Marvel Studios triggers outcry with ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ cast announcement

The studio has finally announced the star-studded cast for its long-awaited Avengers film, but one big omission has caused upset among diehard fans.

Avengers, assemble. Well … Some of you.

Marvel Studios has announced production has begun on its long-awaited Avengers film, Avengers: Doomsday, the next team-up of MCU superheroes following 2019’s finale Endgame which shattered the box office (and hearts, RIP Tony Stark).

Six years later and we’ve finally entered the next chapter. In an ambitious, five-hour live stream shared on social media, Disney revealed its star-studded line-up of new and familiar cast members as part of the company’s bid to reach the dizzying highs of the gangbusters ‘Infinity Saga’ era, which saw the studio rake in more than $US30 billion.

Over the past few years, Marvel has been pumping out endless, largely forgettable, superhero content, leading to doubts the genre would ever reach the same success.

That was, until Robert Downey Jr. hit the stage at Comic-Con last year, announcing he’d be returning to the franchise as a new character, villain Doctor Doom, after Iron Man was killed off in Endgame.

Robert Downey Jr. is among the cast returning to the Avengers franchise.

Now, the other cast members joining Downey Jr. have been unveiled, with a fair cohort of familiar faces, and some obvious omissions.

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth was the most notable reveal, poised to make his comeback as Thor, a role he debuted in 2011.

Chris Hemsworth is also returning as Thor.

The rest of the Avengers: Doomsday cast includes: Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Captain America), Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier), Letitia Wright (Shuri/the new Black Panther), Paul Rudd (Scott Lang/Ant-Man), Wyatt Russell (John Walker/US Agent), Tenoch Huerta Mejia (Namor), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi), Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova), Kelsey Grammer (Hank McCoy/Beast), Lewis Pullman (Bob/Sentry), Danny Ramirez (Joaquin Torres/Falcon), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), David Harbour (Red Guardian), Winston Duke (M’Baku), Hannah John-Kamen (Ava Starr/Ghost), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Patrick Stewart (Professor Charles Xavier), Ian McKellen (Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto), Alan Cumming (Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), James Marsden (Scott Summers/Cyclops), Channing Tatum (Remy LeBeau/Gambit) and, finally, Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic).

Canadian actor Simu Liu will reprise his role as Shang-Chi in Doomsday, which will mark his first Avengers appearance. Picture: VALERIE MACON/AFP

While there’s more than enough loveable names in there to get fans excited about the next chapter, other supporters were left disheartened by some glaring omissions.

Brie Larson, who plays Captain Marvel, wasn’t included in the cast announcement, nor was Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) or Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange).

Brie Larson wasn’t included in the line-up. Picture: Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Nor was Elizabeth Olsen. Picture: Amy Sussman/Getty Images via AFP

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the exclusion of Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

“Where’s brie larson and elizabeth olsen ???” one fan asked in a post shared to X.

“WHERE WAS BRIE LARSON??!! WHERE WAS THE WOMEN,” another angrily wrote.

“no peter parker, no doctor strange, no captain marvel, no guardians, no wanda…why are we even here,” a third added.

“No captain marvel?! No brie larson?!?! Marvel studios can keep the whole movie,” a fourth chimed in.

Despite some backlash, it seems Marvel could be on track to reeling in the masses yet again, with more than a million people watching the live stream at one point, which was essentially just an hours-long unveiling of set chairs with actors’ names on them.

“Marvel got me watching chairs for five hours,” one fan quipped.

Russo brothers Joe and Anthony have been tapped to direct the next two Avengers films, including Avengers: Doomsday and its follow-up, Avengers: Secret Wars, set to be released in May 2027.

Originally published as Marvel Studios triggers outcry with ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ cast announcement