Marvel officially brought back Daniel Brühl's Baron Zemo in an official (and quite unexpected) trailer online. Zemo made his MCU debut in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, orchestrating a highly complex revenge plan meant to tear the Avengers apart after losing his family in the Battle of Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron. While Zemo's plan worked, he was taken into custody by Black Panther, laying the groundwork for his return in the Multiverse Saga in 2021's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to team up with Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes against the Flag Smashers. At the end of the series, Zemo was last seen imprisoned once again.
While Marvel Studios has been quiet on Zemo's comeback, Daniel Brühl officially makes his return in a surprising new way via the official German trailer for the Marvel Super Heroes collaboration with Magic: The Gathering.
The MCU actor reprises his role as the Marvel villain while donning a completely new comic-accurate purple costume but without the full mask. Zemo is shown inside his hidden base, with him playing a Villain deck from Marvel's Magic: The Gathering set.
While it is a given that this is a non-canon appearance, it's quite fascinating to see Brühl in character as Zemo once again, fueling anticipation for his eventual MCU comeback. It's worth noting, though, that a version of Baron Zemo appeared in Marvel Zombies in Phase 6.
The trailer leans into a light-hearted marketing approach aimed at German audiences, with Brühl's Zemo dueling a local player who has his own deck of playable hero cards.
The new Marvel Super Heroes and Magic: The Gathering trailer serves as a clever callback to Daniel Brühl's MCU Zemo as he is literally playing a villain who is using his brilliant scheming behind the scenes to outsmart fellow players in the field.
Daniel Brühl is the second MCU actor to collaborate with Magic: The Gathering on this set. Paul Bettany (Vision) previously appeared at MagicCon: Las Vegas in May 2026 to help reveal one of the set’s standout cards: The Mind Stone.
Watch the official Magic: The Gathering trailer here:
Marvel's collaboration with Magic: The Gathering is now available for purchase in the official MTG website here.
When Will Daniel Brühl's Zemo Return to the MCU?
Daniel Brühl's Baron Zemo has remained off-screen since the finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where he was sent back to the Raft after helping orchestrate the defeat of the Flag Smashers. As one of the MCU villains who are currently in prison, Zemo is a definitive wildcard who could wreak havoc once he finds a way to escape, making his possible return much more anticipated.
Interestingly, Zemo almost returned in Thunderbolts*, with screenwriter Eric Pearsons previously confirming that one draft of the script revealed that Zemo was the mastermind behind everything after escaping the Raft. Many would agree that Thunderbolts* would have been the perfect MCU project for Zemo to make a comeback, considering that the villain was the founder and leader of the group in Marvel Comics.
It is unlikely that Zemo would return in Avengers: Doomsday, considering the Multiversal stakes of the film. Given that Avengers: Secret Wars is rumored to focus on a Battleworld plot, Zemo could make a comeback for a quick appearance to remind viewers that he is still active.
As the MCU shifts gears with the Mutant Saga and a broader multiverse reset, Baron Zemo is poised to stand out as one of the most grounded, human-scale villains expected to return in Phase 7. It's possible that the reset could allow Zemo to be a free man after the events of Secret Wars, leading to brand new conflict and rivalries that could include a mix of battles with the Avengers and the MCU's new X-Men.
