While Chris Hemsworth's and Chris Evans' return to the MCU as Thor and Captain America in Avengers: Doomsday was confirmed by the makers through teasers, the presence of Mark Ruffalo's Hulk has been kept under wraps. While he is set to be seen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, his name was not mentioned in the first Doomsday teaser.
Accordingly, Mark Ruffalo has now confirmed to Empire Magazine that he will not be making a return in the upcoming film. However, the actor also said that he is open to the idea of coming back after Spider-Man: Brand New Day. "As long as they keep finding cool things to do with Hulk. It's given me so many gifts. You know, I probably wouldn't be in Crime 101 if it wasn't for The Avengers.”
Avengers: Doomsday sees the return of Robert Downey Jr to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this time as Victor von Doom/Dr Doom, the primary antagonist of the film. Dr Doom is the arch nemesis of the Fantastic Four in the comics.
Previous teasers showed the return of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and offered a first look at Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and the X-Men, including Charles Xavier/Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Ian McKellen), and Scott Summers/Cyclops (James Marsden). The last teaser featured the Fantastic Four and the Wakandans, after the former are shown to enter the universe where the Wakandans reside in the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts* (2025).
Directed by the Russo Brothers, the upcoming film, written by Michael Waldron and Stephen McFeely, will feature heroes from the Avengers, Wakandans, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men joining hands to square off against Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr). The film's star cast also includes Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Joseph Quinn, David Harbour, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hiddleston, Channing Tatum, and Pedro Pascal.
The two-part Avengers film, with the first being Avengers: Doomsday, hits theatres on December 18, 2026, while its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, is slated for a release on December 17, 2027.
