Marvel Studios is Changing the Appearances of 5 Major MCU Characters For Their Upcoming Phase 6 Roles

The MCU is altering the looks of several major characters for their upcoming Phase 6 appearances, and the redesigns make perfect sense for where the characters' stories are headed. Phase 6 will feature two of the studio's most anticipated theatrical and Disney+ projects, Avengers: Doomsday and Daredevil: Born Again Season 3, both of which bring back fan-favorite heroes and villains in new directions. Hair, beards, and overall appearance often tell viewers where a character has been since their last appearance, and Marvel Studios is using that to its advantage as it builds toward the next stage of the Multiverse Saga.

Five MCU characters in particular are getting new looks across these Phase 6 projects. Trailers, set photos, and official Marvel Studios promo material have confirmed brand new designs for these fan-favorite characters. While these redesigns are crucial to each character's arc, it’s also simply exciting to see these heroes and villains look completely different from when we last saw them.

MCU Characters Set for Facial Redesigns in Next Phase 6 Appearances

Thor  

Chris Hemsworth's Thor closed out Thor: Love and Thunder with the long, golden blonde hair he carried through most of his early MCU run. That look is gone for Avengers: Doomsday. Official crew merch from the film's production at Pinewood Studios revealed artwork of Thor with a short trim, the same hairstyle Hemsworth wore in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War. 

Set photos from filming further backed up that design, with Hemsworth's stunt double sharing a behind-the-scenes shot that matched the shorter cut. Then we got an even better look at the character's appearance in the second Doomsday teaser, where a battle-ready Thor was on his knees, praying for strength.

Steve Rogers  

Chris Evans is back as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, and his look in the full trailer shown at CinemaCon 2026 is not what the first teaser set up. That earlier teaser, which played in front of Avatar: Fire and Ash, showed a clean-shaven Steve with short hair holding a baby in a quiet domestic setting. The full trailer flips that, revealing a Steve with longer hair and a full beard who answers Thor's call for a miracle and pulls Mjolnir out of the air.

It is the same design Evans wore in Avengers: Infinity War, widely considered one of the character's most iconic appearances. The two looks in the same film also suggest a time jump in Steve's story, with the bearded version meeting up with the rest of the Avengers after the events of his quieter life with Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter.  

Matt Murdock  

Marvel Studios officially debuted Matt Murdock's new look for Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 in a promo tied to the Season 2 finale. Charlie Cox's Matt is sporting a thick, full brown beard, a breakaway from the clean-cut lawyer fans have followed since 2015. The design pulls directly from Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark's The Devil in Cell Block D arc and Chip Zdarsky's more recent Daredevil run, both of which see Matt behind bars with a heavier, lived-in look. 

This new look is perfect for where Season 3 is headed. At the end of Born Again Season 2, Matt outed himself as Daredevil in open court and ended up in prison alongside enemies he had personally put away. The beard represents time served, and a Matt who has nothing of his old life left to fall back on. Cox confirmed the change during an interview with The Wrap, calling it a fun and different look for the character. He also made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live with the new beard and talked about how Season 3 was progressing.

Wilson Fisk 

Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk is going through an even bigger visual overhaul. The same Marvel Studios promo that revealed Matt's bearded look also showed Fisk with a thick, grizzled white beard for Daredevil: Born Again Season 3. After eleven years of playing Fisk in tailored three-piece suits, D'Onofrio is now playing a Kingpin who has been forced out of New York and into exile following the collapse of his mayoral run. 

Set photos taken during Season 3 filming first hinted at the change, showing D'Onofrio walking casually around in a coat with the white beard fully grown in. With the suit, the office, and the city all taken away from him, the new design hints at a unique story arc for the character in the new season. 

Magneto 

Ian McKellen is back as Erik Lehnsherr for Avengers: Doomsday, his first time playing Magneto since 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past. His new look is a clear departure from that final Fox-era appearance, which saw him with shorter, neat grey hair. The Doomsday teaser focused on the X-Men confirmed McKellen's Magneto is now sporting long, flowing white hair, leaning into a more mystical and weathered version of the character.

The redesign is part of a wider Doomsday push to bring the Fox X-Men characters in with refreshed, comic-accurate looks. James Marsden's Cyclops shows up in a fully comic-accurate uniform, complete with yellow belts, and Patrick Stewart's Professor X wears a jacket with a black and red X logo. Taking this direction into consideration, McKellen's new long hair is a perfect fit for Doomsday, giving Magneto a presence that feels more in line with his comic origins.