Marvel Studios is barreling toward the two-part conclusion of its Multiverse Saga, with Avengers: Doomsday arriving on December 18th, and Avengers: Secret Wars following on December 17, 2027. Both movies are anchored by Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.), a fan-favorite Marvel Comics villain who famously rewrote reality itself and ruled over a patchwork planet built from the wreckage of a collapsed multiverse, in one of the stories that gives Avengers: Secret Wars its title. President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige has also spoken multiple times about how the movie is a structural reset for the franchise, drawing inspiration from the 2015 saga that merged different timelines in the comic books. That means we can expect Avengers: Secret Wars to be a massive spectacle that will fold alternate timelines, forgotten variants, and dangling plot threads while also clearing the path for all that’s coming after the Multiversal Saga.
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Marvel has kept Secret Wars’ cast almost entirely under wraps, a choice meant to avoid potentially spoiling Doomsday and to preserve the secrets of the saga. That means, so far, Downey Jr. is the only cast member officially attached to the movie, even though reports and even interview hints point to a larger ensemble. That’s what makes the recent casting of Noah Jupe stand out, since the star is joining a massive movie without any prior attachment to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in an unnamed role that’s only described as a key part of the story. While that’s little to go on, it already gives us enough to raise some of the most likely candidates.
4) Beyonder
The Beyonder debuted in 1984 as an unseen, virtually omnipotent cosmic entity who initiated the original Secret Wars comic book crossover. Possessing absolute control over reality, the character abducted Earth’s most prominent heroes and villains, teleporting them to a patchwork planet named Battleworld. The entity orchestrated this massive conflict simply to study the concept of human desire, observing the warring factions as a casual sociological experiment, indifferent to what happens to the universe and its inhabitants. In subsequent storylines, the Beyonder eventually adopted physical human forms, frequently manifesting as an emotionally stunted being struggling to comprehend the basic limitations of mortal existence. Decades later, Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers and New Avengers runs retconned the character, revealing the original Beyonder as one member of an entire alien race called the Beyonders.
The Beyonders are the initial villains of Jonathan Hickman’s 2015 Secret Wars, as they are responsible for the Incursions tearing the multiverse apart. Working in secret with Doctor Strange and Molecule Man, Doctor Doom hunts the Beyonders down and steals their absolute power, using it to weld the ruins of infinite collapsing universes into Battleworld. Of course, Doom crowns himself the ruler of Battleworld, reigning over a massive planet divided into many factions. While we don’t know if the Beyonder will be a part of either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, the character’s importance to both comic events means Marvel Studios might use him somehow.
3) Molecule Man
Owen Reece, known as the Molecule Man, was initially introduced as a mild-mannered villain who gained the ability to control all matter and energy following a laboratory accident. However, writer Jonathan Hickman drastically expanded the character’s mythology leading up to the 2015 Secret Wars event. The storyline revealed that the Beyonders engineered Reece’s origin across the multiverse, planting a variant of the Molecule Man in every single reality to serve as a biological time bomb. If a Molecule Man dies, his respective universe detonates along with him, a mechanism the Beyonders designed to annihilate all of existence.
To thwart the Beyonders’ plan, Doctor Doom teams up with the Earth-616 version of Reece. Together, they travel across dimensions to find other variants, eventually weaponizing a collection of Molecule Men to destroy the Beyonders entirely. Once Doom steals the Beyonders’ omnipotent power and forges Battleworld, he keeps Reece hidden inside a secret bunker at the center of the planet. Throughout the 2015 Secret Wars narrative, the Molecule Man functions as the living conduit channeling the stolen cosmic energy, making him the literal anchor holding Doom’s patchwork reality together. We know Doom is trying to save the multiverse in Avengers: Doomsday, and there are clues about Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) helping him, which would mimic the comics. Perhaps Jupe was brought on board to play Molecule Man.
2) Steve Rogers’ Son
The first teaser for Avengers: Doomsday confirmed the return of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Following the ending of Avengers: Endgame, where Steve danced with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) in the closing scenes, the teaser revealed Steve had a child with Peggy. Since so much of the Avengers: Doomsday marketing involves children, Steve’s child might be connected to the movie’s main plot. The larger Marvel mythology offers us hints of who that child might be. For instance, introduced in the 2008 direct-to-video animated feature Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, James Rogers is the son of Steve and Natasha Romanoff. Although Next Avengers is aimed at a younger audience, James Rogers was later introduced in the main comic book continuity as a hardened survivor of a dystopian future, which is something the MCU can adapt when using Battleworld.
When it comes to Battleworld, Steve Rogers has another child appearing in the 2015 Secret Wars event, Ellie Rogers, his daughter with Sharon Carter. Rick Remender and Roland Boschi created Ellie Rogers for Hail Hydra #2, a Secret Wars Battleworld tie-in miniseries. She comes from Earth-85826, a reality where Hydra conquered the United States and installed Arnim Zola as its ruler. In that timeline, Steve Rogers served as the regime’s own Captain Hydra before turning against it to lead an underground rebellion, and Sharon Carter fought at his side in the same movement. While it would be controversial to gender-bend Ellie in the MCU, the character background could be meshed with the James Rogers story.
1) Franklin Richards
Franklin Richards is one of the most powerful mutants in Marvel Comics history. The son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, Franklin has the omega-level ability to create entirely new pocket universes through sheer thought, while also having the ability to manipulate reality to a certain extent. In Jonathan Hickman’s 2015 Secret Wars event, Doctor Doom adopts Franklin into his twisted royal family on Battleworld, manipulating the child’s abilities to help maintain the patchwork planet. Eventually, Franklin partners with his biological father to reconstruct the destroyed multiverse, serving as the cosmic architect of the reborn continuity.
Franklin Richards was born on screen in 2025’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps. At the movie’s climax, Franklin revives his dead mother (Vanessa Kirby), showing a glimpse of his vast powers. He is also another child involved in Avengers: Doomsday, as Doctor Doom himself visits the boy in First Steps. Just like Rogers child, Franklin could potentially age in Avengers: Secret Wars, especially if the movie features any kind of time jump to show how Doom has solidified his power across dimensions. Since the character is also key to resolving the 2015 Secret Wars storyline, it would make sense if Marvel Studios did the same.
7 MCU Heroes Most Likely To Be Recast After Avengers: Secret Wars
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