Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) watched an Instagram live hosted by the official Marvel Studios page that announced the cast for their 2026 film “Avengers: Doomsday” on Wednesday afternoon.
As names were announced every 15 minutes by unveiling director’s chairs on the set of the film, Sebastian Stan and Pedro Pascal, for example. I quickly noticed that by the end of the live stream, there was a lack of actresses announced.
Out of the 27 main cast members announced for the fifth “Avengers” film during the five-hour livestream, only five of them are women. The women include Vanessa Kirby, Letitia Wright, Florence Pugh, Hannah John-Kamen and Rebecca Romijn.
For the past few years, Marvel has focused on introducing more women characters, and even though it was only through television shows like “She-Hulk,” the female audience seeks inspiration and inclusivity from these female superheroes. Now, they are left out of the MCU’s biggest film since 2019.
It is undeniable that this choice was not a mistake, as women in the MCU have been receiving unnecessary backlash for years.
Brie Larson, also missing from the announcement, starred in the 2019 film, “Captain Marvel,” the first-ever women solo film in the MCU. When the trailer for the film was released, people online suggested Larson smile more — a classic misogynistic comment.
The sequel to “Captain Marvel,” “The Marvels,” contained four women leads and female director Nia DaCosta, with four out of the five of them being women of color. This led fans to deem the film as “too woke” for them.
Unfortunately, “The Marvels” failed to reach its expected earnings at the box office and is currently the lowest-grossing MCU film. Other recent MCU films have also failed to reach their earning goals; the most recent example being the “Captain America” film.
However, some of the films having more women as a part of the cast is not the issue. Back in the summer of 2023, the MCU series “Secret Invasion” was released on Disney+ and garnered extremely low ratings. With the main storyline of the show being boring overall, fans were not happy with the series led by Samuel L. Jackson returning as the iconic Nick Fury. Marvel surprisingly even got backlash for randomly killing off a female character, Maria Hill.
Another way to make sure the fifth Avengers film does well for the company is by bringing back the Russo Brothers to direct and having Downey return to play Doctor Doom. So, instead of incredible female superheroes who still have stories to complete returning, we are getting a dead male character who had a beautiful ending in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” returning.
Released in March, The Russo Brothers’ latest film on Netflix, “The Electric State,” has been receiving horrible reviews online. With a budget over $300 million, the film has been certified as a failure across the internet, with people even doubting the Brothers in “Doomsday.”
An even bigger conflict is the time period this is all happening — President Donald Trump’s second term in office. With diversion, equity and inclusion, or DEI, regulations being removed from many companies and women’s rights being threatened almost daily, this country is moving towards the past rather than the future, and these casting choices are just encouraging this behavior in society.
I hope we at least see more women leading the sixth Avengers film, “Avengers: Secret Wars,” supposedly due to be released in 2027.
jcaramag@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @Doomsday_Avengers, Instagram
