Tom Hiddleston and Sebastian Stan will be breaking a hugeMCUrecord by returning as Loki and Bucky Barnes' Winter Soldier, respectively, in 2026’s upcomingAvengers: Doomsday. Marvel Studios confirmed the first27 actors confirmed to be cast inAvengers: Doomsdayat the end of March, and while this line-up included some brilliant surprises, there are also many MCU veterans who will be reprising their roles. Among them are some actors who’ve been in the MCU since the very beginning, and have become some of the franchise’s most consistent characters.
Marvel Studios has confirmed thatAvengers: Doomsdaywill bring together several superhero teams in battle againstRobert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. This includes a new Avengers team, as well as the Thunderbolts, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and a team of heroes from Wakanda.Avengers: Doomsdaywill be putting new characters in the spotlight, however, and this includes Loki and Bucky Barnes, both of whom became more prominent in the Multiverse Saga. TheRusso brothers' Phase 6 crossover movieallows Hiddleston and Stan to extend their already-impressive MCU streak.
Tom Hiddleston & Sebastian Stan Will Have Appeared In All 6 Phases Of The MCU In Avengers: Doomsday
Tom Hiddleston Plays Loki In The MCU While Sebastian Stan Plays Bucky Barnes' Winter Soldier
Tom Hiddleston and Sebastian Stan are two of the most consistent and familiar faces in the MCU, so their returns inAvengers: Doomsdayare very exciting for their overall narratives.Avengers: Doomsdaywill mark Hiddleston and Stan’s debuts in the MCU’s Phase 6, which will mean that they are the only two confirmed actors to appear in every Phase of the MCU. Hiddleston made his first appearance as Loki in 2011’sThor, while Stan debuted as Bucky Barnes in 2011’sCaptain America: The First Avenger, and they’ve become cornerstones of the MCU since then.
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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
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LokiSeason 2
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Avengers: Doomsday
It’s surprising that some other notable MCU veterans haven’t also hit this record, particularly the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and more. Even so, the fact that Tom Hiddleston and Sebastian Stan are coming back forAvengers: Doomsdayas more central characters in the MCU is brilliant.They spent most of their MCU journeys as secondary or supporting characters, but the Multiverse Saga has put them in the spotlight, andAvengers: Doomsdayis about to make them two of the most important figures in the MCU’s entire history.
Loki & Bucky Barnes Finally Became Main Characters In The MCU’s Multiverse Saga
Loki & Bucky Barnes Were Secondary Characters Until Their Solo MCU Projects
Even though they had crucial roles over the entire duration of the MCU’s Infinity Saga, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes were never main characters. In fact, they were arguably wasted throughout their early adventures, with Loki being rendered a scheming but destined-to-lose villain, while Bucky similarly spent most of his time as the HYDRA-controlled Winter Soldier.The Multiverse Saga changed their fates, however, as they both embarked on solo adventures that finally made them main characters, which was a long-deserved transformation.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldiersaw Bucky Barnes seek redemption for his actions as the Winter Soldier, whileThunderbolts*will make him the leader of a brand-new superhero team, which he’ll continue to lead inAvengers: Doomsday. Similarly, theLokiseries on Disney+ saw a variant of the God of Mischief become one of the most powerful beings in the MCU, as he replaced the Temporal Loom and He Who Remains to protect the entire multiverse.These positions will prove crucial toAvengers: Doomsday’snarrative.
Only 2 Other Actors Can Copy Hiddleston & Stan’s Impressive MCU Record
Marvel Is Yet To Confirm Some Stars We Hope Return In Avengers: Doomsday Or Secret Wars
It’s something of a surprise that Tom Hiddleston and Sebastian Stan are the only actors who will have appeared in every Phase of the MCU, though there is still a chance that Marvel Studios could announce the only other two possible candidates to match this record.Every other actor except for Hiddleston, Stan, Jon Favreau and Don Cheadle has missed at least one Phase of the MCU, so the door is open for Favreau and Cheadle to match this impressive streak. Neither has been confirmed forAvengers: Doomsday, Secret Warsor another Phase 6 project yet.
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Even though they haven’t yet been confirmed,it’s very possible that both Jon Favreau and Don Cheadle will be announced to return in the MCU’s Phase 6. It would be fantastic to see Favreau’s Happy Hogan reunite with Robert Downey Jr., especially now that the latter is playing iconic Marvel villain Doctor Doom. Similarly, Don Cheadle’s Rhodey, a.k.a. War Machine, would also have a strong reaction to a villain using his best friend’s face, and this could either continue inAvengers: Doomsdayor another MCU project such asAvengers: Secret Warsor the more-uncertainArmor Wars.
