With San Diego Comic Con just weeks away, Marvel Studios is ramping up promotion for Avengers Doomsday, and a new display at Shanghai Expo has offered fans their clearest hint yet at who makes up the film’s heroic lineup. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is expected to showcase new footage at the expo, and set pieces including a replica of Doctor Doom’s throne have already gone up ahead of that reveal.
A synopsis shared alongside the Shanghai display names Steve Rogers, Shuri, Thor, Loki, Ant Man, Captain America, Falcon, Shang Chi, Bucky Barnes, Yelena Belova and Red Guardian as the characters returning under the banner of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, described as fighting alongside the Avengers. The wording draws a distinction between that group and an official Avengers roster, echoing a joke that has run through the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Spider Man Far From Home about the team lacking any clear, agreed upon membership.
A team defined by not being fully defined
The phrasing mirrors how Avengers Infinity War folded in characters like Doctor Strange, Black Panther, the Winter Soldier and the Guardians of the Galaxy without officially inducting them as Avengers. In Doomsday, the synopsis blends members of two separate teams introduced at the end of Captain America Brave New World and Thunderbolts, mixing Sam Wilson’s group with Yelena Belova’s New Avengers, including Bucky Barnes and Red Guardian.
So far, Sam Wilson’s roster is confirmed to include only himself and Joaquin Torres as Falcon, though Shang Chi and Ant Man are widely expected to round it out. Thor’s placement remains murky, since it is unclear whether he starts the film on Wilson’s team or joins the fight later. Loki is not expected to carry an official Avengers title either, given his current role as the God of Stories holding the multiverse together at the end of time. Steve Rogers, meanwhile, is not returning to reclaim the Captain America name from Wilson.
New posters highlight the film’s factions
Ahead of the expected panel, Marvel also unveiled six new posters at the Shanghai Expo, shared first through a post on X and later reported by Marvel Movies on Instagram. Rather than focusing on individual characters, the posters spotlight the home bases tied to the film’s separate factions, including Avengers Campus, Wakanda, Avengers Tower, the Baxter Building, the X Mansion and Doom’s throne room in Latveria.
The imagery reinforces just how many separate groups are converging in the film. Doomsday is set to unite the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the returning Fox X Men franchise and the Fantastic Four, a scale of crossover the studio has been building toward since Avengers Endgame.
A packed cast built for a multiversal fight
The film’s confirmed cast reflects that scope. Robert Downey Jr. returns in a new role as Doctor Doom, while the Fantastic Four lineup includes Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss Bachrach. MCU stalwarts Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Simu Liu, Tom Hiddleston, David Harbour and others are joined by X Men veterans Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Alan Cumming and Kelsey Grammer, alongside newer additions like Channing Tatum and an undisclosed role for Chris Evans.
Even with that many heroes on hand, the synopsis suggests the assembled forces may still need more firepower to stand a chance against Doctor Doom, leaving plenty of questions for Comic Con to answer. Avengers Doomsday is scheduled to open in theaters on December 18, 2026.
