This combination of photos shows Chris Hemsworth at the London premiere of “Transformers One” on Sept. 19, 2024, from left, Vanessa Kirby at the London premiere of “Napoleon,” on Nov. 15, 2023, Anthony Mackie at a screening of “Captain America: Brave New World” in New York on Feb. 13, 2025, and Sebastian Stan at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on Oct. 19, 2024. Associated Press Photos
LOS ANGELES — 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.
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.
They’ll be joined by more recent additions to the superhero crew, 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.” She’ll now 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.
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 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.
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 Meija, 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.
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.
