A new casting for another high-profile project has led fans to believe that a major death will happen in Avengers: Doomsday. The upcoming MCU crossover film has a stacked cast and a high-stakes Multiversal plot, meaning it is all but confirmed that someone on the heroes' side will die. Following the reveal that Doctor Doom will have evil plans for the Multiverse in Avengers: Doomsday's first synopsis, speculation has become rampant on which MCU characters will bite the dust, with candidates such as Loki, Thor, and Bucky Barnes making rounds online.
Sebastian Stan's reported casting for an important villain role in The Batman - Part 2 has fans concerned that Bucky Barnes will die in Avengers: Doomsday. Stan is set to play Harvey Dent opposite Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne in the DC Elseworlds sequel, and his transition into Two-Face suggests he will have a major role.
While nothing has been confirmed about Stan's MCU future beyond Avengers: Doomsday, the actor did mention that there will be major deaths in the movie during an appearance at Tokyo Comic-Con last December 2025 in Japan, possibly hinting at his own character's demise in the crossover event.
Tokyo Comic-Con Host: "Can you tell us what you’re most excited about 'Avengers: Doomsday'?"
Sebastian Stan: "Oh. 'Avengers Doomsday.' Yeah, I don’t know if I could say very much about that. I don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ll see who makes it and who doesn’t, right?"
Deadline reported that The Batman - Part 2 is scheduled to begin production in London in June, around the same time as the start of filming for Avengers: Secret Wars, according to a listing from Film Base UK.
If Bucky survives Doomsday and is poised to return in Secret Wars, then Stan would need to juggle two high-profile, demanding projects at once. While the two projects will both start production in the United Kingdom, there will be unavoidable overlap.
The fact that Stan is part of a DC project in a recognizable role like Two-Face also lessens his chances of reprising his MCU role as Bucky, considering that a lot of actors don't appear in projects from both Marvel and DC at the exact same time.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to bring back Bucky as he leads the New Avengers alongside Yelena in the fight against Doctor Doom to save the Multiverse. The movie premieres in theaters on December 18.
Meanwhile, The Batman - Part 2 will continue the story of Robert Pattinson's Dark Knight as he unpacks Gotham City's criminal underbelly while trying to navigate new threats. The DC sequel will premiere in theaters on October 1, 2027.
