Mar 28 2025

Avengers: Doomsday Announcement IOW Avengers Vs. X-Men!

On March 26, 2025, Marvel Studios painstakingly announced the cast of next year’s Avengers: Doomsday with an online stream that lasted over FIVE hours. The marketing team behind this event can be either commended for increasing anticipation and publicity for Avengers: Doomsday or slammed for coming up with this idea of using chairs to slowly announce cast members and stretching this out for several long hours.

Many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) woke up that day with news that Marvel Studios was making a big announcement later in the morning. They speculated about what would the news be about. More MCU films announced? The cast for the new X-Men? At first, when the stream began and an obscure figure entered the screen and placed a chair with Chris Hemsworth’s name on it, people guessed it may have been a revelation that a new Thor film was coming. Then 12 and a half minutes later, another chair was revealed with Vanessa Kirby’s name on it, and we all knew by then the announcement was about the cast for Avengers: Doomsday. It was inevitable since the film was scheduled to begin filming around this time and the finale of the stream declared just that. These were the following cast members announced for Avengers: Doomsday in the order they were announced:

Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman
Anthony Mackie as Captain America
Sebastian Stan as Bucky/Winter Soldier
Letitia Wright as Shuri/Black Panther
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man
Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent aka dime store Captain America
Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing
Simu Liu as Shang-Chi
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
Kelsey Grammer as the Beast
Lewis Pullman as the Sentry
Danny Ramirez as the Falcon
Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch
David Harbour as Red Guardian
Winston Duke as M’Baku
Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost
Tom Hiddleston as Loki, most likely the God of Stories
Patrick Stewart as Professor X
Ian McKellan as Magneto
Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler
Rebecca Romijn as Mystique
James Marsden as Cyclops
Channing Tatum as Gambit
Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic and
Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom

That is an impressive and surprising line up for what will be the biggest and most important MCU film in years. The announcement certainly generated excitement among fans and much of it was positive although there were many questions that went unanswered. Here are a few takeaways:

Drawn Out Announcement

On paper it seemed like a good idea to slowly announce the cast with intervals that lasted several minutes. With a cast this large it took over five hours for the announcements to be completed and this tried the patience of many online viewers who wanted (and screamed) for the announcements to hurry up. For others however, the announcement built up anticipation and created something of an event as many wondered who would be announced next. Some announcements had excited reactions while a few others were obvious.

The event also for all intents and purposes spoiled Thunderbolts* since most of the cast from that upcoming film will survive and appear in Avengers: Doomsday. The Fantastic Four will play an important role in the film which is natural since Doctor Doom is their main enemy. The question remains is how big a role will they play? Most likely the team will be on the level of co-stars and function the same way that the Guardians of the Galaxy did in Avengers: Infinity War.

Finally, given the latter cast announcements, this film not only reunites a few actors from the original Fox X-Men films, but the film will probably be a loose adaptation of the Avengers Vs. X-Men comic book series event from the last decade.

Who Was Left Out

A lot of the buzz generated by the stream was about who was not announced, and it was surprising that some characters apparently won’t be a part of Avengers: Doomsday. These characters include the Hulk, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, War Machine, Captain Marvel, Photon, Star-Lord or the new Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool, Wolverine, Wong, and finally the Young Avengers.

Some of the absences are puzzling given how integral some heroes are to the Avengers like the Hulk, have been set up in other MCU projects like the Young Avengers were, and how popular others are like Spider-Man. After all, at the very end of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, a title card announced that Star-Lord would return. If not in this film, then were else? Well, Avengers: Secret Wars, of course.

A few weeks ago, some concept art was leaked that showed images of these missing characters and a few others like Vision and Doctor Strange in what looks like Batttleworld, the location of the Secret Wars comic books. In the first issue of Secret Wars, the main Marvel Universe collided with the Ultimate Marvel Universe and both were destroyed. Doctor Doom managed to scrape together segments of many realities into an artificial world called Battleworld and the Marvel characters were re-imagined. The same thing will probably happen with Avengers: Secret Wars and the absent characters will turn up in that film. This is similar to what happened with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame where Ant-Man and Hawkeye were featured in the latter film but not the former one.

Keep this in mind, however. After the stream ended, Marvel Studios cryptically announced on social media that there would be more announcements. This can be welcome news but truthfully, Marvel Studios has to be careful not to bring in too many characters in order to focus on a few important ones.

Avengers Vs. X-Men

The biggest surprise in the announcement was that of the Fox X-Men film characters returning. This was very welcome news by fans of the early X-Men films, and some of the announcements were stunning. Cumming had such a miserable experience with the blue makeup when filming X2: X-Men United that he refused to reprise his role as Nightcrawler even though his character was very popular. Channing Tatum proved that if a performance is earnest and strong enough it can win you a return ticket to a major franchise. His appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine was among the best and he injected that role with lots of vigor and enthusiasm; frankly he deserved to come back to an MCU film in some fashion.

Among the most notable absences were Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Halle Berry as Storm and Famke Janssen as Jean Grey/Phoenix. Janssen’s absence is puzzling since it brings up the question if the film will have anything to do with the Phoenix Force story from Avengers Vs. X-Men. This implies that the Avengers film will only loosely adapt Avengers Vs. X-Men and focus more on Doctor Doom. It seems likely that instead of the main Marvel Universe battling the Ultimate Marvel Universe, this film will have the MCU characters confronting the Fox X-Men film characters. It is questionable if these X-Men will be those featured from the early films and might be variant versions. It is hard to tell and given that the timeline of those Fox X-Men films is confusing, it’s for the best not to think too hard about it.

The most logical assumption is that the MCU will meet the X-Men seen in the alternate universe seen at the end of The Marvels when Monica Rambeau wound up stranded in that universe. Her appearance will set off an incursion event that will have the two universes collide and lead to Avengers: Secret Wars. But then, if that is the plot, then why wasn’t Teyonah Parris announced? Maybe she will, later. Maybe Marvel Studios wants to keep some appearances as surprises to make up for spoiling Thunderbolts*.

There are many questions that have been raised by the streaming event, which is great for Marvel Studios and Avengers: Doomsday. This demonstrates that there is still interest and excitement about the MCU. To think, all this buzz is for a film that is over a year away and we still haven’t seen a trailer or set photos or anything official aside from a bunch of chairs and Robert Downey Junior motioning us to be silent. All this will be for nothing if Avengers: Doomsday doesn’t deliver, but given the talent behind the film, that seems unlikely.

José Soto

Aug 11 2024

Top Ten Cameos & Appearances In Deadpool & Wolverine…Spoilers, DUH!

By now most fans have seen Deadpool & Wolverine and enjoyed all the cameos and appearances of the characters and actors that appeared in numerous Marvel films including the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Here is a top ten list of cameos and appearances in Deadpool & Wolverine, and as a bonus there will be a mention of cameos that never materialized in the film but should have.

Obviously, there will be major spoilers in this list for anyone who hasn’t seen the film yet (What are you waiting for? It’s the best MCU film of the year! Actually, it’s the only MCU film for the year. Spend a few bucks and see this already in theaters!).

10. Thor

Thor’s brief appearance where he cradled a dying Deadpool in archival TVA footage from the future was just repurposed footage from Thor: The Dark World with Deadpool swapping out Loki. However, it set up a gnawing mystery that was never resolved in Deadpool & Wolverine and left us wondering if this was a scene from the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars or some other film.

9. Pyro and the Evil Mutants

It was a blast seeing many of the evil mutant characters from the Fox X-Men films, which included Pyro, Toad, Juggernaut, Azazel, Psylocke and more. For the most part they were good foes and deserved to be seen again. It was also great seeing Aaron Stanford reprising his role of Pyro again, who was a scummy as ever and one of the more developed villains.

8. Elektra

Jennifer Garner’s reprisal of the assassin may not have been wanted by those who hated the Fox Daredevil and Elektra films. Yet, her strong performance and off-color remark about Daredevil (once portrayed by Garner’s ex-husband, Ben Affleck) being killed, not only gave her character credibility, but provided some mischievous meta humor.

7. The Deadpool Corps

For a film that is about the main character jumping around the multiverse, it was only natural that he would encounter outlandish versions of himself. And this film certainly did not disappoint us. From Lady Deadpool to Kidpool, to Dogpool and Nicepool, the Deadpool variants were hysterical and imaginative. It’s guaranteed that we’ll be pausing the scenes when all the Deadpool variants appear together whenever the film hits home media.

6. The Hulk

The green giant made a quick appearance during Deadpool’s visit to a timeline where the events of The Incredible Hulk #181 (the debut appearance of Wolverine for you non-fans) were taking place. Sadly, we did not get to see the epic throwdown between Hulk and Wolverine, but it was a tantalizing tease. Maybe this can happen in Avengers: Secret Wars? We fans can only hope.

5. X-23

Having Dafne Keen reprise her role as a now-adult X-23 was an appropriate way to follow up Logan and reunited her with Hugh Jackman. The two actors have a natural chemistry and their scenes together provided Wolverine with needed emotional growth and a means to embrace his humanity. Keen was also such a kick-ass when she ripped those evil mutants apart later in the film.

4. Gambit

Channing Tatum was thisclose to having his own Gambit solo film before the project was canned during the time when Disney acquired the rights to the Fox X-Men films. It was a passion project for the actor and thankfully Deadpool & Wolverine gave him the chance to show off how awesome he would’ve been as the Cajun mutant, who was comic book-accurate down to his thick Cajun accent. Remember it!

3. Wesley Snipes as Blade!

The original Blade is back, baby! With all the behind-the-scenes headaches in trying to reboot Blade for the MCU, having Wesley Snipes return as Blade was a great surprise and a fitting tribute to the actor. After all, his films ushered in the modern Marvel films and his appearance has now sparked calls for Marvel Studios to forego the character’s recasting with Mahershala Ali and allow Snipes to reclaim the role for future MCU films.

2. Cavillerine!

Henry Cavill’s brief appearance as Wolverine was the most unexpected cameo in the film and the best Wolverine variant to appear (though the comic book-accurate Wolverine was hysterical). Not only did it allow fans to see someone else credibly play Logan, but it was a well-deserved middle finger to Warner Bros. for the way they mistreated the actor during the entire DCEU debacle.

1. Chris Evans…as the Human Torch!

The funniest and most out-of-left-field appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine was Chris Evans who did not reprise his role as Captain America, as Deadpool and many audiences expected, but as the Human Torch from the Fox Fantastic Four films. The way he was introduced was misleading and ingenious, and a nice call back to those films. Evans’ appearance also contributed some of the best laughs in the film, especially the line by Deadpool that the actor was too expensive to keep around for too long, hence his untimely death.

The Unrealized Cameos

Given the fact that Deadpool & Wolverine deals with the multiverse, the possibilities of variant characters were endless. Unfortunately, the realities of filmmaking precluded some possible cameos and appearances, some of which were planned but never materialized.

The Avengers

Aside from archival footage at the TVA we never see the team appear, much less have them interact with Deadpool. At one point, this was supposed to happen but the logistics of gathering the actors together was too much.

Robert Downey, Jr.

He was supposed to appear in the scene were Deadpool visits the MCU timeline and tries to get a job with the Avengers. But unfortunately, the actor turned down the opportunity and then wowed us when it was revealed that he would portray Dr. Doom, later on.

Ghost Rider

Speaking of actors who turned down the chance to reprise previous Marvel roles, Nicolas Cage was asked to appear as Ghost Rider. The actor was approached with the opportunity but for reasons unknown he passed on the offer. Blame the crappy Ghost Rider films.

Spider-Man

As much fun as it would have been to have Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield or Tobey Maguire to appear in Deadpool & Wolverine the fact that the film rights of Spider-Man are owned by Sony pretty much nipped that idea. They’ll probably appear in Avengers: Secret Wars.

Alternate Castings

Tom Cruise as Iron Man? How about Daniel Radcliffe or Tom Hardy as Wolverine? Sorry, these variants do not appear in the film nor was there any indication that this was considered. But given how busy Deadpool & Wolverine with its cameos, appearances, references and Easter eggs, it is probably for the best that these additional cameos did not happen.

José Soto

Feb 19 2021

Who Will Be The WandaVision Surprise Cameo?

By now, most fans have heard of a recent interview with actress Elizabeth Olsen where it was revealed that there will be a surprise cameo at the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Disney+ show WandaVision. Supposedly it will rival the shock and magnitude from the surprise guest appearance of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the second season finale of The Mandalorian.

Of course, Elizabeth Olsen did not elaborate on this and only confirmed to the interviewer that there will be a surprise cameo. In another interview, Paul Bettany who plays the Vision mentioned he will work with an actor he’s always wanted to work with, so take that as a clue or a misdirect. This MCU show is already proving to be adept at the art of misdirection. It could be this already happened with the appearance of Evan Peters as her brother Pietro aka Quicksilver. But it is doubtful that actor’s appearance is of the OMG scale many are now expecting. Then again it could be and all this could be a misdirect, which would be a huge disappointment for many WandaVision viewers.

However, let’s assume that the final episode of WandaVision will have a surprise cameo appearance that will keep the internet busy with buzz and hype for months. Who could that person be?

However, let’s assume that the final episode of WandaVision will have a surprise cameo appearance that will keep the internet busy with buzz and hype for months. Who could that person be? Be sure to leave a comment or two

Jun 25 2019

How Marvel Studios Can Fix The X-Men Films

Now that Dark Phoenix is over and done with when it comes to the Fox X-Men films, it is time to turn to Marvel Studios. As the inheritors of the X-Men film franchise, the studio has some work cut out for them. The X-Men films do need some retooling after all, and there are a few fixes that Marvel Studios can implement as they integrate the mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Let the Mutants Rest

Fortunately, Marvel Studios is doing the right thing here, which is hard for some to accept considering the demand for the MCU to feature the X-Men. Marvel Studios head, Kevin Feige, repeatedly stated that there aren’t any plans to introduce the X-Men right away into the MCU and one of the main reasons is that the film studio already has plans for the MCU for the next few years. Trying to force the X-Men into the crowded, but beloved, cinematic universe would be too much.

Then, after the bad taste that the last two X-Men films left fans with (sans the solo releases of Deadpool 2 and Logan), it is best for now to let the mutants rest. This will enable Feige and others the time to properly retool the franchise and cast its characters. Plus, imagine the built up anticipation for the X-Men. By the time they return, they will have a genuine comeback.

Be Faithful to the Comics and Characters

The X-Men comics from Marvel Comics were at one time among the most popular and revered comic books and for good reason. This was not because of their flashy costumes, and unlike Fox, Marvel Studios should not be afraid to use the comics costumes. Rather, the popularity was due to the wonderfully developed characters and situations. The Fox X-Men films have had a mixed record with the characters. At times they were fairly faithfully represented, other times not so much. Plus, some characters like Wolverine were allowed to hog the highlight and as a result many popular characters like Cyclops or Storm were given scant screen time.

It is too easy to allow uber favorites like Wolverine dominate a film, but this is a mistake. The comics were successful because they were about a team with diverse characters. In other words, an ensemble. Ample time and issues were devoted to each of the X-Men members, which is why there are so many popular characters. Perhaps, Marvel Studios should do what Fox did with their prequel films and not feature Wolverine (which happened for the most part) and probably Magneto, as well, at least for the beginning. This leads to another fix.

Explore Other Villains

Magneto has played a prominent role in the Fox X-Men films, usually as an adversary, and for good reason. He is one of the greatest and most developed villains in Marvel Comics. To not use him in a major film is unheard of, but necessary at this point. He needs some rest at the moment, and a well thought-out reimagining. For instance, even though his Holocaust/World War II backstory is very powerful, it makes the Master of Magnetism very old today. Just look at the criticism in Dark Phoenix where Magneto still looked youthful in the film’s 1990s setting compared to his first introduction in the 1960s-set X-Men: First Class. Another more recent real-world conflict or tragedy will have to be used such as the Yugoslav Wars or the Chechen War.

There are so many other worthy foes that the X-Men can face aside from Magneto. Take for example Mr. Sinister, Nimrod, Onslaught, the Marauders or the Freedom Force. Each of them are powerful, menacing foes with fascinating back stories and motives. Marvel Studios could also lean into its successful cosmic side and introduce the Brood or the Shi’Ar Empire. The latter force could then be used to properly adapt the “Dark Phoenix” storyline.

Go Epic and Personal

The X-Men are renowned for their epic story arcs like “Dark Phoenix”, “Days of Future Past”, “Age of Apocalypse” and “House of M”. These stories spanned several comics including other non-mutant titles and weren’t afraid to go big and tragic. The Fox X-Men films often felt like they were holding back when they tried to go epic. One exception was X-Men: Days of Future Past. But they dropped the ball on “Dark Phoenix” twice already and truncated the story. When adapting these stories Marvel Studios should not hesitate in going big. Of course, you can adapt them to fit the film and budget like Captain America: Civil War, but the film studio should not hold back.

On the other side of this equation, the X-Men films in the MCU should not forget to make the films personal. Fox did fine with this aspect for many of their films like the first X-Men, where we saw what it felt like for a young person to experience being a mutant for the first time such as with Rogue. Other films that grounded the mutants included Logan, which explored Wolverine facing old age as he was slowly dying, and X-Men: First Class, which showcased several young adults grappling with their newfound powers. However, many of their other films glossed over personal journeys. A good example is X-Men: The Last Stand, which barely examined the ramifications of a mutant cure. But that was just one of that film’s flaws. Many of the comics had outstanding small, personal stories that explored what it was like to be a mutant in today’s world. This is the core concept of the X-Men comics: how to fit into a world where you are feared and hated. As long the future X-men films stick to this, then they will be beloved.

So, anyone reading this have their own ideas of how to fix the X-Men films? Drop a comment and share your thoughts.

Mar 3 2019

Prejudging Dark Phoenix Before Its Release

20th Century Fox has released a new trailer for the last, proper X-Men film, Dark Phoenix. What is most interesting and disturbing, depending on one’s point of view, about the trailer’s release is the reaction from fans. While some enjoy it, and look forward to the X-Men film, others are reacting with indifference or downright negativity. This is somewhat baffling to witness and is evidence of how divided fans and our culture at large has become. We’re seeing this everywhere with vitriol hurled at Star Wars, Doctor Who, Star Trek, DC, the MCU and other franchises for many reasons. But the negativity towards Dark Phoenix before the film has come out is just going overboard.

There are many reasons to be skeptical for the upcoming superhero film and it’s not just because the director is a newbie. The film essentially retells a major subplot from X-Men: The Last Stand, which adapted parts of the famous and beloved Dark Phoenix story from the comics. However, the film was subpar and the trailer to Dark Phoenix uncomfortably reminds some of that film. While this is unavoidable, the new film will focus on the Dark Phoenix story and Jean Grey’s struggle. True, it won’t be a beat-by-beat adaptation of the comic book story, but what live-action adaptation of a comic book story is completely faithful? A couple of them are considered among the best superhero films of all time.

Then there is the anger that some have towards Fox for being neglectful towards the X-Men franchise. Fox’s track record with the X-Men films is admittedly mixed. For every Logan there is an X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The last X-Men film, X-Men: Apocalypse was not received well, though personally, I thought it was enjoyable and had an epic tone in its last act. The poor reaction to X-Men: Apocalypse has fed the negativity toward X-Men films going forward.

But we have to give the studio some credit. If not for them, the superhero films as we know it would not exist. Kevin Feige, the Marvel Studios guru, got his start in superhero films with the Fox X-Men films. He gained valuable insight and experience that helped him launch the successful MCU. Also, Fox released high-quality productions like Logan, Deadpool and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Still, many feel that the Fox X-Men films have run their course and a much-needed break is due. Or rather a radical reboot that is faithful to the comic books, which Marvel Studios can only produce.

As we all know, Marvel Studios will reboot the X-Men films since Disney has acquired the film rights to the X-Men. At this point, many are more than ready to move on from the Fox version of the X-Men and are eager to see how Marvel Studios reimagines and recasts the X-Men films. For them, Dark Phoenix feels redundant and think “what’s the point?” of this film since the Fox X-Men franchise is coming to an end. Some are angered that based on what is known about Dark Phoenix and some negative early screening reactions that the film is destined to be a stinker and don’t feel the need to see it.

This is unfair towards the film and the efforts of the cast and crew. In the end, it may wind up being as bad as many believe and a terrible way to end the Fox X-Men films. However, it’s best to keep an open mind and being objective towards this film. Hopefully, it can be a decent wrap up of the X-Men saga. After all, it will be the last X-Men film for a while given Marvel Studios’ crowded plate.

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