Recent casting news could indicate that Avengers: Doomsday will include the death of Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes and that he may be finished appearing in the MCU altogether. Stan has been a member of the MCU since 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, and has had a tenured Marvel Studios career where he has appeared as Bucky and the Winter Soldier across many projects. Bucky has been at the center of the franchise's storytelling on multiple occasions, most notably in Captain America: Civil War, when he was framed for the murder of Wakanda's king, T'Chaka.
Multiple reports recently confirmed that Sebastian Stan will be joining an upcoming DC Studios project set in the Elseworlds realm. This project is none other than The Batman 2, which will be led by Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne (aka Batman). Specifically, Stan will apparently be portraying Harvey Dent, who many fans are familiar with from other Caped Crusader flicks or comics. Most notably, Harvey gets mutilated and turns into a villain known as Two-Face.
Nothing has been confirmed as far as Stan's MCU future goes, but considering he will be playing a major character in a DC movie, that may mean that Avengers: Doomsday will be the actor's final appearance in the MCU. Filming superhero projects is not easy and often takes a lot of time, so Stan will have a packed schedule once he begins filming The Batman 2.
Stan's time on the Doomsday set would not have been affected by this casting, but one year after Doomsday is released in theaters, Avengers: Secret Wars will premiere. That movie will likely begin shooting sometime in the middle of 2026, around the same time as The Batman 2.
So, instead of hopping from one major superhero set to another, fans may see Bucky Barnes die in Avengers: Doomsday, which would leave Stan free to film The Batman 2 (a film in which MCU actress Scarlett Johansson will also be featured). It is also worth noting that Stan joining a DC project in a major role also lessens his chances of continuing his MCU role in general. Many are well aware that Marvel and DC are rival brands, and a lot of actors don't appear in projects from both companies at the exact same time.
If Bucky does die in Avengers: Doomsday, it wouldn't be that big of a surprise anyway. As mentioned, he has been a part of the MCU for over 10 years now and has played an important role in the franchise's storytelling, so it may be Marvel's plan to give him a grand send-off anyway.
Why Bucky's Avengers: Doomsday Death Makes Sense
Bucky has a lot of ties to a lot of characters in the MCU. He started out as the best friend of Chris Evans' Steve Rogers before integrating himself into the Avengers in Infinity War and Endgame. After that, Bucky grew quite close to Sam Wilson and then went on to be a part of the Thunderbolts team, which is now known as the New Avengers.
Since Bucky is so ingrained in the MCU and is so familiar with so many characters, his death would be extremely emotional. A lot of people care about him and have fought beside him, so his giving his life could lead to a lot of hard-hitting moments.
It is also important to remember that Steve Rogers will be coming back in Doomsday as one of the film's main characters, so that makes it even more likely that Bucky could die in that specific project. As mentioned, Bucky and Steve are lifelong best friends, so there would really be no one better for Bucky to die beside than Steve, and this could be the only upcoming project that Steve is a part of.
Some rumors have suggested that the plot of Doomsday will be a result of Steve staying in the past to live a quiet life and causing an incursion, and, if that is true, that could lead to an even more emotional death for Bucky.
For instance, if Bucky were to die and it were indirectly because of something that Steve did (causing the incursion and the arrival of Doctor Doom), Steve would undoubtedly feel extremely guilty about it, which would make Bucky's death very impactful and emotional.
However, it is still possible that Bucky could survive the events of Doomsday and make it to Secret Wars. Sebastian Stan would have a nightmare of a filming schedule if he were in both Secret Wars and The Batman 2, but if he wants to do that, he is a talented enough actor to make it work.
