LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Anthony Mackie's Captain America, Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, Paul Rudd's Ant-Man and Tom Hiddleston's Loki are all back in the Avengers ensemble, where they'll be joined by several of cinema's original X-Men.
The five veterans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are in the cast of 2026's “Avengers: Doomsday,” Marvel announced in a series of social media videos that the company rolled out slowly on Wednesday.
Patrick Stewart, 84, who played Professor X in the Fox’s early 2000s “X-Men” films, and 85-year-old Ian McKellen, who played his arch-nemesis Magneto, are also in the “Doomsday” cast as Disney and Marvel seek to take advantage of the acquisition of Fox’s movie library. Kelsey Grammer, who played Hank “Beast” McCoy, was also announced, as was Rebecca “Mystique” Romijn, James “Cyclops” Marsden and Alan “Nightcrawler” Cumming.
Their characters were taken on by younger actors in the 2010s “X-Men” series reboot, and their inclusion is sure to cause serious fan speculation about the direction and timelines of “Avengers: Doomsday.”
The more senior superheroes will be joined by more recent additions, including some who have yet to make their MCU debuts.
Vanessa Kirby, set to play the Invisible Woman Sue Storm in this July's “Fantastic Four: First Steps," is also set for “Avengers: Doomsday.” Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards will join the Avengers too. And they'll be joined in both movies by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who is playing Ben Grimm, aka the Thing, and Joseph Quinn, who plays Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch.
Simu Liu, who played the title character in 2021's “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," is also in the newly announced cast, as is Tenoch Huerta Mejía, who played the aquatic antagonist Namor in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri in the “Black Panther” films, will also be back among the Avengers, as will her “Black Panther” castmate Winston Duke.
Florence Pugh, who will reprise her MCU role as Yelena Belova in the forthcoming “Thunderbolts” will reprise her again in “Doomsday." David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen and Lewis Pullman will also be in both films.
Danny Ramirez, who has assumed the Marvel mantle of Falcon, is also in the cast.
Some of the biggest and most anticipated names were not among the 27 names announced, though Marvel and Disney could be sitting on them for now.
There was no mention of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine or Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, though the announcement did include Channing Tatum, who played the X-Men's Gambit in last year's “Deadpool & Wolverine."
Nor did the name Tom Holland appear. His Spider-Man became an Avenger in previous films on loan from owner Sony, whose complicated relationship with Marvel has made the character a sticking point.
Robert Downey Jr. revealed last summer that he'll be returning to the MCU to play the villain Doctor Doom in the next set of “Avengers” films.
“Avengers: Doomsday," set for release in May 2026, will be the fifth “Avengers” movie, and the first since 2019's “Avengers Endgame” became one of the highest grossing film of all time.
Marvel has been struggling to recover its cultural buzz and box office mojo ever since, with hopes that the forthcoming ensemble films will bring back the magic that dominated cinema for more than a decade.
