Why Fans Are Thinking ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is Going to Be Avengers Vs. X-Men After Cast Reveal

Marvel Studios has always been known for its surprises. (Remember when Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, who portrayed the web-slinger in previous movies, made surprise appearances in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home?).

From plot twists that send our brains into overdrive, the MCU knows how to keep fans on the edge of their seats. But with the recent cast reveal for Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel has done more than just drop a bombshell—they’ve blown the minds of nerds of all ages, sparking several theories about the movie’s plot. One of those prevailing theories is that the Avengers might go head-to-head with the X-Men. A feasible one, to be honest, given the movie’s cast reveal. 

In case you missed it, or if you’ve been forced to live under the stairs by your cruel aunt cut off from the internet for the past few days, Marvel announced the cast members for Avengers: Doomsday. 

The studio made the announcement via a livestream that, as reported by Deadline, had 275 million views and 3.1 million social media mentions. If the cast reveals already pulled in that many views, how many more will the movie itself generate? Perhaps Kevin Feige need not worry about rehiring the Russo Brothers, right? 

Among the cast members revealed are Marvel favorites: Chris Hemsworth, Paul Rudd, Tom Hiddleston, Letitia Wright, Anthony Mackie, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Winston Duke, Danny Ramirez, and, of course, Robert Downey Jr.  

Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are from The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Meanwhile, Sebastian Stan, Lewis Pullman, Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, David Harbour, and Hannah John-Kamen from Thunderbolts were also announced. 

Notably, and here’s why fans are speculating it’s going to be an Avengers vs. X-Men movie: besties Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, who played Charles Xavier and Magneto, are included in the cast, along with other X-Men OGs—Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, James Marsden as Cyclops, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, and Channing Tatum, who debuted as Gambit in the 2024 film Deadpool vs. Wolverine. 

According to Movieweb, there was a major comic book arc about Avengers vs. X-Men published in 2012, so the fans speculation is not far off. One Twitter influencer and writer even suggested they should have named the movie Avengers vs. X-Men since it “gives way more buzz than Avengers Doomsday” since “most people don't know who Doom is, but they know the X-Men.” 

Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to hit theaters on May 1, 2026.