There’s talk of a mega shake-up with the Avengers: Doomsday cast. There’s a report that Marvel.
It goes without saying that when the first Black Panther came out, Marvel was flying high. They ruled the zeitgeist, and perhaps more importantly, they ruled the box office. Things have changed significantly since then. Michael B. Jordan is a bona fide star now — he just led Sinners to becoming one of the most profitable and raved-about movies of the year so far.
On the other hand, Thunderbolts is a good enough movie, but there’s already talk that it’s set to actually lose money. And some of the MCU’s recent releases have just fully missed the mark. The rug feels like it’s slowly being pulled from underneath the Marvel machine, so they might actually need to figure out how to create a pathway for stars like Michael B. Jordan to return.
If Michael B. Jordan does come back, it’s not going to be either surprising or novel. There’s a pretty interesting aspect to how they chose to bring back Robert Downey Jr. But not all reintegration of characters needs to be that creative. The Avengers, luckily, have a mechanism that makes it possible for them to have their shawarma and eat it too: incorporating other universes. As fans obviously know, Killmonger died in the first Black Panther, and Letitia Wright was already announced to be back as the Black Panther in the Avengers. But if recent reports are to be believed, Michael B. Jordan will be playing a variant of his famed character in the movie.
The report originates from the AlexFromCC. In the Marvel scoops game, you’re only as good as your last correct scoop. And this was right on the money when they were first to report Hailee Steinfeld would Hawkeye. So there’s at least a reason to believe that they have sources deep inside the Marvel machine.
RUMOR:
— Culture Base (@Culture3ase) June 1, 2025
Michael B. Jordan will interpret a variant of Black Panther in AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY.
The variant will be part of the multiverse team for the AVENGERS.
Via @AlexFromCC pic.twitter.com/20dulUdCJS
As for more plot details and how the Creed star’s performance would be incorporated, that’s obviously under lock and key. And with how Marvel typically works, they could still even be tweaking that script. But the way it’s shaping up, the report also suggests he’ll play a small role in the Avengers. Everything right now is pointing at Marvel moving towards the Fantastic Four and maybe even possibly using this as an opportunity to give a backdoor entrance for the X-Men into the larger universe.
Michael B. Jordan certainly cemented himself as one of the heirs of the house the Tom Cruises and Brad Pitts built with his performance in Sinners. It would honestly be cool if he used his star power to cameo and surprise fans, because sometimes even a glimpse of a star is worth the price of ission for some. And while the core Marvel fans will always be loyal to the cause, Thunderbolts is proof that these films also need mainstream appeal for them to make financial sense.
Right now, what Marvel is focusing on isn’t just maintaining the fans they had before, but also building brand-new ones. They need every star they have to achieve that.
Published: Jun 4, 2025 04:32 am