Avengers 5: Hayley Atwell Talks Possible Captain Carter Return in Doomsday

Hayley Atwell is ready to make her second live-action appearance as Captain Carter in Avengers: Doomsday.

When was the last time fans saw Captain Carter in the MCU?

While a Captain Carter variant did appear in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a member of Earth-838’s Illuminati, the best-known version of the superhero was introduced in the Disney+ animated series What If…?, where she was one of the few characters to appear in all three seasons. Unfortunately, this variant sacrificed herself in the series finale of What If…? to save her fellow friends/allies and The Watcher from the Eminence, Incarnate, and Executioner. The character has not appeared since in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In December 2024, it was reported that Atwell was expected to reprise her role as Peggy Carter in Avengers: Doomsday. However, Atwell’s name was absent from Marvel Studios’ viral casting announcement live stream for the crossover movie, calling into doubt the validity of the previous casting report. Despite this uncertainty, Atwell recently told Den of Geek that she “would love” to return as Captain Carter in Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars.

“There are so many things that she could do, there’s so much more I feel I can bring to a character because I’ve developed as time’s gone on,” Atwell explained. “What’s so great about having time behind you and having had a 20-year career so far is the development of skill, and I think there’s so much more that Peggy can do. She’s very much an underserved character.”

Captain Carter wasn’t the only fan-favorite superhero missing from the Doomsday cast live stream. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, among others, were also noticeably absent. However, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has stated that the entire cast for the Avengers sequel has not yet been revealed, meaning that fans should expect further casting announcements in the future.

Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to hit theaters on May 1, 2026, as part of Phase 6 of the MCU.