A lot has changed in the MCU since the events of Avengers: Endgame, including the fact that there isn’t actually an Avengers team anymore. New heroes have been rising up to fill the void left by Iron Man and Captain America, but it’s going to be a while before we get a proper Avengers movie again.
Only at the end of Phase 6, when Marvel delivers the one-two-punch of Avengers: Doomsday in 2026 and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027, will we see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes reunited. Who will answer the call? Here’s the cast of characters you can (probably) expect to assemble in Phase 6.
Wong
In the absence of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, it’s fallen on Benedict Wong’s character Wong to become the glue that holds the MCU together in Phases 4 and 5. Wong has appeared in many post-Endgame projects, from Spider-Man: No Way Home to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to, of course, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. And let’s not forget his hilarious friendship with Patty Guggenheim’s Madisynn in She-Hulk.
It makes sense that we’ve entered Phase Wong of the MCU, since he’s inherited the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme from Doctor Strange. It’s his job to proactively defend the world from these new, emerging threats. And when the time comes for the Avengers to assemble once again, you can bet Wong will be right there bringing everyone together again.
Shang-Chi
Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi is practically guaranteed to join the Avengers in Phase 6. For one thing, we already saw him summoned by Wong at the end of 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. For another, before it was reworked, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was set to be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. That has to mean that Marvel has big plans for Shang-Chi’s MCU future.
Shang-Chi is certainly an asset to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, now that he controls the mystical Ten Rings. The mid-credits scene in The Legend of the Ten Rings hints at a deeper mystery surrounding these artifacts, one that could very well come into play in Avengers: Doomsday.
Doctor Strange
Wong may be Sorcerer Supreme now, but that doesn’t mean Stephen Strange won’t continue to play an important role in whatever version of the Avengers exists in Phase 6. He’s a superhero veteran now, and the Avengers need his expertise in both magic and the multiverse.
It’s worth remembering that Doctor Strange is currently in another universe, helping Charlize Theron’s Clea deal with the Incursion problem. It’s unclear if we’re going to get another Doctor Strange sequel before Doomsday but, either way, that tease in Multiverse of Madness is sure to pay off when the Avengers assemble to battle Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom.
Captain America
Is any Avengers roster really complete without a Captain America? Fortunately, even though Steve Rogers retired to finally have his dance with Peggy Carter in the past, Sam Wilson has now taken up the shield as the new Cap. 2021’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showed Sam reluctantly accepting that burden, and 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World will chronicle the next step in his superhero evolution.
The trailer for Brave New World even shows Harrison Ford’s President Ross imploring Sam to reform the Avengers. He may be every bit as crucial to getting the gang back together as Wong.
Can Sam be the inspirational team leader and figurehead Steve was? That’s a question we suspect Doomsday and Secret Wars will answer. We may even see Sam try to reform the Avengers in Brave New World. But given that Marvel’s very next movie after Cap 4 is Thunderbolts*, it seems the MCU won’t entirely be ready for an Avengers reunion.
War Machine
After playing a supporting role in the Iron Man and Avengers movies, Don Cheadle’s War Machine looks to be coming into his own as a solo hero in the Multiverse Saga. Cheadle will star in the Armor Wars movie, which deals with Rhodey trying to prevent Tony Stark’s tech from falling into the wrong hands. That movie builds on the foundation of 2023’s Secret Invasion series, where we learned that Rhodey was replaced by a Skrull impostor some time after the events of Captain America: Civil War.
From there, it seems only natural that War Machine will be one of the characters to fill that Iron Man-shaped hole in the Avengers. He’s an experienced soldier who brings a lot of firepower to the table. He may not be the brilliant inventor Tony was, but that’s where our next Avenger comes in.
Ironheart
If any character is poised to become the MCU’s new Iron Man in the Multiverse Saga, it’s probably Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams. Riri made her debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where she forged her own armor and lent her considerable brainpower to Shuri and the Wakandans. From there, she’ll spin out into her own series in 2025’s Ironheart, where we’ll see Riri continue to establish her costumed identity.
By the time Avengers: Doomsday rolls around in 2026, Ironheart should be a fully established hero ready to take her place among Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. And with a villain like Doom, they’re going to need her brainpower even more than her fancy gadgets.
Spider-Man
Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is still arguably the flagship hero of the MCU, even if Peter consciously chose to leave celebrity behind and go back to being a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. We can’t imagine Spidey won’t play a key role in both Doomsday and Secret Wars… unless Marvel Studios and Sony wind up having another falling-out.
There is one complication in the fact that the entire world was made to forget Spider-Man’s secret identity. The Avengers may still remember fighting alongside Spider-Man, but they don’t know who he is or how to contact him anymore.
Or do they? Some fans have pointed out that the last thing Wong says to Doctor Strange before the botched identity spell is cast in No Way Home is “Leave me out of it.” Is it possible that Strange subconsciously obeyed Wong’s order, and Wong is the one person in the world who still knows Spider-Man’s secret? That would be one way of bringing the wallcrawler back into the fold in Doomsday.
She-Hulk
Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk has been a fixture in the Avengers movies from the beginning. But while we expect Hulk will have some part to play in the new version of the team, Ruffalo’s post-Endgame appearances suggest Hulk is taking more of a supporting role going forward. Plus, thanks to the She-Hulk series, Banner now has his long-lost son Skaar to worry about.
Instead, Hulk’s cousin, Tatiana Maslany’s She-Hulk, is shaping up to be the new resident powerhouse on the Avengers. She’s got it all – the brains of a high-powered attorney, enough brawn to match her cousin, and a Deadpool-like knack for breaking the fourth wall. That screams Avenger to us.
The Marvels
The world may not have Avengers at the moment, but Captain Marvel assembled her own little team in 2023’s The Marvels. We can only assume Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan all have parts to play in Doomsday and Secret Wars.
If any hero other than Captain America is qualified to lead the new Avengers, it’s definitely Captain Marvel. And we can only assume that the mystery of Monica’s whereabouts will play a big part in the build-up to Secret Wars. As for Kamala, she seems more interested in assembling her own team of Young Avengers, but there’s no way this superhero fangirl won’t answer the call to join Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
How Many Avengers Is Too Many?
As this list shows, the ranks of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes could really swell by the time Avengers: Doomsday rolls around. The original MCU Avengers consisted of six heroes (Iron Man, Cap, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye). Can the new movies really support a cast of 20 or more heroes?
It’s certainly happened before in the comics, with Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers run (a series that is clearly inspiring the MCU these days) expanding the roster considerably. It’s not uncommon for the Avenegrs to consist of a large pool of heroes, from which smaller groups are dispatched to deal with individual threats. The comics also often have multiple Avengers teams that co-exist with one another, such as the regular, New York-based Avengers and the West Coast Avengers. Maybe it’s time for the MCU to do the same.
Hawkeye & Hawkguy
Hulks and wizards are great, but what the Avengers really need is someone who knows how to shoot a bow and arrow. Lucky for them, they’ve got two superhero archers to choose from.
Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye seems ready to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. However, despite recently recovering from a serious accident, Renner is pretty confident he’ll be asked to return to the fold in Avengers: Doomsday. And where Hawkguy goes, we can’t imagine the new Hawkeye won’t follow. We last saw Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop being approached by Kamala in one of the post-credits scenes for The Marvels. Like Kamala, there’s no way Kate won’t be joining the Avengers when the day comes.
Thor
With most of the original Avengers either dead or moving into the background in Phase 4, Thor may be the last hero carrying the torch for that era of the team. That’s reason enough to make him a member of the new team. Fortunately, Thor: Love and Thunder’s ending leaves Thor in a perfect position to pick up his hammers and fly to Earth’s defense. Maybe he’ll even bring his adopted daughter Love along for the ride.
We may see a whole lot of Thors in Avengers Secret Wars. In the 2015 Secret Wars comic, God Emperor Doom assembles a team called the Thor Corps, all of whom serve as Doom’s peacekeepers and personal police force. Chris Hemsworth may be one Thor among many.
The Ant-Man Family
Given that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was the first MCU movie to feature Jonathan Majors’ Kang, we have to assume these characters had an important part to play in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. The same will probably still hold true for Avengers: Doomsday.
The Quantum Realm is sure to remain a major plot point during the Multiverse Saga. It’s how the Avengers managed to reverse Thanos’ destruction, and it could be how Doom will bring a new level of destruction to the universe. Ant-Man got the chance to join the Avengers already, and now it’s time Wasp and Stature get to do the same.
Star-Lord
It remains to be seen what, if any, role the revamped Guardians of the Galaxy team will play in the next two Avengers movies. The galaxy is a big place, and they may have their own problems to deal with. But it is a safe bet that at least one former Guardian has a part to play in Avengers: Doomsday.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ends with Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord taking a leave of absence from the team and returning to Earth to reconnect with his estranged grandfather. We highly doubt it’s mere coincidence that the movie leaves Peter Quill back on Earth just as the MCU is beginning to build to another big Avengers crossover. He may be throwing his lot in with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as a new threat to his home planet emerges. The question is whether Star-Lord can stomach answering to another leader, or if he’ll try to be the one calling the shots.
Black Panther
It’s debatable whether Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther ever technically qualified as an Avenger during the Infinity Saga. Still, he lent vital aid to Captain America’s team after the events of Captain America: Civil War, and Wakanda was the site of a major battleground in Avengers: Infinity War. Wakanda has the technology and resources the Avengers need to stand a fighting chance against all-powerful villains like Thanos and Doom.
Given that, we can see Black Panther continuing to play a part in the team going forward. The only difference is that now Letitia Wright’s Shuri is wearing the suit. Will Shuri give the new Avengers the support they need? And how does Winston Duke’s M’Baku fit in, now that he’s the new monarch of Wakanda? We’ll find out when Avengers: Doomsday finally hits theaters.
Who’s on your must-have list of Avengers for Phase 6? Who should lead the team?> Cast your vote in our poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
For more on the future of the MCU, learn how Robert Downey, Jr. can be playing Doctor Doom and brush up on every Marvel movie and series in development.
Note – this article was originally published on July 28, 2022 and updated on August 5, 2024 with the latest MCU developments.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
