5 Biggest Avengers Missing From Doomsday's Confirmed Cast List

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is about to close another chapter, the "Multiverse Saga," in a similar fashion to the "Infinity Saga" that preceded it: Two massive crossover movies featuring dozens of well-known superheroes team up to face a significant threat. After the "Infinity War"-"Endgame" duo, we're getting the "Doomsday"-"Secret Wars" pair that seems to promise an even bigger Avengers story — at least considering the large cast that's already been announced for the first movie. 

Marvel has already conducted a series of reveals, confirming 31 actors. It started with the Comic-Con event in July 2024, at which the studio announced that Robert Downey Jr. would play Doctor Doom. In late March 2025, Marvel hosted a long livestream on YouTube, unveiling 27 names, including Downey. That "Doomsday" cast list also included several actors who played mutants in Fox's X-Men movies.

But "Avengers: Doomsday" will also offer a few surprises to the audience. The Russo brothers confirmed that, even though Marvel revealed more than two dozen cast members, it didn't spoil every secret. Longtime MCU fans may easily identify several actors missing from the confirmed cast list, including heroes that appeared in the main MCU reality and characters from other realities. Among those, there are five key Avengers characters who aren't on the list, including Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland).

Clint Barton is no longer the MCU's only Hawkeye, with Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) having inherited the mantle after the "Hawkeye" TV series on Disney Plus. That said, neither character is confirmed to appear in "Doomsday." Technically, Bishop isn't an Avenger, though the post-credits scenes in "The Marvels" seemed to suggest that a Young Avengers team may soon be formed, with Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) approaching the new Hawkeye.

Bishop's involvement aside, Barton's name should easily come up whenever Earth faces a threat as big as Thanos (Josh Brolin), regardless of his decision to withdraw from the superhero life. It's unclear what Clint has been up to since Christmas 2024 (MCU time), when the "Hawkeye" events happened. Currently, the MCU timeline has reached January 2029, as seen in the post-credits scenes of the "Avengers Endgame: Encore" rerelease.

In October 2025 on The Breakfast Club, Renner gave a simple "No" answer when asked whether he would appear in the next "Avengers" movies. In October 2026, the actor again said he's not in "Doomsday" and joked that the Avengers will inevitably lose the battle without him, echoing a popular fan theory that says the Avengers need Hawkeye to win. His character wasn't present in "Infinity War," and the Avengers lost. Separately, theories say that the Earth's Mightiest Heroes will lose the first fight ("Doomsday") and then get their win in the second ("Secret Wars").

Barton's presence may seem inconsequential to the larger story, but he has been a key presence in the MCU. He mentored not one, but two other Avengers, including Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Wanda. The former died heroically in "Endgame" before Barton's eyes after the two had a heartbreaking fight. The latter became one of the strongest Avengers, and she seemingly died at the end of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (late 2024 MCU time).

Wanda Maximoff is easily the kind of superhero you'd want on your team, provided she was willing to play on the right side. But Marvel has not mentioned Olsen's involvement in "Doomsday" either as Wanda or the Scarlet Witch. The character may have survived the destruction of Mount Wundagore at the end of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." Besides, this is the multiverse, and that's an important aspect to consider. Certain characters can move between realities to interact with heroes, including Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and even Doctor Doom, as we saw in the post-credits of "Endgame: Encore."

Wanda could be a person of interest for Robert Downey Jr.'s character, just like Hulk and Franklin Richards, two characters he has already visited. Doom may have his own team of sidekicks in "Doomsday," just like Thanos had his helpers. It wouldn't be surprising to see Wanda being one of them, and Doom can always rescue Wanda just before her apparent death.

Unlike Wanda and Hawkeye, Bruce Banner has been significantly more involved in the MCU events that followed "Endgame." After using Tony Stark's Infinity Gauntlet in "Endgame" (2023 MCU time) to bring back everyone Thanos erased in "Infinity War," Banner appeared in human form in the credits scenes of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (2024 MCU time). We then saw Hulk training Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) in the "She-Hulk" TV show on Disney Plus (2024–2025 MCU time). A few years later (2028 MCU time), Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner and Savage Hulk appeared in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," an MCU movie that hit cinemas in July 2026.

Finally, an isolated Banner appeared in the post-credits scenes of "Avengers Endgame: Encore" (early 2029 MCU time), working in self-imposed containment on a new solution to prevent any other violent Hulk outbursts. That's when Doctor Doom teleported into his room, while Banner was recording a video log, kidnapping him for an unknown purpose. Presumably, Doctor Doom is interested in beings with special powers, and Banner checks all these boxes. He's not only one of the smartest Avengers, but also one of the most powerful heroes.

Yet there are no guarantees that Hulk or Banner will appear in "Doomsday" despite these teasers. Even if they do, they might not even show up on the Avengers' side, considering that, as far as everyone knows, someone just stole Hulk from an underground facility. It's also important to remember that Marvel weakened Hulk in "Infinity War" to serve the plot of that story. A strong Hulk, like the one we saw in "Thor: Ragnarok," would have been a major asset for the heroes.

Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange saw an important transformation of his own since "Endgame". After being instrumental in the victory against Thanos, Doctor Strange appeared in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2024 MCU time), where he interfered with the multiverse by helping Peter Parker with a dangerous spell. Around late 2024 in MCU time, Strange embarked on a more puzzling story, meeting America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) and helping her escape the clutches of Wanda, as they all travelled the multiverse.

The events of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" taught the hero about the vastness of the multiverse and what it means to get involved with alternate realities. Doctor Strange learned what incursions mean (the universe-ending events we're likely to see in Doomsday) and understood how easily he could turn to evil, given that some of the variants in the movie were no longer heroes.

In the film's credits, Strange develops a third eye after having used the Darkhold earlier, the book that Wanda destroyed during her apparent death scene. Immediately after that, Clea (Charlize Theron), a character previously unseen in the MCU, takes him to an unknown destination to fight an incursion. We haven't seen Strange since then, but it's very likely he'll appear in "Doomsday" as a surprise character. Marvel has not announced the actor's involvement in the movie, but Cumberbatch said in an interview in early 2025 that he would appear in "Doomsday" after previously denying his involvement.

We saw Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man not once, not twice, but three times since "Endgame," as Sony and Marvel released three movies: "Far From Home" (2019), "No Way Home" (2021), and "Brand New Day" (2026). These followed Peter in summer and late 2024, and in 2028 (all MCU years), respectively. Spider-Man has been through a lot during this period, experiencing the multiverse (in "No Way Home") and dealing with some of the MCU's first mutants ("Brand New Day"). Add to that the loss of Tony Stark in "Endgame" and Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) in "No Way Home", coupled with the world forgetting who Peter Parker is, including MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), and you get the complete picture of the MCU's main Spider-Man.

But even though the Avengers do not remember Spider-Man's identity, they may want to call upon him to fight against Victor von Doom once they realize what his nefarious plan is. After all, Spider-Man was involved in both "Infinity War" and "Endgame." There's also the potentially heartbreaking meeting between Peter Parker and a man who looks like Tony Stark but who is fighting the Avengers.

That said, the last thing we saw in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" was Ned's Spider-Man-tracking app locating the superhero in outer space rather than in New York. That may be an indication that Peter Parker may join the Avengers in space. Another explanation is that someone spotted a different Spider-Man in the MCU reality, but that's just speculation. With that in mind, a Spider-Man cameo in "Doomsday" would be expected, but there are no guarantees, especially considering that Sony holds the rights to the character.