Los Angeles: Disney’s Marvel Studios has officially announced the star-studded cast for the highly anticipated "Avengers: Doomsday," set to release in May 2026. The announcement comes six years after "Avengers: Endgame," the record-breaking blockbuster that briefly held the title of the highest-grossing film ever before "Avatar" reclaimed the spot.

A surprise from the announcement was the return of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, iconic for their roles as Professor X and Magneto in the early "X-Men" films. Their inclusion in "Avengers: Doomsday" was unexpected, as many believed their characters had been written out or recast.

The studio teased this development with a message, "It all leads to Doom. #AvengersDoomsday is now in production."

These veteran actors will join a long list of fan-favourite Marvel stars, including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, and Tom Hiddleston. The reveal took place during a five-hour live video, where actors' names appeared on the backs of Hollywood-style directors' chairs. The video concluded with Downey Jr. making a surprise in-person appearance.

Full cast of 'Avengers: Doomsday' announced on Wednesday:

Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
Vanessa Kirby (Invisible Woman)
Anthony Mackie (Captain America)
Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes)
Letitia Wright (Black Panther)
Paul Rudd (Ant-Man)
Wyatt Russell (John Walker)
Tenoch Huerta Mejía (Namor)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing)
Simu Liu (Shang-Chi)
Florence Pugh (Yelena Belova)
Kelsey Grammer (Beast)
Lewis Pullman (Sentry)
Danny Ramirez (Falcon)
Joseph Quinn (Human Torch)
David Harbour (Red Guardian)
Winston Duke (M’Baku)
Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost)
Tom Hiddleston (Loki)
Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier)
Ian McKellen (Magneto)
Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler)
Rebecca Romijn (Mystique)
James Marsden (Cyclops)
Channing Tatum (Gambit)
Pedro Pascal (Mister Fantastic)
Robert Downey Jr (Doctor Doom)

Marvel has confirmed that "Avengers: Doomsday" will be a grand ensemble event, mirroring the ambitious scale of "Avengers: Endgame." Like its predecessor, the film aims to unite characters across multiple storylines, serving as a conclusion to over a dozen previous Marvel films.

Robert Downey Jr., who helped launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008 as Iron Man, is set to return as the antagonist Doctor Doom.

The franchise went on an unprecedented red-hot box office streak, raking in billions of dollars. Post-"Endgame," the films have lost some luster, with a dozen movies since receiving mostly weaker reviews.

Box office receipts have also fallen from their peak, though are still enviable compared with almost any other Hollywood franchise.

Wednesday's viral unveiling demonstrates how key to Marvel and Disney the success of "Avengers: Doomsday" -- and 2027 follow-up "Avengers: Secret Wars" -- will be.

The video was watched nearly four million times in its first seven hours.

(with inputs from AFP)