.
The AFC Wrexham owner and Deadpool star posted to Instagram with a picture of the Avengers logo spray painted over in red, leading many to believe that he is set to appear in the next film.
With the movie filming right now, it is possible that Reynolds may be wanting to get ahead of any tabloids looking to break the fact that he was spotted on set for whatever reason.
That said, it could also just be Reynolds poking fun, but here’s hoping.
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If he is appearing in the film, however, it would all but reconfirm the cast of Avengers: Doomsday as the most star studded of any movie ever.
The first announcement of the cast, which took five hours, saw them confirm 28 actors who would be returning for the film and reveal that the cast of the Fox X-Men films were set to return to their roles for the fifth Avengers film.
With that in mind, we will be ranking the ten most anticipated actors confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday.
10: Simu Liu – Shang Chi
Simu Liu has only appeared in one film so far, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, however will be making his Avengers debut in just his second appearance. Shang Chi is one of the few origin films in recent years to stick the landing and has left fans anticipating Liu’s return in an upcoming movie, something that was confirmed in the cast announcement.
Speaking about the announcement, Liu said: “It is obviously going to be such an amazing big movie that is going to be so secretive and that I can’t talk about at all. But what I will say is that I knew that I was going to be involved in it in some capacity, but I didn’t know who else they were announcing.”
9: James Marsden – Cyclops
One of the biggest shocks of the announcement was the return of the Fox X-Men cast. Whilst Hugh Jackman had already returned for Deadpool and Wolverine, many would not have expected James Marsden and other actors from the series to come back to the role almost 20 years on.
A common consensus for a while has been that Marsden was perfectly cast as Cyclops (aka Scott Summers) but that he was heavily under-utilised in the films. One tweet after the announcement said: “Yes, my Marvel-loving self just got legit emotional seeing James Marsden's name on that chair and realizing they're gonna totally let him finally kick ass as Cyclops in Avengers: Doomsday.”
8: Anthony Mackie – Captain America
Anthony Mackie will debut as a leader of the Avengers for the first time in Avengers: Doomsday as hinted at the end of Thunderbolts.
Mackie was handed the mantle of Captain America in one of the final scenes of Avengers: Endgame, setting him up for a much bigger role in the subsequent films.
Though Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Captain America: Brave New World were less than successful, poor writing and not poor acting were the main criticisms of these, and fans will be excited to see him step into the boots left behind by Chris Evans.
7: Florence Pugh – Yelena Belova / Black Widow
Doomsday sets up multiple actors who are set to take over the role of the original iconic characters from The Avengers, one of whom is Florence Pugh stepping into the role of Black Widow.
One of the most popular and successful actors around, Kevin Feige managed to convince Pugh to return to the MCU after Black Widow and Hawkeye to lead Thunderbolts. The film was a huge success for Marvel critically, arresting a steady decline in reviews for MCU projects.
The post credits scene for Thunderbolts sees them acting as the ‘New Avengers’, something that puts them (and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky) at odds with the regular Avengers. With Florence Pugh the leader and standout star of Thunderbolts, she will be one of the most anticipated stars of the upcoming film.
6: Sir Patrick Stewart – Professor X
If this was Sir Patrick Stewart’s first return to the role after Logan there is no doubt that it would earn him a spot in the top three of this list.
Unfortunately, however, Stewart returned to the role for a brief cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness just three years ago in his MCU debut.
That said though, he is still an iconic star and will be returning to Avengers: Doomsday alongside Sir Ian McKellen as Magneto. Seeing the pair on screen together for the first time together as Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr in 20 years will be a treat for Marvel fans.
5: Chris Hemsworth – Thor
Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is the only character to be returning from the original Avengers film and one of only two actors.
Whilst his most recent film was one of the MCU’s worst ever (and in my opinion the worst) the other actor returning from The Avengers makes Hemsworth’s return fascinating.
Tom Hiddleston will also return having starred for two seasons in Disney+’s best TV show yet, Loki.
The pair have not been reunited since Loki escaped his supposed death in Avengers: Endgame and with his since heroic turn will make for an emotional reunion.
4: Letitia Wright – Black Panther
Letitia Wright has taken over the mantle as the Black Panther and leader of Wakanda following Chadwick Boseman’s tragic death at the age of 43.
Boseman’s T’Challa had been slated for a major role in the Avengers films after appearances in Infinity War and Endgame so Wright’s Shuri is expected to now shoulder that burden.
Wright took over the role with an emotional performance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and is returning for Avengers: Doomsday.
3: Vanessa Kirby – Sue Storm
Kirby debuted in The Fantastic Four: First Steps as Sue Storm and the entire core cast are set to return for Avengers: Doomsday.
The post credit scene of Thunderbolts saw the quartet introduced to the MCU in the briefest of hints and the ending sting of Fantastic Four directly hinted at the oncoming inclusion of Doom, who is set to be the main villain of the film.
In addition to all these links that make the Fantastic Four one of the most anticipated set of characters in the upcoming film, her first on-screen link with another character has been widely awaited.
In the comics her connection is with Namor, the villain of Wakanda: Forever, as he pursues her in spite of her marriage is a frequent storyline.
With Tenoch Huerta returning as Namor and her standout role in First Steps, Kirby is easily one of the most anticipated actors set to come back.
2: Pedro Pascal – Reed Richards
For those complaining that they feel Pedro Pascal is ‘in everything nowadays’ too bad, as he is set to return for Avengers: Doomsday as Reed Richards.
In addition to being the biggest name of The Fantastic Four cast, Pascal’s appearance in the film is expected to play a vital role.
Pascal was the penultimate name revealed in the cast announcement and his character, Reed Richards, has a storied and rich comic relationship with Victor Von Doom, the villain of the film.
Deadline just this week confirmed that he had finished filming on the project, and he is widely expected to appear in the follow up film, Avengers: Secret Wars, which is expected to (if it’s even possible) have an even wider array of cameos and big names.
1: Robert Downey Jr – Victor Von Doom
Like the casting or hate it, there is no denying that curiosity of how they are going to tie in RDJs return as Doom is one of the biggest drivers of anticipation for the film.
Whilst his now iconic character Tony Stark died at the conclusion of Avengers: Endgame, the star was announced to be returning as Doom at Comic-Con last year and was reconfirmed with RDJ being the last name in the announcement video.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Downey Jr revealed that Kevin Feige had floated the idea of the actor returning as Doom and he was taken aback.
Having won an Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer since departing the MCU RDJ’s stock is at an all-time high.
Criticisms remain, however, with the casting for two main reasons: the character is traditionally Romani-Gypsy in the comics, and many feel it is a cheap ploy intended to illicit nostalgia to bring fans back.
Either way, if you are writing a list of the most anticipated returning characters in Avengers: Doomsday and you aren’t putting RDJ number one, you’re probably kidding yourself.
Avengers: Doomsday releases December 18, 2026.
Topics: Film, TV and Film, Marvel, MCU, Celebrity, Florence Pugh, Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth
Michael Slavin