MCU fans may now have an idea of the characters who will be featured in Marvel Studios' fourth Avengers: Doomsday trailer. Doomsday's early promotional run is already building plenty of anticipation for the 2026 sequel, especially with the upcoming third trailer centering on the X-Men's return to the big screen. This follows up on epic teases for Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans' inclusions as Thor and Steve Rogers, which is only the tip of the iceberg for what this film will deliver.
A new rumor hinted at four MCU characters who will be highlighted in the fourth new trailer for Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday. Coming from scooper My Time To Shine Hello, the rumor teases that this trailer will bring back the movie's two Wakandan heroes, Letitia Wright's Shuri and Winston Duke's M'Baku. Along with an appearance by Tenoch Huerta's Namor the Sub-Mariner, an unexpected addition to the group will be Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Ben Grimm/The Thing.
While the rumor does not reveal what specifically will happen plot-wise, it brings together members of two of Doomsday's reported six teams of heroes in one plot thread. It also teases at least part of the Fantastic Four being sent to Earth-616, but there are no indications of who will be in Wakanda with Ben or where the rest of the Four will be.
The fourth Doomsday trailer is expected to begin playing in theaters with showings of Avatar: Fire and Ash starting in the second week of January 2026. This will come directly after the first teaser for Doomsday's inclusion of the X-Men, which specifically includes Sir Patrick Stewart's Professor X, Sir Ian McKellen's Magneto, and James Marsden's Cyclops.
Avengers: Doomsday will be Marvel Studios' fifth Avengers film and the third film to be released in the MCU's Phase 6 slate. 29 cast members are already confirmed for the sequel's cast, which will center on the Avengers, X-Men, Wakandans, Fantastic Four, and more uniting to face Robert Downey Jr.'s all-powerful take on Doctor Doom. Avengers: Doomsday will debut in theaters on December 18, 2026.
How Wakandans & Fantastic Four Come Together in Avengers: Doomsday
One of the biggest moments from the MCU in 2025 came at the end of Thunderbolts*, when its post-credits scene showed the Fantastic Four's ship, the Excelsior, flying into Earth-616's atmosphere. While different theories have hinted at who may be on the ship when it comes to the MCU's main universe, this teaser could potentially set up Ben Grimm landing alone in or close to Wakanda.
This also comes after Moss-Bachrach and co-star Pedro Pascal teased that the Fantastic Four would be separated in Doomsday during an interview on the press tour for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In that interview, Pascal commented on how Moss-Bachrach did not have any scenes with Downey's Doctor Doom, although Moss-Bachrach challenged that idea immediately. However, considering how many different universes are expected to be used in this movie, all best are off on where all of these characters could go and who they could meet.
Another rumor about this movie's plot has teased Doctor Doom kidnapping the four-year-old Franklin Richards for his plan, forcing the Four to travel across the multiverse to rescue him. Considering how insanely powerful Doom is expected to be, he could easily find a way to split the team up across different universes and make the challenge of finding him and Franklin that much more difficult.
The trailer also sets up the anticipation fans will feel in seeing Earth-616's heroes meet at least one hero from Earth-828, setting up one of the most unique team-ups in MCU history. While this will continue a trend seen in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, both of which used never-before-seen character combinations, Marvel clearly wants to give the audience as many different combos of heroes as possible to help drive the story and character development forward.
While more details are sure to be revealed once the fourth trailer hits theaters (or is leaked online first), there is still plenty of mystery surrounding what Marvel plans to do for this new team-up epic.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
